The Journal of Psychology, 2005, 139(3), 247-259 Cultural Expression and Black Students' Attitudes Toward High Achievers BIKO MARTIN SANKOFA Department of Psychology Howard University ERIC A. HURLEY Department of Psychology University of Massachusetts - Amherst BRENDA A. ALLEN Department of Psychology Smith College A. WADE BOYKIN Department of Psychology Howard University ABSTRACT. The authors of the present study have extended research by D. Marryshow that investigated African American students' attitudes toward 4 high achievers who dif- fered in their approach to high achievement. D. Marryshow (1992) assessed students' socicd attitudes and perceptions of 4 high achievers with culturally distinct achievement orientations. In the present research, the authors assessed students' academic attitudes and perceptions of the same 4 high achievers. In addition, the present study includes Black children's predictions of their parents' and peers' attitudes toward these high achieving stu- dents. The results generally supported the authors' hypothesis that African American chil- dren would report a preference for students who achieve via attitudes and behaviors con- gruent with African American cultural values. The children also predicted that their parents and their Black peers would prefer these same African American culturally ori- ented high achievers. The findings suggest that Black children who prefer African Amer- ican cultural modes of achievement may find themselves at odds with classroom demands geared toward learning in the mainstream cultural mode and thus may be at increased risk of academic failure. Key words: achievement, African American, communalism, culture, education, learning orientation, verve IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT MANY MINORITY STUDENTS attain limited academic success in American schools. African Americans, in particular, consis- tently perform less well in school than their White counterparts do. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported that African American students at 247