Studies have documented relationships between academic self-concept, school engagement, and adolescents' educational aspirations and/or expectations. For instance, in their sample of mostly African American and Caucasian students in the mid-Atlantic, Murdock et al. (2000) reported that those with higher academic self-concepts in 7th grade reported higher expectations of going to college in 9th grade than those with lower academic self-concepts, even controlling for their prior academic experiences.