The basic theory underlying this research is that the behavior of children in school, especially their achievement in academic subjects, is a function in part of the subculture of the school. It is hypothesized that each school has a set of norms, evaluations, and expectations characterizing the achievement expected of students in general and of various student subgroups in particular. Although different norms, expectations, and evaluations applied to various groups and individuals account for some variation within the school, it is hypothesized that there are also differences in school social systems that explain differences in achievement among schools. The first and foremost general conclusion derived from this research is that some aspects of school social environment clearly make a difference in the academic achievement between schools. The socioeconomic and racial composition of the schools explain a significant portion of the variance in mean achievement between schools, but the social-psychological and normative variables that were identified clearly contribute an additional portion of the explanation of the variance in mean school achievement. It was also determined that racial and socioeconomic composition alone are not an adequate description of the elementary school environment. (Author/IRT)