By examining educational aspiration, this study uses data on high school senior females to explore the contention that race remains embedded in late 20th-century American culture as a primary qualifier of gender role. The study focuses on a sample of 4,573 black and white female high school seniors in the class of 1980 using data from the national stratified High School and Beyond study. The sample includes girls who were living with their mothers or other female guardians at the time they participated in the HSB study. The results indicate that the majority of all females (83.8%) plan to pursue some form of postsecondary education, and that almost half (45.6%) plan to complete at least a Bachelor's degree. Two-way analysis of variance confirm that race and family income have significant effects on female's education plans. The higher the family income, the higher the percentage of females, both black and white, who plan to pursue their education at least into college. Among females from families with incomes of at least 25,000 dollars, black females are less likely than white females to plan to complete a Bachelor's degree (26.1% of black females versus 34.7% of white females). However, among females from families with incomes of less than 12,000 dollars, black females are more likely to plan postgraduate education (22.2% of black females versus 10.4% of white females). Statistical data are presented in eight tables. A list of 43 references are included. (JB)