Definitions
Hispanic or Latino

A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

American Indian or Alaskan Native

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains a tribal affiliation or community attachment.

Asian

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Black or African-American

A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

White

 A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East or North Africa.

International

A person who is not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and who is in this country on a temporary basis.

Unknown or Not Reported

The unknown classification is used if a racial/ethnic designation has not been selected.

Methodology

Federal reporting of race/ethnicity categories changed effective fall 2010. The new reporting categories will make longitudinal comparisons problematic.

Race/ethnicity categories were revised to include a two-question format:

  1. ethnicity (Hispanic or non-Hispanic); and
  2. race (African American, White, Asian American, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Native American), which are reported for non-Hispanics only.

More than one race may be selected. For state reporting and comparisons, multi-racial is separated into "Multi-racial (incl. African Am)" when African American and another race is selected and "Multi-racial (excl. African Am)" for any combination of the other races. International is a separate category and is excluded from race/ethnicity breakouts.

Dashboard Race & Ethnicity Groupings

  • White
  • African American (includes 'Multi-Racial, including African American' category)
  • Hispanic
  • Asian (includes 'Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander' category)
  • International
  • Other Races (includes 'American Indian or Alaskan Native'; 'Multi-Racial, excluding African-Americans'; and Unknown categories)

Sources

U.S. Department of Education New Race and Ethnicity Guidance for the Collection of Federal Education Data (August 2008)