"Colleges" might seem like the simple answer, but according to a new research paper, it's also a misleading one. The authors performed a "variance decomposition" analysis—a technique also used to study gender wage gaps—on completion numbers in Texas. They concluded that only about one-third of the gap in completion rates between black or Hispanic students and their white counterparts could be attributed to colleges and universities. Most of the gap, the researchers said, could instead be traced to "pre-college characteristics" like academic preparation and economic disadvantage. Here's the breakdown: