Survey Design of the NEPS

The so-called Multicohort Sequence Design describes the general survey plan of the NEPS starting cohorts until 2024. The starting cohorts are arranged in such a way that they cover all phases of the life course. The NEPS thus provides research data for the entire range of educational stages.

Six NEPS starting cohorts (SC1 to SC6) were started between 2009 and 2012 with nationwide representative samples. In 2022, the first cohort succession for fifth graders took place: SC8 closely follows children and adolescents – based on the contents and design of SC3 – from lower secondary school onwards. Altogether, the NEPS starting cohorts comprise more than 120,000 people, including around 70,000 core respondents and around 50,000 people from relevant contexts, e.g., parents or educational professionals.

To the Starting Cohorts

The NEPS participants are usually interviewed at close intervals and their competencies are continuously tested. In this way, they are accompanied by the NEPS throughout their different educational trajectories over several years. As the survey progresses, the core respondents of some starting cohorts are transferred to a wide-meshed survey cycle and surveyed every five years as part of an outcome survey on their current educational and employment status, as well as on key educational outcomes. Furthermore, an increase in younger birth cohorts and a refreshment of the existing birth cohorts was implemented in 2025/26 for the adult cohort (SC6). A new starting cohort in the area of early education, based on SC1, is planned with SC7 from 2031 onwards. The NEPS Cohort Design until 2035 is illustrated in the figure below.

To the Conceptual Framework