This study investigated the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement in a group of 150 high, medium, and low achievers at a large midwestern public high school. Correlating data from the Coopersmith Inventory of self-esteem with grades, cumulative grade point averages, and class rank, the study disclosed a positive correlation between self-esteem and academic achievement, and also revealed secondary correlations between self-esteem, academic achievement, gender, and race. Chapter 1 covers the introduction, the background of the problem, purpose, significance of the study, definition of terms, general hypothesis, and limitations of the study. Chapter 2 reviews the pertinent literature related to the historical background of the problem of self-esteem and student achievement, discusses pertinent expert opinion, and summarizes current knowledge in this area. Chapter 3 describes the research procedures and design, while Chapter 4 describes the findings related to each hypothesis. Finally, chapter 5 summarizes the study's results, conclusions, and implications. Besides a positive correlation between self-esteem and academic achievement, the report notes that the study found no significant differences between males and females, or between races, with respect to self-esteem. National and international implications of the correlation between self-esteem and academic achievement are discussed. A bibliography follows, and instrumentation is appended, along with related materials. (TE)