The purpose of this study was to identify discriminating factors of academic success for African American males in the middle school years. The study contrasted academically successful low-income students with less successful students from similar backgrounds to isolate the within group factors that contribute to school success. This study tested the following hypotheses: (1) alterable factors, specifically, higher academic self-concept, more positive attitudes toward school, more positive, perceptions of support for school activities will discriminate academically successful African American male middle school students from their less successful peers; (2) alterable factors will discriminate academically successful African American male middle school students from their less successful peers better than will unalterable factors such as birth order, number of siblings, and spacing between siblings; (3) higher racial socialization by family members making students aware of racial barriers and interracial protocol will discriminate academically successful African American male middle school students from their less successful peers.
