This paper explores the linkage between school quality, educational attainment and the wage gap. In a model of statistical discrimination based on both the quality and quantity of schooling, we show that lower quality education can, on average, lead to lower human capital accumulation and amplify the wage gap between different groups of individuals. Because blacks have lower access to good quality schools compared to whites, this link provides a novel explanation for the differences in black-white educational attainment and the resulting wage gap. This insight is also particularly relevant for the ongoing debate on public vs charter school programs.