This article investigates inequalities in school attainment in South Africa using community-based data collected in 2008 by the National Income Dynamics Study. Schools-based research has concluded that poor children, who are mostly African, remain disadvantaged by the continuing low performance of former African schools. In contrast, this analysis finds that most educational disadvantages of African children, including their low matriculation rates, are accounted for by household poverty and their mothers' own limited education. Thus, earlier studies may not have adjusted fully for pupils' backgrounds or the performance of former African schools may have improved since 2000. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.