This annual report provides an overview of the status of vocational education during school year 1980-81. It includes final data for school year 1979-80 obtained through the Vocational Education Data System (VEDS), the national vocational education reporting and accounting system. Part 1 of the report describes the status of vocational education during 1979-80 in terms of the requirements of the Vocational Education Amendments of 1976, namely appropriations, expenditures, students, vocational student organizations, teachers, facility and equipment, program improvement, state and local administration, occupational information, and compliance and quality reviews. Data are from the National Center for Education Statistics, United States Department of Education. Part 2 of the report focuses on vocational education's responsiveness to and impact on national needs for economic revitalization, defense preparedness, high technology, inner-city and rural initiatives, agriculture, domestic energy and mineral production, and entrepreneurship. Each national need is first discussed, and then vocational education's response, including programs, training, services, and (research) studies, is described. Appendixes, constituting about half of the document, include 17 tables regarding funding and 11 tables dealing with enrollment for 1979-80. (YLB)