A study was conducted over three years to examine the influence of school mediated person and environmental variables on academic achievement outcome. The 250 subjects, male and female, were students in the final year of formal secondary education in three schools, who were preparing for their Irish Leaving Certificate examination, a formal nationwide multisubject assessment. The literature of cognitive and learning styles, academic achievement variables, and programmes to cater for individual differences is reviewed. The methodology and rationale for choice of variables is related to recent interactive student, teacher, environment studies. The variables general ability, dogmatism, need achievement, teacher preference, school alienation ,self esteem, attitude to education and curiosity were correlated with academic achievement as measured by performance in the public examinations. Results were controlled for collinearity. After general ability, the most significant correlating variable, was partialed out, the remaining variables were again correlated with academic achievement Dogmatism and Curiosity remained the highest correlating significant variables, dogmatism correlating negatively. These two, together with general ability, seem to constitute a significant triad of variables. The results are discussed and implications examined. A tentative conclusion is devised in the framework of interaction theory.