For constituents at the local, state, and federal level, the high-stakes issues stemming from the achievement gap in the United States are widely re­cognized as the agenda in educational reform. As a deterrent to meeting democratic ideals of economic mobility and social inclusion, this dividing line of success has generated a tidal wave of theory, research, and public debate in recent years. To meet the mission of leaving no child behind, current approaches will require fine-tuning and expansion by creating innovative partnerships with other disciplines and school-linked professionals. Drawing from a counseling psychology background, the author focuses on un­con­ventional factors - racial identity, ethnic identity, and acculturation - that regulate academic motivation and achievement among four groups of urban youth: Black-, Hispanic-, Asian-, and Native Americans. By bringing together a wealth of scholarship cutting across disciplines in education and psy­cho­logy, theoretical principles and constructs that each group shares (and does not share) in common are juxtaposed. The book concludes with a discussion of traditional lines of research in education, directions for future research, and implications for practice. The contents will be helpful for educational scholars, advocates, teachers, psychologists, school guidance counselors, and student-teachers.