Basic principles and techniques for constructing a student tracking system, either at the institutional or system level, are presented and illustrated. The design, development, and utilization of the LONESTAR (Longitudinal Student Tracking and Reporting) system are described. The system, which provides information on student achievement, program effectiveness, student retention and persistence, and enrollment behavior, is based on a cohort tracking methodology. The following topics are addressed: (1) basic design issues; (2) selecting and defining tracking system data elements (demographics, educational background, enrollment status, term tracking, follow-up elements, and derived data elements); (3) constructing and maintaining the tracking database; and (4) defining and generating system reports (institution-level and state-level reports; progress, performance and remediation status and evaluation reports; and interpreting results and using the database). LONESTAR data elements and sample pages from the LONESTAR data element dictionary are appended. (KM)