The present study investigates the roles of Maori cultural identity and socio-economic status in educational outcomes in a New Zealand birth cohort studied from birth to the age of 25. There were statistically significant (all p values less than 0.01) associations between cultural identity and educational outcomes, with those of Maori ethnic identification having generally lower levels of educational achievement outcomes when compared to non-Maori. In addition, those of Maori ethnic identification were exposed to significantly (p less than 0.05) greater levels of socio-economic disadvantage in childhood. Control for socio-economic factors largely reduced the associations between cultural identity and educational outcomes to statistical non-significance. The findings suggest that educational underachievement amongst Maori can be largely explained by disparities in socio-economic status during childhood. (Contains 3 tables.)