Self-Concept and Academic Achievement: Investigating Their Importance as Discriminators of Academic Track Membership in High School

Several factors-general self-concept (SC), academic SC, or academic achievement (AA; academic grades)-may discriminate between low- and high-track students. Using linear discriminant function analysis, two independent samples of high school students (N=929; N=968) were tested on identical measures of these constructs. Although academic SC and AA both discriminated moderately between tracks, academic SC was the more effective discriminator. Further, low and high tracks could not be distinguished on the basis of general SC. We should distinguish between general SC and academic SC in the measurement of adolescent SC. Plusieurs facteurs--concept de soi (CS), moi scolaire (MS) ou rendement scolaire (RS)-permettent de departager les eleves du groupe superieur et les dleves du groupe inf6rieur. A l'aide d'une analyse fonctionnelle discriminante lineaire, deux c N=968) ont ete testes, les instruments de mesure de ces construits etant identiques. Le MS et le RS permettaient de departager assez bien le groupe superieur et le groupe inf6rieur, le MS ayant toutefois le meilleur pouvoir de discrimination. En outre, les groupes superieur et inf6rieur ne pouvaient pas etre distingues en fonction du CS. II faudrait donc distinguer entre le CS et le MS lorsqu'on mesure le CS des adolescents.