Description:
<jats:p><jats:bold>Background</jats:bold>. There is much concern with group differences in educational attainment in school. Better understanding of pupils' academic ability perceptions promises to help understanding of differences in attainment.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Aims</jats:bold>. The aim of this paper is to examine ethnic and sex differences in academic self assessments at 7,11 and 16 years, and ethnic and sex differences in the degree of under and overestimation of self assessment.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Samples</jats:bold>. Results come from a longitudinal study of white and black UK pupils in inner London schools. Samples sizes at7, 11 and 16 years were 133, 175, 108 respectively.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Methods</jats:bold>. Self assessments, other self report data and attainments were collected at each age.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Results</jats:bold>. White pupils by the end of junior and secondary school were less positive about their own attainments, and about themselves at school. While black girls showed confidence in their attainments, and had the highest attainments in reading/English, white girls tended to underestimate and have little confidence in their school attainments.</jats:p>