Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the academic achievement, as measured by the Standardized Achievement Test, of Seventh-day, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Public school sixth-graders in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. This study also sought to determine if a significant relationship existed between academic achievement and school system, geographical district, school location, social class, primary language, gender, mental ability, age, and class size.

Procedures: Data used in this study were obtained from the records of 584 SDA, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Public schools' sixth-graders for the school years 1981 through 1985. Data were treated with ANOVA's, chi-squares, correlations, t-tests, and stepwise multiple regressions at the .05 level of significance.

Findings: (1) Students attending the Protestant school system achieved the highest on non-verbal and verbal mental ability and on Arithmetic and Dutch Language achievement. (2) Dutch-speaking students had higher mental ability and achievement scores than other students. (3) While the most important predictor of achievement was Verbal Mental Ability, Dutch Language scores was the most important predictor of Verbal Mental Ability.

Conclusions: (1) The Netherlands Antilles educational system is primarily geared toward serving the needs of the minority Dutch-speaking population that attend the Protestant school system and serves very poorly the needs of the majority Papiamentu-speaking population. (2) Proficiency in speaking Dutch is foundational to overall academic achievement in Curacao. (3) After completing elementary school, students from the Protestant school system receive university preparation, while students from the other school systems receive vocational education. (4) The difference in mental ability and academic achievement between the Protestant school system and the other school systems is not necessarily due to the quality of education received in any of these school systems but rather to the characteristics of the student population that attend these schools.

Recommendations: Based on the findings and conclusions it was recommended: (1) That lower elementary grade students whose primary language is Papiamentu, be taught "essential" subjects in Papiamentu, and that Dutch be gradually introduced as the medium of instruction for "non-essential" subjects. (2) That the elementary schools institute an intensive Dutch Language education program for the majority non-Dutch speaking population.