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Technical Note

   The estimates in this release were obtained from a supplement to the
October 2007 Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of about
60,000 households that provides information on the labor force, employ-
ment, and unemployment for the nation.  The survey is conducted monthly
for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau.  Data in
this release relate to the school enrollment status of persons 16 to 24
years of age in the civilian noninstitutional population in the calendar
week that includes the 12th of October.  Updated population controls for
the Current Population Survey are introduced annually with the release of
January data.

   The supplement weights used in estimation were revised with the release
of October 2007 data.  An additional weighting step was added in order to
bring the CPS estimates for persons receiving a high school diploma or GED
more in line with administrative records.  The 2007 October supplement data
are not strictly comparable with published estimates from earlier years.

   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone:  (202) 691-5200; TDD message refer-
ral phone number:  1-800-877-8339.

Reliability of the estimates

   Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling
error.  When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there
is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true" population
values they represent.  The exact difference, or sampling error, varies de-
pending on the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured
by the standard error of the estimate.  There is about a 90-percent chance,
or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no
more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population value because of
sampling error.  BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level
of confidence.

   The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error.  Nonsampling error
can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the
population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample,
inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and
errors made in the collection or processing of the data.

   For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and informa-
tion on estimating standard errors, see the Household Data section of the 
"Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" at http://www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_
methods.pdf.

Concepts

   The principal concepts used in connection with the school enrollment series
are described briefly below.

   School enrollment.  Respondents were asked whether they were currently 
enrolled in a regular school, including day or night school in any type of
public, parochial, or other private school.  Regular schooling is that which
may advance a person toward a high school diploma or a college, university, or
professional degree.  Such schools include elementary schools, junior or senior
high schools, and colleges and universities.

   Other schooling, including trade schools; on-the-job training; and courses
that do not require physical presence in school, such as correspondence courses
or other courses of independent study, is included only if the credits granted
count towards promotion in regular school.


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   Full-time and part-time enrollment in college.  College students are classi-
fied as attending full time if they were taking 12 hours of classes or more (or
9 hours of graduate classes) during an average school week and as part time if
they were taking fewer hours.

   High school graduation status.  Persons who were not enrolled in school at
the time of the survey were asked whether they had graduated from high school.
Those who had graduated were asked when they completed their high school educa-
tion.  Persons who had not graduated, that is, school dropouts, were asked when
they last attended a regular school.  Those who were enrolled in college at the
time of the survey also were asked when they graduated from high school.