iCount: A Data Quality Movement for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Higher Education

Citing numerous calls over the last two decades to disaggregate data so that the educational experiences and outcomes of specific Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) groups are revealed, iCount argues that "the aggregation of AAPI sub-groups into a single data category is a civil rights issue" because it masks significant gaps in educational participation and achievement on the part of some groups.

For example, 37.4 percent of Cambodian adults and 29.4 percent of Vietnamese lack a high school diploma, as compared to 7.9 percent of Filipinos and 5.3 percent of Japanese. There are also significant differences in the median income of AAPI sub-groups. Teranishi, Lok, and Nguyen escribe a case study of a successful AAPI data disaggregation movement at the University of California, a student-driven campaign called Count Me In. Collecting and reporting data by subgroups has permitted administrators at the University to see what student populations are underrepresented and to use resources for programs and services in a more effective manner. The report has a separate chapter devoted to the needs of Pacific Islander communities, one of the most disadvantaged segments of the AAPI population. The report recommends that educational institutions make disaggregated data available to institutional researchers, administrators, faculty, and students and urges philanthropic institutions and the U.S. Department of Education to be partners in the data refinement effort. (Abstract courtesy of Dr. Nicholas V. Montalto).

Download it here or view it online.