Recent research has indicated that a learning setting's "psychological environment" can make a difference in student achievement and motivation. This has been found to be true in the case of smaller learning settings, such as the classroom. Recently, research on school culture has suggested that schools do indeed differ in the kind of learning environment they provide. The present paper advances this research one step further. An extensive study of school achievement (in conjunction with a statewide assessment program) involving over 16,000 students in 820 Illinois schools was conducted. Primary variables considered in this report are the school's psychological environment or "culture," student ethnic background, and motivation. Results showed that school culture was more important for minority than white students, so far as facilitating motivation was concerned, and that one school environment may not fit all equally well. Whereas a stress on accomplishment is likely to be important to Whites, Asian students seem especially susceptible to isolation and could benefit from a collegial school environment. If these results are valid, educators are faced with the problem of creating different school cultures within the same general school context. More research is needed on school culture influences. (21 references) (Author/MLH)