Asian Americans in Education
Introduction
​
Recent years have witnessed a drastic increase in the academic performance of Asian American students in elementary school, high school and higher education compared to African American students and other minority groups. From a very young age, Asian Americans are guided by parents, their home environment and their culture into considering education as their top priority. The academic success of Asian Americans in the United States is one of the reasons that the media has projected them as "model minority". However, in the 1960s and 1970s Asian Americans were living under challenging living and working condition. Thomas Sowell wrote that “Groups that arrived in America financially destitute have rapidly risen affluence, when the cultures stressed the values and behavior required in an industrial and commercial economy.” Throughout the years, Asian American’s living conditions improved, which may be partly because of excelling in education.
This article will discuss how the perception of Asian Americans as model minority evolves with accomplishments in the US education system and how it differs from African American. This article will also compare the situation at elementary school, high school and higher education.
​
There are multiple reasons for Asian Americans’ academic success some of which are: 1) culture 2) parental involvement 3) home resources 4) peer influence. Culture has a significant role in the upbringing of Asian Americans – East Asians cultural traditions revere education, self-esteem, and family honor. Several in-depth interviews were conducted by Schneider & Lee to demonstrate how academic achievement is indistinguishably linked to children’s perception of what makes their parents happy. Their findings suggest that American parents express contentment with their children even if their performance is not flawless. Asian American parents, on the other hand, express satisfaction only when their children have near perfect academic performance, for example straight A’s only. Hence, it can be argued that Asian Americans culture is very much different from the American or African American culture, which is the one of the reasons for their high achievements in academics.
​
Another significant reason for their success lies in the education of the parents. The average Asian American parent has achieved more education than African-American or American parents. That puts Asian American parents at advantage as they are more likely to understand and discuss education with their children and topics talked about at school, or maybe even help them with any difficulties that their children face at school. According to David Baker and David L. Stevenson, parents must be conscious of the demands of the school, their children’s performance at school and regularly attend a parents’ evening. They found that mothers with higher socioeconomic status had more concrete information about their children’s performance and contact with the school. It can be argued that African American parental involvement in their children’s school matters is slightly less compared to Asian American parents, which explains why their children’s score is less on tests as opposed to Asian American children. However, there is deeply rooted historical reason for African Americans not developing a culture of prioritizing education. As mentioned above, even Asian Americans faced racial issues in the 1960s and 70s, but they managed to pursue their education and move forward in life. African Americans encountered this problem differently. The prohibition of education for African Americans had deep roots in American history. According to the 1847 Virginia Criminal Code: “Any white person who shall assemble with slaves, [or] free negroes . . . for the purpose of instructing them to read or write, . . . shall be punished by confinement in the jail . . . and by fine . . .” Under this code, Margaret Douglass, of Norfolk, Virginia, a previous slaveholder, was arrested and sent to prison when authorities found out that she was teaching “free colored children” of the Christ's Church Sunday school. Hence, it can be argued that part of the reason why African Americans cannot be as successful at academic performances as Asian Americans for instance, is because they were not allowed to pursue education in the first place. Since they were banned from school, African American parents were not even given the opportunity to provide their children with the same resources and values as Asian American parents.
Some researchers emphasize the importance of home resources which include books, a well-functioning computer/laptop, a comfortable chair and desk etc. Teachman argues that the availability of home resources creates a better learning environment and further encourages one to study. He also specified that parents with a higher education and hence a higher income are more likely to provide such home resources for their children’s education. Hence, it can also be argued that there is a correlation between education and higher income. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to have a well-paid job and hence provide home resources that further create a better learning environment.
However, African Americans are not as well equipped as Asian Americans. Due to segregation, African Americans live in rather poor areas and thus do not have qualified teachers. Their schools are mostly not funded and due to the lack of resources a proper learning environment is not established. Again, this is an issue that is deeply rooted in history and to this day most of the areas where African Americans are dominant, that is still the case.
​
It was also found out that the impact of peer groups has a positive effect on academic performance. According to Corsaro and Eder, student select friends who have similar attitudes towards leaning, school and college plans. The same applies to Asian Americans who prefer to be in groups consisting of Asian Americans. In this case, the academic performance is positively influenced and can only benefit the student.
​
In sum, Asian Americans tend to have higher mean levels of educational achievements than African Americans due to different reasons. Parental involvement, culture and values have a significant impact on the academic achievement as well as home resources and the socioeconomic status.
​
Elementary School
Asian Americans are widely perceived as model minority in the USA (for a more detailed analysis of this stereotype, click here). Generally, this perception is often aligning with expectations of a higher socio-economic standard, high income, and high achievements in education than the average member white American majority or other minorities. In contrast, African Americans are, compared with other ethnic groups, most likely attributed with negative stereotypes. Moreover, members of the African American minority are not only often negatively stigmatized, but they also often face a relativization the negative effects of this stigmatization which leads to unique challenges for them. One could argue these two aspects, the stigmatization and the relativization, are self-enforcing and lead to increasing disadvantages for the African American minority. A direct comparison of both minorities might then be influenced by the stigmatization that it reinforces a mutual perception.
​
Generally, the perception of both groups is largely different. Since a perception of an ethnic group is often probably rather based on individual observations than on obtained data, this report analyses to what extend the perception of Asian Americans and their attributions as model minority compared to the situation of African Americans is justified in terms of their educational achievements. Although it covers only one stereotype of the model minority concept, these findings might help to understand and open new perspectives to question the whole concept. Since the US education system is complex, the report individually discusses three stages elementary school, high school, and college.
​
For the investigation of the situation at elementary schools, it focusses on two issues that assumingly play a crucial role in maintaining stigmatization and creating stereotypes. First, it investigates the influence of the differentiation between public and private schools by which an early segregation, that strongly determines educational achievements as well as influences stereotyping, take place. Second, assessment of public schools and their distribution according to poverty rates. Third, it examines overall achievements at the end of elementary school.
​
Usually, children between five and eleven years in the US attend either public or private elementary schools which deliver primary education. One could argue that the differentiation between public and private schools at such an early level of education could initiate certain perceptions of educational success because schools often differ in reputation. Private schools are assumingly expected to have high standards and provide excellence while public schools often lack resources, staff, and general quality. Since private schools charge high fees, they are probably more often favoured by middle or upper-class families’ children. Children of the lower socio-economic spectrum, on the other hand, probably are often enrolled at public schools. The first stage of the school system could therefore already indicate the expected educational success, so that an exclusive system is highly questionable.
​
Data show that ten percent of pupils that are enrolled in private elementary schools are Asian Americans whereas only six percent are Black Americans. In comparison with the overall population, of which 15 percent are, African Americans are underrepresented at private elementary schools. In contrast, the share of Asian Americans mirrors the overall share. Thus, one could argue that the underrepresentation of African Americans and the correspondence of Asian Americans lead to an image of overrepresentation of Asian Americans at private schools which then might suggest their general high socio-economic standard. Since the reputation of private schools is widely perceived as indicator for further educational achievements, these numbers might support the named stereotypes. Performances at public schools might align with an effect that this success is assumingly disproportionate valued.
​
Another major issue could be seen in the distribution of public schools according to the socio-economic situation of their students. The NCES defines low-poverty, mid-low poverty, mid-high poverty, and high poverty schools depending of the percentage of students who are eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program NSLP. If, for example, 75 percent of the students are eligible, the school is defined as high-poverty school. As an NCES study suggests, Asian Americans who are enrolled in public schools predominately visit low or mid-low poverty schools. In numbers, 40 percent low poverty, 26 percent mid-low poverty 19 percent high-mid poverty and 14 percent high poverty schools. In contrast, 73 percent of African Americans are enrolled at mid-high or high poverty schools. Their share in high poverty ranked schools is the biggest of all ethnic groups. Moreover, since the share of African Americans at high poverty schools is the highest, these students are most likely overrepresented among the 75 percent of the NSLP. The situation for Asian Americans is probably opposite. Since they do not often go to these schools, they are less likely among the students who are eligible for the program.
​
Thus, one could argue that these numbers assumingly influence the perception of the groups for several reasons. First, the share of African Americans compared to the overall population is significantly high. Such a representation could then maintain the image and stigmatization of African Americans. Second, Asian Americans are underrepresented at poverty ranked schools whereby, in the perception, the exception confirms the standard, here the image of the model minority. Third, even if African Americans over perform at their public school, the fact that it often is a mid or high poverty school probably often diminishes their success in the general perception because of reputation and general prejudice.
​
All in all, Asian Americans and African Americans often take different tracks at young ages in terms of education that most likely influences stereotyping. Asian Americans do, compared to their share of the overall population, often visit private elementary schools. This assumingly results in the effect that they are perceived as overrepresented at these private and highly recognized institutions with indicated educational success. On the other hand, educational institutions that probably support negative images, such as high poverty ranked schools, often have an insignificant Asian American student body. The situation of African Americans could be described as exact opposite. While they are underrepresented at private schools, they are the dominant group at public schools. Moreover, most of them go to schools with the alleged worst reputation, like high poverty ranked schools.
​
Generally, one could argue that the differentiation and separation of elementary schools is problematic because it assumingly supports existing stereotypes. From a perspective of affected, they are more likely aware of being stigmatized. From a perspective of majority, it justifies perceptions of certain groups.
​
​
Elementary school is followed by middle school for students, but since little meaningful data is available here, this article moves directly to high school and how, or whether, a difference between Asian American and African American students is evident there.
​
High School
In 2016-2019, 94% of all Americans successfully graduated from high school. The Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count Data Center combined data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample and found the following. Overall, 28,730,000 total students in America were in high school or graduated from high school in 2015-2019. That’s, as already mentioned, 94% of the overall population. Now, if we look at the Asian American and Black/African American groups, we notice that Asian American people seem to be overrepresented here as well with 1,732,000 students or graduates from high schools. That's 98% of high-school aged Asian Americans.
Meanwhile, 4,198,000 African American students attended or graduated from high school that's 92% of African American high-school aged students. 
This data looks at 18-24 year olds. Looking at the population for the same age group, it is noticeable that young adults who are Asian American made up only 5% or 6% of the population in this age group, respectively, in 2015-2019. In comparison: young adults were African American, always in the spectrum towards 15% or 14%. Thus, 98%, Asian American students are above the national average, indicating that there might be an overrepresentation. African American students, with their 92%, are thus just below the national average, again showing that there is a difference between Asian American and African American students. This means that the patterns that already started in elementary school seem to continue. Data shows that only 4% (164,000) of Asian American and Pacific Islanders live in a high-poverty area, whereas 22% of Black or African American young adults, which means 2,277,000 children live in these areas.
This seems to confirm that there is an underrepresentation of Asian American children in poverty ranked schools as already mentioned in the contribute of the elementary school, as not many Asian American children live in high-poverty areas.
It is also interesting to note that schools with a higher percentage of African American students have less experienced and less qualified teachers. The percentage of African American youth attending schools with more than 20 percent of teachers who are in their first year of employment is four percent. Asian American students are represented here by only two percent, again a lower figure.
Further, as a result, there also appears to be a disparity in which students have access to which courses. The United States Department of Education collected data in 2014 to determine which race and ethnicity had full access to math and science courses. The result: Asian American students had 81% access to full range of math and science courses, but only 57% of African American students were able to benefit from these courses. This poses a major problem for African American young adults, as the level of coursework available is a key area for college readiness. Several courses are classified as a fully comprehensive program in America. These include Algebra I and II, biology, chemistry and so on. Data shows that schools with high African American enrollments often don’t offer these courses and if they are offered, African Americans are underrepresented in them.
That there may be a disparity between the two ethnic groups in science is also shown by the data examining the proportion of students who scored below proficient math achievement level. Considering that African American are underrepresented in courses that nurture these skills, the results are not unexpected. In 2022, 91% of Black or African American students were below proficient math achievement level. In comparison, only 44% of Asian American or Pacific Islander students scored below this proficiency level.
However, regarding the stereotype of being a model minority and “always being good at maths and science“ this may proof, that these statements are simply that - stereotypes and prejudices. Even if they seem positive at first, they create pressure and misconceptions.
Also, the school dropout rates are significantly higher for black students (7.0%) than for Asian American students (2.0%) according to the American Community Survey (ACS) data. But not only the dropout rate might be interesting for us to compare the performance of both ethnic groups but also how many students have been expelled from school.
In 2017 to 2018 101,652 students were not allowed at school for disciplinary purposes. Only 1,024 students were Asian American students but 36,934 Black or African American were not allowed at school for the rest of the school year or even longer. This also means that in the time of this absence from school the chances of getting basic education are lower.
This can also result in students taking longer to graduate from high school. 7% of Asian and Pacific Islander failed to graduate within the allotted four years in 2018-2019. This was a different story for Black or African American, where 20% of students failed to graduate from high school in the allotted time.
Since high school is a crucial factor in entering colleges and universities, the chances for African American students are apparently worse than for Asian Americans. Obviously, this pattern continues from elementary school throughout high school and determines the chances of success in their future lives. Both ethnic groups are and will be minorities in America. Asian Americans are always seen as a model minority, successful, and that's why a large part of society thinks that all those who belong to this group have already achieved everything and therefore don't need support like other minorities in American society, according to Quan. And here lies the problem for other ethnic minorities in America: if Asian Americans can overcome racism and problems that were reserved for immigrants, then other minorities should and must be able to do so as well - hence it can only be their own fault and laziness for not doing so. African American students also suffer from this. A more detailed analysis of this stereotype can be found here.
​
Higher Education
Asian Americans also show above-average performance in higher education. Here, prior knowledge and remarkable achievements in their school career are of great importance. In contrast, African Americans tend to be associated with lower achievement in higher education compared to other ethnic groups. It could be argued that due to the early negative stigmatisation of African Americans and the comparatively poorer opportunities for education in school, they also find it difficult to access higher education. As mentioned earlier, there are already huge differences between the African Americans and Asian Americans in social structure, economic prosperity, and opportunities for education. However, this access to education, especially higher education, is necessary to achieve economic prosperity, political influence, and social status.
In general, the two groups are already very differently represented in higher education. According to the US Department of Education, only 9 % of college students were African American in 1976, while the share of students rose to 13 % in 2020. Also noteworthy is a 2010 statistic provided by Statista showing that only 38% of African Americans have a college degree or more, compared to 65% of Asian Americans. Furthermore, already within the school career, the personal attitudes of Asian Americans showed a tendency towards motivation, commitment, and higher demands on themselves. While Asian American parents expect higher educational goals from their children than other ethnic groups, according to one study, African Americans find it difficult to make any presence at all in higher education and to be as successful as possible. Looking first at the historical background of African Americans, it becomes clear that they were brought to America as slaves and were not allowed to be educated. Thus, they did not have the same access to education as other ethnic groups and the conditions of African Americans and Asian Americans are different. Asian parents can offer their children better support in school due to their personally better educational qualifications, which has a positive effect on their own development in education. This difference in educational access is particularly evident as African Americans secretly attended school, even when college education was severely limited for them. According to one study, some African Americans were used as test subjects to see if blacks deserved a college education.
It is also evident from student enrollments at American universities that not every institution wanted to admit black students because they were seen as inferior students and finally Asian Americans were given preference due to prejudices that existed against African Americans. According to Xie and his reasons why Asian Americans have an academic advantage over other ethnic groups, Asian Americans have higher grades and are more likely to graduate from college to attend a university. It is also expressed that they are most likely to attend elite colleges. Other studies also confirm the bias and prioritisation of colleges and universities. Often, disparities in higher education continue to be attributed to racial disparities being too great and the prestige of the institutions making it a major barrier for African Americans to graduate from or even be enrolled at certain colleges. This is because the most prestigious and leading universities set standards that are adopted by other institutions, making it difficult or even impossible for African Americans to gain admission to universities.
​
Furthermore, due to the reasons mentioned above, it became apparent since the 1970s that only a small number of African American students could be found at well-known and elite colleges. Thus, colleges were founded that were to be available exclusively to coloured people: Cheyney State College (1839), Lincoln University (1854) in Pennsylvania and Wilberforce University (1856) in Ohio. Here, 28 African Americans were able to earn their bachelor's degrees by 1860. This proved that African Americans could attend college and graduate with good results, contrary to expectations and bias against the entire ethnic group. Also, as African Americans continue to access universities, another study found that African Americans are more likely to be represented at community colleges (more than half of African Americans), with only 40% of white students enrolled there. This shows that there continues to be a large difference in ethnic groups in attendance at college.
An overrepresentation of African Americans is also found at for-profit institutions, where students have to pay higher tuition fees, where student loan defaults are more common, and where few graduate. This further clearly shows that access to higher education has been very difficult for African Americans. Moreover, the systematic exclusion of these students from most selective private institutions confirms the reality of institutional racism, anti-blackness and white supremacy taking place in US higher education.
This exclusion is also reflected in the academic degrees achieved in 2018/2019. According to one statistic, 8.2% of Asian Americans achieved a bachelor's degree and 7.5% a master's degree, while 10.3% of African Americans achieved a bachelor's degree and 13.4% a master's degree. To complete a bachelor's degree, African Americans need an average of 64 months, according to the National Centre for Education Statistics, whereas Asian Americans need only 48 months. However, although more African American students have been able to earn a degree, their chances of being employed at a higher education institution are much lower compared to other ethnic groups.
In comparison, 65% of Asian Americans have a college degree or more, while only 38% of African Americans do. This actually striking difference is not reflected in academic rank, as 7% of Asian American males and 5% of Asian American females are lecturers, instructors, or even professors. Compared, 3% of male and 4% of female African Americans have an academic rank. The statistics of PhDs in the United States in 2021 also show clear disadvantages for African Americans. Only 3,040 blacks graduated with a doctorate, compared to 14,595 Asian Americans. This is also reflected in the employment figures at higher education institutions. The presence of African Americans in the US professoriate is limited to the lowest level of the academic prestige system, where only 4% are professors in higher education, compared to almost 10% Asian Americans.
In summary, by studying the education of Asian Americans in comparison to African Americans, it can be concluded that Asian students, through stable family structures and higher expectations of themselves, have a different work ethic, can perform much better, and thus can perform better in higher education opportunities. Even though African Americans try very hard to do well in school and college, there are still racial inequalities and prioritization that make access to good educational opportunities and higher education very difficult.
​
References
Baker, David P., an David L. Stevenson. “Mother’s strategies for Chidlren’s School Achievement: Managing the transition to high school.”Sociology of education 59 (1986):156-66.
​
“Children Living in High-Poverty Areas by Race and Ethnicity: Kids Count Data Center.” KIDS COUNT Data Center: A Project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, May 2022, datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/7753-children-living-in-high-poverty-areas-by-race-and-ethnicity.
​
“Children Who Have Been Expelled from School by Race and Ethnicity: Kids Count Data Center.” KIDS COUNT Data Center: A Project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Aug. 2021, datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/8834-children-who-have-been-expelled-from-school-by-race.
​
Clark, Reginald M. Family life and school achievement: Why poor black children sucees or fail. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983.
​
Corsaro, William A., & Donner Eder. “Chidlren’s Peer Culture.” Annual Review of Sociology (1990). 197.
“Doctorate Recipients in the U.S. by Ethnicity 2021.” Statista, National Science Foundation, 25 Oct.2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/240150/us-doctorate-recipients-by-ethnicity/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
​
“Eighth-Graders Who Scored below Proficient Math Achievement Level by Race and Ethnicity: Kids Count Data Center.” KIDS COUNT Data Center: A Project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Oct. 2022, datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/7665-eighth-graders-who-scored-below-proficient-math-achievement-level-by-race-and-ethnicity?loc=1&loct=1#detailed/1/any/false/1095,1729,871,573,36,867,38,18,16/9,168/14819.
​
“Explaining Asian Americans’ Academic Advantage over Whites | PNAS.” PNAS, PNAS, 2014, https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1406402111. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
​
“High School Students Not Graduating on Time by Race and Ethnicity: Kids Count Data Center.” KIDS COUNT Data Center: A Project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation., Apr. 2022, datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/9538-high-school-students-not-graduating-on-time-by-race-and-ethnicity?loc=1&loct=1#detailed/1/any/false/1696,1648,1603,1539,1381,1246/12,141,725,4041,1,185,13/18713.
​
“Indicator 17 Snapshot: High School Status Dropout Rates for Racial/Ethnic Subgroups.” Indicator 17 Snapshot: High School Status Dropout Rates for Racial/Ethnic Subgroups, National Center for Education Statistics , Feb. 2019, nces.ed.gov/programs/raceindicators/indicator_rdcs.asp.
​
“The NCES Fast Facts Tool Provides Quick Answers to Many Education Questions (National Center for Education Statistics).” National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education, https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=569. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
​
“The NCES Fast Facts Tool Provides Quick Answers to Many Education Questions (National Center for Education Statistics).” National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education, https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=72. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
​
“U.S. Immigrant Population, by Education Level and Ethnicity 2010.” Statista, Pew Research Center, June 2012, https://www.statista.com/statistics/233721/us-immigrant-population-with-a-college-education-by-ethnicity/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
​
“Young Adult Population Ages 18 to 24 by Race and Ethnicity: Kids Count Data Center.” KIDS COUNT Data Center: A Project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Oct. 2022, datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/11207-young-adult-population-ages-18-to-24-by-race-and-ethnicity?loc=1&loct=1#detailed/1/any/false/1729,37,871,870,573/69,67,7983/21595,21596.
​
Allen, Walter R., et al. “The Black Academic: Faculty Status among African Americans in U.S. Higher Education.” The Journal of Negro Education, vol. 69, no. 1/2, 2000, pp. 112–27. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2696268. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
​
Chang, Benjamin. "Asian Americans and Education." Online Submission (2017).
Chang, Benjamin. "Asian Americans and Education." Online Submission (2017). Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
​
Clewell, Beatriz Chu, and Bernice Taylor Anderson. “African Americans in Higher Education: An Issue of Access.” Humboldt Journal of Social Relations, vol. 21, no. 2, 1995, pp. 55–79. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23263010. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
​
Davidai, Shai and Jesse Walker. “Americans Misperceive Racial Disparities in Economic Mobility.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 2021: 793-806.
NCES; Private School Enrolment. The Condition of Education 2022 (2022).
https://www.aafe.org/who-we-are/our-history
https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/brown-segregation.htmlhttps://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgc/private-school-enrollment.
NCES; Public school students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. (2019). https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=898.
Nguyen, Tara. "The Achievement Gap within the Asian-American Community: Disaggregating Asian-American Ethnic Groups to Dismantle the Model Minority Myth." Metamorphosis (2021).
Priest, N, et al. “Stereotyping across intersections of race and age: Racial stereotyping among White adults working with children.” PLoS ONE 2018.
Quan, D. (1988). Asian Americans and law: Fighting the myth of success, Journal of Legal Education, 38(4), 619-628.
Sowell, Thomas. Ethnic America. A history. New Yorl: Basic, 1981
Suzuki, Matthew Joe Michio. Asian American Students in Independent Schools: Stereotypes, Myths, and Relationships with Other Students of Color. Diss. University of Pennsylvania, 2020.
Teachman, J. “Family Background, Educational Resources, and Educational Attainment.”American Sociological Review 52 (1987) 548.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2022, October). Eighth-graders who scored below proficient math
achievement level by race and ethnicity: Kids Count Data Center. KIDS COUNT data center: A project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Retrieved December 12, 2022, from https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/7665-eighth-graders-who-scored-below-proficient-math-achievement-level-by-race-and-ethnicity?loc=1&loct=1#detailed/1/any/false/1095,1729/9,168/14819.
Tsoi-A, Rhonda, and Fatt Bryant. "College preparation for African American students: Gaps in the high school educational experience." (2015).
Walter R. Allen, et al. “From Bakke to Fisher: African American Students in U.S. Higher Education over Forty Years.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, vol. 4, no. 6, 2018, pp. 41–72. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.7758/rsf.2018.4.6.03. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.