WLS Codebooks

Note: Codebooks contain frequency data from the private data release. For some variables, these differ from the frequencies in the public release. Variables that differ between the public and private versions include "(not available on public release)" as part of the variable description, or a note indicating the difference between the public and private versions.

1957 - Education

geog57               Location of high school
avcl57               Closeness of college from high school
hsdm57               High school private or public?
hssize               Respondent's high school class size
hsprog               Respondent's classes meet UW-Madison entrance 
                     requirements?
hsrankq, hsrscorq    High school percentile rank
tchevl               Teacher note respondent as outstanding student?
algebraq - fornlngq  Number of semesters of subject
colprepq             Take a college prep course?
parsup, prsp58       Financial support of parents
plcollq - plhied     Consideration of attending college?
edboroq              Borrow money for college if payback after?
appliedq - cebexamq  College preparation: application, entrance exams
edearnq              How much earn towards college
nccledq - valuc1     Perception of college by respondent and social 
                     network


NOTE:   See Appendix A - Memo067 for a general selection of variables
        used for previous WLS publications.

geog57: Address of High School.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: vi
*NOT AVAILABLE ON PUBLIC RELEASE*

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
550010960 - 550350770 1118 1123 2241
550350870 - 550732690 1012 1062 2074
550750560 - 550792720 994 1155 2149
550792750 - 551172030 1002 1073 2075
551172120 - 551412845 865 913 1778
Note: Columns 1-2 reflect state, columns 3-5 reflect county,
and 6-9 reflect place. Uncodable responses are coded
zeros for state, county, and/or place.

Codes from GEOGRAPHIC IDENTIFICATION CODE SCHEME; 1970
Census PHC(R)-3. See Appendix J - Memo007 for Geographic
coding of selected addresses for 1957-1977 WLS follow-up
studies.

avcl57: Geographic availability of college.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: vi

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
1 Graduate attended high school in community MORE than 15 miles from any college 1948 1924 3872
2 Graduate attended high school in community 15 miles or less from extension center 206 202 408
3 Graduate attended high school in community 15 miles or less from state college 269 292 561
4 Graduate attended high school in community LESS than 15 miles from private college 198 224 422
5 Graduate attended high school in city with extension center 554 645 1199
6 Graduate attended high school in a city with a state college 385 416 801
7 Graduate attended high school in a city with a private college (but no public) 269 267 536
8 Graduate attended high school in community 15 miles or less from state university 348 353 701
9 Graduate attended high school in city with state university (Milwaukee or Madison) 814 1003 1817

hsdm57: Denominational control of high school.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 9a

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
1 Catholic 565 644 1209
2 Other Private 74 84 158
3 Public 4352 4598 8950

hssize: 1957 High school class size.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: vi

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
5 - 50 1039 1032 2071
51 - 100 1023 1081 2104
101 - 179 1026 1124 2150
186 - 325 1027 1093 2120
327 - 482 876 996 1872
Note: This is the number of 1957 Wisconsin High School seniors
who participated in the survey in the graduate's class. Most
students took the survey and 1/3 of these seniors comprise the
WLS sample.

hsprog: Did graduate's high school classes fulfill the 1957 entrance requirements for UW-Madison?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 21a
Revisions: Added 1977     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
0 NO OR NOT ASCERTAINED 1813 2533 4346
1 YES 3178 2793 5971
Note: See Appendix A - COR000a for Recoding of 1957 questionnaires

The variables for high school program prior to 1/83 represented
whether the student had taken a program which would meet the
requirements for entrance to the University of Wisconsin-Madison
in 1957 and was not a record of the student's response to question
21b. See Appendix A for problems with this variable in the past.

For unique missing data codes, see specific variables for
courses taken in high school (ALGEBRAQ...FORNLNGQ).

hsrankq: High school grades percentile rank.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: i
Revisions: Replacement 1/83      Archived variable: hsr

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 353 340 693
0 - 20 1251 688 1939
21 - 40 1080 849 1929
41 - 61 971 1029 2000
62 - 81 758 1195 1953
82 - 99 578 1225 1803
Note: To calculate percentile rank: HSRANKQ = 100 - (rank in
class/# of students in class X 100).

We recommend reading Appendix G - MEMOS 121, 124, and COR652
before using this variable.

See Appendix A - COR336at3 for Location of 1957 Raw Data:
Status of Variables and Recommendations for 1983 Recoding

hsrscorq: High school grades percentile rank-normalized.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: i
Revisions: Replacement 1/83      Archived variable: hsrnrm

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 Missing data 353 340 693
61 - 88 1312 727 2039
89 - 97 1128 899 2027
98 - 105 951 1060 2011
106 - 115 782 1271 2053
116 - 139 465 1029 1494
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for Location of 1957 Raw Data:
Status of Variables and Recommendations for 1983 Recoding

We recommend reading Appendix G - MEMOS 121, 124, and COR652
before using this variable.

tchevl: Teacher's evaluation of graduate. Teachers only noted outstanding students.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: iib

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
0 Not outstanding; not ascertained 4519 4735 9254
1 Outstanding 472 591 1063

algebraq: Number of semesters of algebra.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 21a1
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 707 842 1549
0 314 441 755
1 194 182 376
2 2186 3340 5526
3 463 162 625
4 1122 359 1481
5 1 0 1
6 2 0 2
7 1 0 1
8 1 0 1
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

geomtryq: Number of semesters of geometry.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 21a2
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 1354 1687 3041
0 584 1085 1669
1 160 110 270
2 2232 2324 4556
3 579 95 674
4 81 25 106
7 1 0 1
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

trigq: Number of semesters of trigonometry.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 21a3
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 2640 3158 5798
0 1247 1912 3159
1 906 203 1109
2 188 51 239
3 4 1 5
4 6 1 7
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

biologyq: Number of semesters of biology.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 21a4
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 796 645 1441
0 358 287 645
1 194 198 392
2 3520 4069 7589
3 19 16 35
4 102 109 211
6 1 2 3
8 1 0 1
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

chmstryq: Number of semesters of chemistry.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 21a5
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 1603 2005 3608
0 732 1171 1903
1 157 110 267
2 2455 2020 4475
3 7 1 8
4 35 18 53
6 2 0 2
8 0 1 1
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

physicsq: Number of semesters of physics.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 21a6
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 1831 2855 4686
0 788 1720 2508
1 135 63 198
2 2206 680 2886
3 10 0 10
4 21 8 29
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

englishq: Number of semesters of english.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 21a7
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 97 57 154
0 1 0 1
2 54 37 91
3 22 21 43
4 225 194 419
5 9 18 27
6 1373 1181 2554
7 49 66 115
8 3161 3752 6913
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

historyq: Number of semesters of history.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 21a8
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 151 118 269
0 8 5 13
1 13 15 28
2 1743 2150 3893
3 11 28 39
4 2491 2445 4936
5 9 16 25
6 428 429 857
7 1 2 3
8 136 118 254
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

socstdyq: Number of semesters of social studies.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 21a9
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 651 645 1296
0 200 188 388
1 57 59 116
2 2025 2219 4244
3 34 48 82
4 1644 1817 3461
5 10 20 30
6 249 238 487
7 2 7 9
8 119 85 204
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

fornlngq: Number of semesters of foreign language.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 21a10
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 2431 2013 4444
0 1096 1109 2205
1 29 37 66
2 428 655 1083
3 11 18 29
4 757 1161 1918
5 1 3 4
6 81 144 225
7 3 0 3
8 154 186 340
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

colprepq: Did you take a college preparatory course?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 21b
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 709 611 1320
1 YES 1707 1880 3587
2 NO 2575 2835 5410
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

edcostq: How much will it cost per school year to attend college away from home?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 10
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 597 544 1141
1 Less than $1000 561 733 1294
2 Between $1000 and $1500 2268 2335 4603
3 Between $1500 and $2000 1322 1467 2789
4 More than $2000 243 247 490
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

parsup: Are your parents able to help you go to college?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 11

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 680 766 1446
1 Parents 'cannot afford' or graduate 'must work' 1404 1365 2769
2 Parents could support graduate with sacrifice 2252 2395 4647
3 Parents could easily support graduate 655 800 1455
Note: "Cannot afford" and "must work" are condensed on all files.
This was a reasonable decision. This variable was not recoded in 1983.

prsp58: How much can you or your family contribute to your college expenses next year?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 13d

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 751 980 1731
1 None 532 573 1105
2 Less than $500 1264 1472 2736
3 $500 to $999 1380 1215 2595
4 $1,000 to $1,500 385 244 629
5 All Expenses 679 842 1521

plcollq: Have you ever considered attending college?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 13a
Revisions: Added 1/83, 3/97     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 REFUSED/NOT ASCERTAINED 131 141 272
1 YES 3695 3850 7545
2 NO 1165 1335 2500
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

plclmnq: Would you consider attending college if you had money?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 13b
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED OR NOT APPLICABLE 3705 3903 7608
1 YES 330 298 628
2 NO 956 1125 2081
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

plhied: Graduate's consideration of attending college.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 13a, 13b

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED, STUDENT HAS NOT CONSIDERED ENTERING COLLEGE 1104 1297 2401
1 Graduate may or may not have considered further schooling but would consider if financially able 233 230 463
2 Graduate has considered, but is not attending school 1681 1673 3354
3 Graduate has considered and is going to attend 1973 2126 4099
Note: This variable combines the responses to the two questions
"Have you ever considered attending college?" and "If no,would you
consider it if you had the money?" These variables were recoded in
1983 as PLCOLLQ and PLCLMNQ. See Appendix A - COR336at3.

edboroq: Would you borrow for college if you could pay it back after college?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 13c
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED OR NOT APPLICABLE 1034 1283 2317
1 YES 1258 1213 2471
2 NO 2699 2830 5529
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

appliedq: Did you apply for admission to school or college?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 14a
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 471 456 927
1 Have not applied 2522 2512 5034
2 Have not applied, but plan to 502 348 850
3 Refused - did not rank high enough 31 32 63
4 Refused - did not take the right subjects 13 12 25
5 Refused - school could not take more students or rejected for reasons other than rank or subjects 3 1 4
6 Have applied, but have not heard 384 425 809
7 Plan to apply 326 281 607
8 Admitted and expect to attend 739 1259 1998
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

ncolaplq: How many colleges have you applied to?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 14d
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED OR NOT APPLICABLE 3455 3466 6921
0 Zero, none or '--' written by respondent 386 246 632
1 901 1308 2209
2 153 216 369
3 63 65 128
4 15 13 28
5 9 8 17
6 4 4 8
7 Applications sent to 7 or more schools 5 0 5
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

nameritq: Did you take the National Merit Scholarship Exam?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 15
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 REFUSED/NOT ASCERTAINED 726 695 1421
1 YES 594 718 1312
2 NO 3671 3913 7584
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

cebexamq: Did you take the College Entrance Board Exams?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 16a
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 854 894 1748
1 YES 319 342 661
2 NO 3818 4090 7908
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

edearnq: How much did you earn towards school expenses?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 19
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED OR NOT APPLICABLE 2761 3026 5787
1 Less than $250 401 1069 1470
2 Between $250 and $500 1012 1008 2020
3 Between $500 and $750 606 183 789
4 More than $750 211 40 251
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

nccledq: How necessary is a college education for the work you want to do?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 23
Revisions: Replacement 1/83      Archived variable: nccled

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 301 192 493
1 Necessary 1815 1719 3534
2 Desirable 1411 846 2257
3 Unnecessary 1464 2569 4033
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

tchencq: Have your teachers encouraged you to attend college?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 24
Revisions: Replacement 1/83      Archived variable: tchenc

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 209 187 396
1 Encouraged college 2228 2134 4362
2 Discouraged college 94 74 168
3 Had no effect on decision 2460 2931 5391
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

parencq: What do your parents think about you attending college?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 25
Revisions: Replacement 1/83      Archived variable: parenc

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 157 187 344
1 Want graduate to attend college 2916 2445 5361
2 Do not want graduate to attend college 138 384 522
3 Do not care whether graduate attends college 1764 2276 4040
4 Will not let graduate attend college 16 34 50
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

frndplq: What are most of your friends doing after high school?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 26
Revisions: Replacement 1/83      Archived variable: frndpl

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED (including 'don't know,' 'still in school,' '1/2 and 1/2' - without specifying 1/2 of what) 238 145 383
1 Going to college or other education 1623 1929 3552
2 Getting jobs 1413 2834 4247
3 Going into military service 1169 11 1180
4 Getting married 12 36 48
5 Other (for individuals who checked 'other' - UNLESS enough information to assign a different code) 16 3 19
6 Schooling AND jobs 61 199 260
7 Schooling AND military 126 8 134
8 Schooling AND married 1 4 5
9 Schooling AND other (not married) 4 1 5
10 Jobs AND military 222 38 260
11 Jobs AND married 5 75 80
12 Jobs AND other (not married) 2 1 3
13 Military AND married 1 1 2
14 Military AND other (not married) 1 0 1
15 Married AND additional other specified 0 1 1
77 Graduate checked more than two responses 97 40 137
Note: Marriage was not listed as an option on the original
questionnaire but many people responded with "other -
marriage" and a unique code was created to reflect this.

See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

hsntrstq: What is your opinion of your high school studies?

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 27
Revisions: Added 1/83     

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 NOT ASCERTAINED/REFUSED 196 186 382
1 Interesting, want to learn more 2636 3137 5773
2 Uninteresting, would rather work 619 539 1158
3 No special influence 1540 1464 3004
Note: See Appendix A - COR336at3 for 1983 recoding of questionnaires.

valucl: Factor-weighted value of college as perceived by graduate.

Data source: Graduate Respondent      Collected in: 1957      Mode: SAQ
Source variables: 30

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
-3 Missing data 67 58 125
1 - 33 1027 1021 2048
34 - 68 966 1117 2083
69 - 89 1253 1181 2434
90 - 93 1079 1089 2168
94 - 99 599 860 1459
Note: See Appendix B - Memo129 for creation of value of college
variable.

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