<human>:  Why is it that African Americans have lower graduation rates that white people?
<bot>: There are a variety of factors that are in play. I think one significant factor is poverty. It’s well-documented that lower income people are less likely to finish high school, and that this difference holds even after controlling for such factors as race. African Americans are overrepresented in the bottom rungs of the socioeconomic ladder, with poverty rates among African Americans still hovering around one-quarter after the recent economic crisis.