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Jun 13, 2008, 09:48AM

De-Bunking The "Studious Asian" Stereotype

At college campuses across the country, Asian-American students are pitted as the "smart kids," students who live in the library, poring over textbooks and math equations until the sun comes up. These stereotypes have lived on for years, but a recent New York University study attempted to clarify the generalization.

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The image of Asian-Americans as a homogeneous group of high achievers taking over the campuses of the nation's most selective colleges came under assault in a report issued Monday.

The report, by New York University, the College Board, and a commission of mostly Asian-American educators and community leaders, largely avoids the debates over both affirmative action and the heavy representation of Asian-Americans at the most selective colleges.

But it pokes holes in stereotypes about Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, including the perception that they cluster in science, technology, engineering, and math. And it points out that the term "Asian-American" is extraordinarily broad, embracing members of many ethnic groups.

"Certainly there's a lot of Asians doing well, at the top of the curve, and that's a point of pride, but there are just as many struggling at the bottom of the curve, and we wanted to draw attention to that," said Robert T. Teranishi, the NYU education professor who wrote the report, "Facts, Not Fiction: Setting the Record Straight."

 

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