WASHINGTON
There is no model minority group, and access to higher education remains as much of a challenge for many Asian Americans as it is for other underrepresented groups, researchers said Monday at a press briefing to release a groundbreaking report.
Portrayed as the “model minority” group, Asian American and Pacific Islander students are praised for their Ivy League educations, fierce STEM field visibility and competitive standardized test scores. But this “model minority” stereotype obscures the reality of the complete Asian American Pacific Islander educational experience.
In a new report “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Fact, Not Fiction: Setting the Record Straight,” the College Board in collaboration with the National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE), debunks prevailing myths surrounding Asian Americans and Asian Pacific Islanders.
Supported by well-researched facts, the report concludes that Asian American and Pacific Islander students are not “taking over” higher education, they are not concentrated only in selective four-year universities and they are not a homogenous racial group with uniformity in educational and financial attainment.
Many Aisan American students do excel in high education, particularly in California, where they make up nearly 40 percent of admissions to the University of California’s three flaship schools.
The “model minority” stereotype is detrimental, the report states, noting that in assuming universal academic strength, teachers and counselors often do not extend help to their Asian American and Pacific Islander students.
