A study examined the differences between the experiences and beliefs about school held by young adolescents identified as potential dropouts and those held by their more successful peers. The study was conducted at a larger, urban junior high school with an ethnic composition of 47% Orientals, 31% Whites, 16% Hispanics, 6% Blacks and .3% Native Americans. A total of 110 Junior High School students selected from 3 different achievement levels were surveyed using items drawn from the Self-Concept in School section of the Pennsylvania Quality Assessment (PQA). Included in the 110 were all 31 students identified by their counselors as at-risk. In addition, a target group of 27 students was randomly selected for intensive interviews and observations. Following completion of the survey, students were asked to write essays about their ideal futures and how they might prepare themselves for the future. It is possible to derive the following assertions from the results of the study: (1) the school experiences of at-risk and successful students are mostly a result of their perceptions of relationships with teachers; and (2) both at-risk and successful students feel responsible for their academic performance, but at-risk students are unsure how to take responsibility for their learning. (Forty-five references are included.) (PRA)