African-American adolescents from single-parent households perform lower, academically, than their counterparts from dual-parent households. Yet, many students achieve school success. This study utilized motivation theory as a framework to identify factors that explain varying academic achievement levels among students from single-parent households. Seventeen African-American adolescents participated in a qualitative interview and quantitative motivation survey to explore motivational differences among high- and low-achievers. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic content analysis, and quantitative data using descriptive statistical analyses and the Mann-Whitney U test. All students reported that family encouragement was important and helped them to do well in school. Students were also more extrinsically, but also intrinsically, motivated to do well in school. Higher-achieving students reported more family members from which they could seek help, and reported greater intrinsic motivation. This study emphasizes the importance of parents and teachers instilling in African-American students an intrinsic investment in schooling.