In an effort to identify factors contributing to the poor achievement levels of American Indian students, a sample of juniors and seniors from the Albuquerque Indian School (AIS is a Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school) were administered the following tests: Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL); Iowa Test of Educational Development (ITED); Tennessee Self Concept Scale (only 8 of the 100 TSCS scores were used); and the Southwestern Indian Adolescent Self-Concept Scale (SIASS). Results were analyzed in terms of linguistic-tribal affiliation, grades, sex, and self concept. The sample consisted of: 32 male and 37 female Navajo Athabascan speakers; 6 male and 5 female Apache Athabascan speakers; 7 male and 3 female Keres and Towa speakers; 3 male and 3 female Tiwa and Tewa speakers; and 1 male and 2 female Zuni and Ute speakers. Indicating an interrelatedness between educational retardation, low self concept, and skill in the English language, the results showed lower than norm scores for all the tests used; tribal differences in favor of the Apache; sex differences in favor of the females' competence in the more technical aspects of English; grade differences in favor of the juniors (evidence of educational retardation); differences in self-concept test results, with the TSC indicating much lower self concept than the SIASS; and low scores on the ITED and TOEFL tests. It was concluded that any attempt to rectify this situation should consider language, culture, and self as inextricably interwoven. (JC)