# Presentation: 376156

## Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in U.S. Higher Education Facts, Not Fiction: Setting the Record Straight

- Robert Teranishi
- New York University
- National Commission on Asian American
- and Pacific Islander Research in Education

## AAPI Population and Percent AAPI of the Total Population,

- 1990 to 2020

- AAPI Population (in millions)

- Percent AAPI

## Asian American and Pacific Islander Ethnic Categories

|           Asian American         . |  |  |        Pacific Islander American     . |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bangladeshi | Laotian |  | Carolinian | Papua New Guinean |
| Bhutanese | Malaysian |  | Chamorro | Pohnpeian |
| Burmese | Maldivian |  | Chuukese | Saipanese |
| Cambodian | Nepalese |  | Fijian | Samoan |
| Chinese | Okinawan |  | Guamanian | Solomon Islander |
| Filipino | Pakastani |  | I-Kiribati | Tahitian |
| Hmong | Singaporean |  | Kosraean | Tokelauan |
| Indian | Sri Lankan |  | Mariana Islander | Tongan |
| Indo Chinese | Taiwanese |  | Marshallese | Yapese |
| Iwo Jiman | Thai |  | Native Hawaiian | Polynesian |
| Japanese | Vietnamese |  | Ni-Vanuatu | Micronesian |
| Korean | Other Asian |  | Palauan | Melanesian |

- Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Census

**Notes:**
48 ethnic groups comprise the AAPI population.

Vary widely by language, culture, socioeconomic status, and immigration histories.  

## English Language Ability among AAPIs, 2000 

- English Language Ability among AAPIs, 2000

***Asian Americans***

***Pacific Islanders***

## Percentage of AAPIs Below Poverty, 1999 

***Asian Americans***

***Pacific Islanders***

- Percentage of AAPIs Below Poverty, 1999

## 76.8%

- BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
*Chinese American Community*
- Percent of Population
- Foreign-Born
- Percent of Children
- Who Speak English
- Less than Very Well

- 63.5%

- WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA
*Vietnamese American Community*
- Percent of Adults with
- High School or Less
- Percent of Adults
- Who Speak English
- Less than Very Well

- 54.5%
- 67.2%

- WAI’ANAE, HAWAI’I
*Native Hawai’ian Community*
- Percent of Adults with
- High School or Less
- Percent of Families
- With Children That
- Are Below Poverty

- 78.5%
- 32.1%

- ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA
*Hmong American Community*
- Percent of Adults with
- High School or Less
- Percent of Families
- With Children That
- Are Below Poverty

- 65.4%
- 33.4%

## AAPI Enrollment in U.S. Higher Education 

- AAPI Enrollment in U.S. Higher Education
- by Institutional Type, 2000

- National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS, 2006

## Change in AAPI Total Enrollment 

- by Institutional Type, 1990-2000

- 42.2%

- 53.4%

- 73.3%

- 0%

- 10%

- 20%

- 30%

- 40%

- 50%

- 60%

- 70%

- 80%

- 90%

- Public Four-Year

- Private Four-Year

- Public Two-Year

- National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS, 2006

## SAT I Mean Scores and Standard Deviations for AAPIs and All Students

*Mean Score*

- AAPIs

- All Students

- Mean Score (%)
**(Standard Deviation)**

- 			_Whites_	   _AAPIs_
- SAT I Verbal		  528	     507
- (All Takers, 2004)		 (**100) ****	****   (121)**
- SAT I Math		  531	    577
- (All Takers, 2004)		 (**102) ****	****   (123)**

**Notes:**
The wide distribution of demographic characteristics among AAPIs results in interesting trends when examined in the larger racial composite.  

AAPIs have a deceptive mean score: bi-modal distribution
The distribution is driven by a number of factors that are not as commonly found within other racial groups.
one mode representing those AAPIs with characteristics that afford opportunities
another mode representing those AAPIs that presents challenges and barriers

Implications – the mean and median are not accurate or fair comparisons between AAPIs and other groups – they are categorically different.

Mean and standard deviation for different databases

## A Call for Action

- We need to collect and report data in a way that allows for further deconstruction of the variation within the AAPI racial category (by ethnicity, nationality, immigration history, and language background).
- We need to hire more Asian American and Pacific Islander faculty, staff, consultants, and researchers to identify and guide work in education at every level, on behalf of all groups, including Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
- Professionals in the K-12 and higher education sectors need to connect with AAPI community leaders and organizations to enhance the cultural capacity of our institutions and improve student outcomes.
- We need to modify our desired learning outcomes and provide curricula that reflect Asian American and Pacific Islander history, art, literature, and culture.

##      We encourage educators, advocates, and scholars to go to the project web site located at: http://www.nyu.edu/projects/care for additional resources, including:

-      We encourage educators, advocates, and scholars to go to the project web site located at: _[http://www.nyu.edu/projects/care](http://www.nyu.edu/projects/care)_ for additional resources, including:
- an extensive annotated bibliography
- a list of activities by the commission related to the project
- research that examines key trends related to AAPIs in education

- National Commission on Asian American
- and Pacific Islander Research in Education