Statewide, and here in Los Angeles, Asian students who completed California’s 2024 assessments showed higher levels of proficiency in reading and math, compared to other racial groups. 

Asian kids’ dominance of California’s state tests echoes the results of national exams, where the same, long-standing trend of academic achievement by these students holds true in other cities and states across the country. 

So, why do Asian kids do so well on those exams? In my experience, the reasons are complicated.       

I grew up in L.A.’s San Gabriel Valley, where I attended high-performing public schools that enrolled a lot of Asian students like me. We consistently outperformed other schools and student groups across the state.

But here’s what the high test scores didn’t show. Many of us poured countless hours into our studies and extracurriculars. Many of us were also privileged enough to have tutors. 

Growing up, I had classmates who started their academic after-school programs in elementary school. And although not every family in the neighborhood had a tutor, education was definitely one of the top priorities for the majority in my community. 

We were in a high-pressure environment, and assimilation meant performing well. In high school, students engaged in afterschool activities, such as sports and academic clubs. Some parents paid tens of thousands on college counselors. 

All this pressure, however difficult at times, created “success,” which ultimately meant being accepted to reputable universities. Our graduating class had around 250 students. One of our most notable statistics for college admissions was 26 confirmed acceptances to U.C. Berkeley. 

However, a highly competitive atmosphere like this can exact psychological and social costs. 

Many students around me growing up were constantly stressed. It felt like college admissions were the be-all end-all. It shouldn’t be that way.

My mom and dad immigrated from China, and I am forever grateful for their dedication and sacrifices. One way to show my appreciation and that their efforts weren’t wasted was through my academic and professional achievements. 

It’s all part of the American Dream.

However, that pressure to succeed can also hold a dark side. 

A University of Michigan research project called found Asian students “often experience extreme pressure and stress.” We may also feel “the responsibility and guilt […] for [our] parents’ sacrifices.”

This is what academic achievement costs for some Asian students, and also probably what it costs some other kids from other ethnic groups. 

However, not every student has access to the same opportunities as me. And not everyone’s experience was like mine. 

While my school growing up provided structure, support, and community, many other students in L.A. are navigating underfunded schools. And often those students also have less academic support and face greater socio-economic instability. 

±ő’v±đ&˛Ô˛ú˛ő±č;worked as a tutor in South Central L.A., so I’ve seen some of these issues first-hand. 

I’ve worked with fourth graders struggling to read. It’s not that those students lacked the ability to learn. It’s that they’ve been disadvantaged by systematic issues and other external factors they can’t control.

But I believe that education is the great equalizer. And I think that we are making progress on fulfilling that potential. Organizations such as Teach for America, Khan Academy, Head Start, and PeerForward are excellent starting points in the ultimate goal of closing the achievement gap. 

It sounds simple, but it’s not. Educators and policymakers everywhere need to ensure every student has an equal opportunity to a quality education. It’s a multifaceted issue.

That’s why our conversation should not center solely on why Asian students score higher than other kids. We should also be talking about how to ensure that all students have all the resources they need to succeed.

The argument that admission to the nation’s most elite colleges is discriminatory against Asian Americans has been deemed inaccurate in a new study by researchers at Georgetown University’s Center of Education.

The study, “Selective Bias Asian Americans, Test Scores, and Holistic Admissions” found the current holistic admissions system, which looks at many aspects of a student’s application beyond their GPA and test scores and is used at many selective colleges, benefits Asian American applicants more than an alternative test-only system.

Critics have claimed holistic admissions and affirmative action conceals illegal practices of racial quotas and as a result, Asian American applicants are being denied to maintain a range of other ethnic groups.

But the study found that at the nation’s 91 elite colleges, Asian American enrollment has remained stable for the last 20 years.

The study also found that only a small number of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) would be admitted under a test-only system. Under the holistic admissions system, AAPI students typically gain nearly 14,500 spots in a year, while a test-only system only results in a mere 3,000 student gain.

The study explained the higher rate of Asian American students being rejected as a result of the higher proportion of Asian American applicants who apply to selective colleges regardless of their test scores.

Dr. Anthony Carnevale, the primary author in the Selective Bias Study, believes the debate over Asian Americans and affirmative action reflect a larger issue with college admissions.

“I firmly believe, as it shows in all our other work, the argument over Asian Americans, in a sense, misses the point. The real question here is what should we be using as metrics and other kinds of standards for admitting students?” said Dr. Carnevale. “This study begs the question of what should we do? What should colleges do, in terms of their admissions policies?”

Here are they key findings from the report:

1. Enrollment of Asian Americans at the Most Selective Colleges Has Remained Stable Over the Past Decade

In the past 20 years, Asian American enrollment increased to match changes in demographics of college’s incoming classes. Between 1999 and 2018, enrollment of AAPI at the most selective colleges grew by 4 percentage points; while their enrollment at other four-year schools grew by 2 percentage points.

2. Asian American Students are More Likely to Apply to Highly Selective Colleges Regardless of Test Scores than other Racial Groups

Asian Americans applicants with below average test scores are more likely than students from other ethnic groups to apply to selective colleges driving up the number of AAPI applicants, according to the study.

Of the Asian-American students who scored a 1300 and above on the SAT, 65% applied to the selective colleges in comparison to 50% of non-Asian American students. For students who scored below 1300, 12% of Asian American students applied to those schools compared to 5% of non-Asian American applicants.

3. In A Test-only Admissions System Would Produce Marginal Gains for Asian American Applicants 

Advocates have long pushed for a test-only, race-blind admissions system in their arguments against affirmative action. Advocates point to California schools, such as UC Berkeley and UCLA as examples of elite institutions with high numbers of Asian Americans students.

But in the study’s simulation of what would happen if college admissions did not use “race, legacy status, athletics, extracurricular activities, academic interest, ability to pay,” instead basing admission solely based on test scores, Asian American enrollment would only result in a mere 2% increase.

4. Many Asian American Applicants Already Benefit from Holistic Admissions

The simulation also showed that without holistic admissions, 21% of Asian American students and 39% of non-Asian American students would not have received acceptances, with their spots going to students with higher test scores.

In a solely test based approach, Asian American students who would have been denied overall do have higher test-scores, however, they are also “twice as likely as their non-Asian peers to have the lowest scores in the application pool.” This is because Asian Americans are not monolithic, as 40% of AAPI college students have test scores below than average.