Education Needs of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders

From http://www.nea.org/newsreleases/2007/nr070814.html

August 14, 2007

NEA Highlights Education Needs of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders
Encourages programs to improve achievement, college attendance and services

WASHINGTON—The National Education Association is calling for a series of changes to improve opportunities for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities facing educational challenges. Among the NEA’s priorities is addressing the “model minority” myth, which promotes the false assumption that everyone in this diverse group excels in school, on tests and in life.

“The model minority myth is detrimental because it overlooks those students who need help and support,” said Reg Weaver, president of NEA. “Some Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders face significant challenges because of unique historical circumstances and socioeconomic factors. It is a great disservice to our children to lump test scores together and say everyone is doing well instead of examining ethnic specific data to determine challenges and solutions.”
NEA is urging a number of initiatives to improve AAPI achievement and services. They include the following:• NEA supports the creation of a higher education Asian American and Pacific Islander Serving Institution designation, similar to other ethnicities. This move would improve the infrastructure to serve low-income AAPI students in hopes of helping AAPI communities that have low college graduation rates.• NEA recommends improving research on AAPIs so that it disaggregates data by ethnicity and looks at the learning experiences of individual ethnicities, resulting in improvements to support services and instruction where needed.• NEA supports the federal government creating and funding policies under the so-called No Child Left Behind Act to ensure schools have more capacity to serve English language learners and that these students are assessed accurately and fairly. NCLB’s parental involvement requirements should be strengthened to ensure that there is more outreach to AAPI parents, including bilingual support.• NEA recommends ensuring that teachers are culturally competent; history lessons accurately convey AAPI history and contributions; and AAPI educators, who are underrepresented in U.S. classrooms, are recruited and retained.

While educational attainment among some AAPI groups is relatively high, graduation rates for Pacific Islanders and Southeast Asian groups demonstrate the need for focused resources. Census 2000 data shows the percentage of AAPIs who are over age 25 and have less than a high school education: 59.6% of Hmong, 53.3% of Cambodians, 49.6% of Lao and 38.1% of Vietnamese. According to The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts, the national graduation rate is about 70 percent.

Similar problems are reflected in the number of AAPIs who earn advanced degrees. The national average is 24 percent, but only 7.5% of Hmong, 19.4% of Vietnamese and 13.8% of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders over age 25 have earned a bachelor’s degree or more based on Census figures.

The NEA recommendations are consistent with the Association’s commitment to serving Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and closing gaps in student achievement. In 2005, NEA and the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies hosted a summit that discussed the problems experienced by underserved groups and possible solutions. NEA also works closely with a wide range of AAPI groups on education issues and supports the goals recently established in the education priorities of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
“We share the responsibility of providing great public schools for every child,” Weaver added. “We must work with other organizations to level the playing field and create opportunities for future generations. The unique educational needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders must not be overlooked."