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In recent years, many U.S. school districts required that U.S. history instruction include an Asian American and Pacific Islander K-12 curriculum. When reporters with the Hechinger Report asked Asian American students what they wanted from history instruction, a 17-year-old student from Bangladesh replied. “I want people to stop telling me, ‘You’re not Asian.’ I want people to stop assuming that I’m Indian.” This situation highlights a cultural perspective in America, as noted by Time Magazine, where not all regions of Asia are equally recognized or represented in the common perception of “Asian” identity.

The 2016 National Asian American Survey revealed that a significant portion of Americans across various racial groups did not commonly view individuals of Indian or Pakistani descent as Asian or Asian American. This perception contrasts with the U.S. Census Bureau’s definition, which categorizes Asian Americans as individuals with origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. This includes countries like India, China, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Pakistan, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh, and others.

Diversity Among Asian American Students

In the fall of 2021, the enrollment of Asian students in U.S. public K-12 schools reached 2.7 million, according to the National Center on Education Statistics (NCES). Between 2010 and 2021, Asian students increased from 4.6% to 5.4% of the total student population in public schools. Nationwide, about 30% of Asian American students attended high-poverty schools, where more than half of the student body is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. More Asian students attended high-poverty schools in cities (45%) and towns (44%) compared with their peers in suburbs (21%) and rural areas (16%).

Many Asian students speak a language other than English at home, although according to the 2016 NCES data, about 80% of Asian children under the age of 18 in the U.S. were native-born. In certain Asian subgroups, the percentage of native-born children was higher (e.g., 86% of Vietnamese, 90% of Cambodian, 95% of Hmong, and 96% of Laotian). In contrast, other subgroups, such as Burmese (42%) and Chinese (77%), had fewer American-born children. In the fall of 2020, public schools served 503,800 Asian students who were classified as English learners (ELs). The predominant languages spoken at home among these EL students included Chinese, spoken by 93,300 students, Vietnamese by 73,100 students, Hmong by 28,700 students, and Urdu by 25,200 students.

Compared with students of other races and ethnicities, a smaller proportion of Asian students, about 8%, were recipients of services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Within the population of Asian students receiving IDEA services, 41% were identified with specific learning disabilities or speech/language impairments. Additionally, 29% of Asian students with disabilities were reported to have autism. This rate of autism prevalence among Asian students is greater than that observed in their peers from other racial or ethnic backgrounds, where the prevalence typically ranges from 8% to 13%.

Not Every Asian American Student is a High Achiever

“On average, Asian American students obtain higher grades, perform better on standardized tests, and are more likely to finish high school and attend elite colleges than their peers of all other racial backgrounds, regardless of socioeconomic status,” writes Leah Shafer in The Other Achievement Gap in 2017. While it is critical to acknowledge Asian American success, the reality is that some subgroups within Asian students face various challenges and struggle to achieve highly, just like their peers of other races/ethnicities. For example,

The overall high school dropout rate for 18- to 24-year-olds was 5.2% in 2021, but the rate for Asian group students was 2.1%. The 2016 data show that among Asian 16- to 24-year-olds, high school dropout rates ranged from 0.7% for individuals of Korean descent to 29.7% for those of Burmese descent.

The overall college enrollment rate for 18- to 24-year-olds was 38% in 2021, but the rate for Asian group students was 60%. The 2016 data show that among Asian students subgroups, the average college enrollment rate ranged from 23% for Burmese to 81% for other Southeast Asian (including Indonesian and Malaysian).

In 2016, the percentages of Asian Indian (74%), Korean (56%), and Chinese (55%) adults who had earned at least a bachelor’s degree were higher than the average of 54% for all Asian adults. In contrast, the percentages for some subgroups were much lower than the average for all Asian adults; e.g., Bhutanese (10%), Cambodian (16%), Hmong (18%), Laotian (18%), Burmese (21%), Vietnamese (29%).

It’s important to understand that Asian American communities are not monolithic and face unique sets of challenges. As of 2023, approximately 20 states have mandated Asian American Studies in their school curricula. Encouragingly, school districts have started studying disaggregated data of their Asian American students and implementing strategies to meet specific needs of Asian communities.