The following hypotheses were investigated: (1) Negro children have lower academic achievement than whites, (2) the ego variables of sense personal control and willingness to delay gratification are significantly related to academic achievement and (3) Negro children score significantly lower on both ego variables. Subjects included 237 eighth graders (182 white and 55 Negro) and 321 eleventh-graders (288 white and 33 Negro). They responded by "agreeing" or "disagreeing" to items on the Personal Control Scale and Delay of Gratification scale. Results showed that hypotheses one and three were fully supported, while hypothesis two received partial support. However, the ego variables appeared to influence academic achievement largely, but not completely, through their association with intelligence. The racial differences on the ego variables were interpreted as contributing to a vicious cycle, with the Negro child's intellectual and psychological handicaps interacting with each other to increase the amount of deficit. (Author/LS)