The purposes of this study were to determine the level of achievement of United States advanced science students in an international context and to identify school factors affecting the science achievement of the students. The Second International Science Study (SISS) Advanced Science Achievement Tests included international common items which made possible comparisons of U.S. advanced science student achievement with the achievement of students in other participating countries. Students, teachers, and school administrators responded to structured questionnaires designed to elicit information about student family and science background; student science attitudes and interest in science; teacher background and teaching methods; and school characteristics. The sample included more than 1700 students, 117 teachers, and 115 school administrators. Major results of the study are: (1) each subgroup, biology, chemistry, or physics, had a mean science score below the international mean for the respective test; and (2) across subgroups, the best predictors for student achievement was determined by scores on the SISS Mathematics and Word Knowedge Tests. Advanced science students who had studied at least 3 years of science and mathematics had mean science scores that were not significantly different from the international mean scores. Appendices include course offerings, tests and questionnaires, opportunity-to-learn ratings, frequency of distribution of questionnaires, and correlation coefficients for variables. (YP)