The substudy of the Starting Cohort Grade 9 assesses which educational or vocational path adolescents choose after completing the ninth grade of a general educating school. The transition into and through the upper secondary level is assessed through panel studies, as is the transition into the vocational education system, a higher education programm and the job market. The acquired data enables us to answer the following topic-specfic questions:

• Which factors influence the gathering of competencies? How do these develop during the school attendance period and how does the type of school influence this development?
• To what extent do adolescents choose to switch the type of school they're enrolled in and what is this switch influenced by?
• How successful is the preparation for higher education in the upper Gymnasium level?
• How do adolescents experience the transition from the general educating school system into the vocational education system? What influences the access to vocational education?
• Which experiences do adolescents gather in career preparation measures or in vocational apprenticeships? What are determining factors for a successful completion of a vocational apprenticeship?
• What are the reasons for adolescents to choose to pursue a higher education?
• How do study conditions, study requirements and students' financial situations influence the course of study at a higher education institution and a successful completion thereof?
• What does the transition into the job market look like for young adults? 

The target persons, that were representively selected in 2010 and willing to participate, were regularly questioned and tested in the areas of "language", "mathematics", "natural sciences", "ICT" and "cognitive problem solving". The first survey for ninth graders in a German general educating school was conducted in fall/winter of 2010. In addition, context persons, such as parents, teachers and principals were regularly questioned up to 2014 as long as the target person was still enrolled in a general educating school system. After the school year of 2014/15, the entire sample survey of general education will be completed and the respondents' further path will be individually followed.