Education is becoming increasingly important for upward social mobility in the U.S. and abroad and has been linked to societal inequalities in health, income, and other life-chance measures. Given that the minority population within the U.S. has been steadily increasing and is projected to comprise 40 to 50 percent of the U.S. population in 2050, understanding racial differences in achievement is important for scholars, educators, and policy makers. My interests are on how perceptions of the opportunity structure and the system of social mobility influence the extent to which people invest in schooling – the social psychological determinants of the racial achievement gap, especially the factors that contribute to African Americans' lower academic achievement and Asian Americans' higher academic achievement relative to Whites.