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[This report] was undertaken by [the Australian Council for Educational Research] ACER for The Smith Family to extend the findings of its report released in 2006 entitled ‘On track?: students choosing a career’ [indexed at TD/TNC 85.19], which identified uncertainties about how and to what extent family expectations shape young people’s educational plans, in particular their plans for transition from school to tertiary education, training or work. Narrative oriented interviews aimed to enhance the survey findings of ‘On track?’ by exploring young people’s stories in depth. On advice from The Smith Family, 10 ‘achievers’ from the Learning for Life program were interviewed and also nine of their family members (seven mothers, one father and one older sibling). An ‘achiever’ was defined as a young person who had made a positive start towards achieving post-school goals. This might be a pathway from Year 12 to university, or from Year 10 to an apprenticeship or ongoing employment. A review of the research literature was conducted. It focused on the effects and influences of family expectations on the cost-benefit analyses undertaken by students when they are considering their post-school plans. Data from interviews with young people and their family members supported the main findings of the research literature. The combined impression from the research literature and the stories of the young people interviewed for this study is that families are closely involved in their children’s decision-making about post-school options.