Racial Identity Attitudes, School Achievement, and Academic Self-Efficacy among African American High School Students

African American students “generally earn lower grades, drop out more often, and attain less education than do Whites” (Mickelson, 1990, p. 44). Although there is considerable agreement that ethnic and racial differences in school performance exist, there is little consensus about the causes of these differences (Steinberg, Dornbusch, & Brown, 1991). Both biological and environmental causes are among the explanations for the consistent and disturbing finding that the academic performance of many African American students falls behind other groups.