The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental, correlational research study was to investigate the extent that Hispanics in grade 11 in a rural high school in Tennessee experienced a sense of belonging and the correlation, if any, between sense of belonging and academic achievement on the state English I and English II standardized tests. I selected Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as the theoretical framework to focus the nonexperimental, correlational study. I collected student perceptions for sense of belonging using the Psychological Sense of School Membership scale, designed to measure perceptions of psychological membership and sense of belonging, for students in grade 11 determining the possible influence on academic achievement for Hispanic and non-Hispanic students. Hispanic students had lower English I and English II state standardized test scale scores; however, students who scored higher on the Psychological Sense of School Membership scale for sense of belonging had higher English I and English II state standardized test scale scores. As the Hispanic students' sense of belonging increased, the scores on the state English I and English II standardized tests increased. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]