Fast Facts: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (1102)

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Question:
For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage (AAPI) Month 2023, what data do you have on the learning experiences of AAPI students throughout their education careers and the characteristics of AAPI teachers and faculty?

Response:

Early Childhood

In 2021, some 72.3 percent of Asian¹ 3- to 5-year-olds were enrolled in school (source).

K–12 Education

Students

In fall 2021, some 5.4 percent of students enrolled in public preK–12 schools were Asian and 0.4 percent were Pacific Islander² (source).
At private schools in 2019–20, some 6.6 percent of students were Asian and 0.7 percent were Pacific Islander (source).
In fall 2021, some 41.4 percent of Asian and 53.5 percent of Pacific Islander students attended public schools where students of color comprised at least 75 percent of total enrollment (source).
As a percentage of preK–12 public school students in 2020–21, some 7.6 percent of Asian and 11.6 percent of Pacific Islander students enrolled in public schools received special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).³ The most common category of disability for students served under IDEA was autism for Asian students (27.1 percent) and specific learning disabilities for Pacific Islander students (38.1 percent) (source).

Teachers and Principals

In 2020–21, some 2.4 percent of all public school teachers and 2.5 percent of all private school teachers were Asian, while 0.2 percent of public school teachers were Pacific Islander (source).
In 2020–21, some 4.1 percent of public school teachers in city schools were Asian compared with 2.6 percent in suburban schools, 0.8 percent in town schools, and 0.5 percent in rural schools. In addition, the percentage of Pacific Islander teachers ranged from 0.1 to 0.2 percent across locales (source).
In 2020–21, some 1.0 percent of all public school principals and 2.4 percent of all of private school principals were Asian, while 0.3 percent of public school principals were Pacific Islander (source).
In 2020–21, some 2.0 percent of public school principals in city schools were Asian, compared with 0.9 percent in suburban schools. In addition, the percentage of Pacific Islander principals ranged from 0.3 to 0.4 percent across locales (source).

Postsecondary Education

Students

In fall 2020, there were 1.3 million Asian students and 49,000 Pacific Islander students enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary institutions. Some 7.4 percent of U.S. resident students enrolled in degree-granting institutions were Asian, while 0.3 percent were Pacific Islander (source).
Some 77.7 percent of first-time Asian students and 53.6 percent of first-time Pacific Islander students who began seeking a bachelor’s degree full time at a 4-year institution in fall 2015 completed that degree at the same institution within 6 years (i.e., by 2021) (source).
In 2020–21, postsecondary institutions awarded 90,930 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees/certificates to Asian students and 1,287 STEM degrees to Pacific Islander students (source).

Infocard with text “In 2020–21, postsecondary institutions awarded 90,930 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees/certificates to Asian students and 1,287 STEM degrees to Pacific Islander students.” Next to the text is a graphic of various STEM icons. At the bottom of the image is the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) logo.

In 2020–21, some 13.6 percent of STEM bachelor’s degrees/certificates conferred to U.S. citizens and permanent residents were awarded to Asian students and 0.2 percent were awarded to Pacific Islander students (source).

Faculty

In fall 2020, there were 90,438 full-time Asian faculty members and 1,215 full-time Pacific Islander faculty members at degree-granting postsecondary institutions, representing 10.8 and 0.1 percent of all full-time faculty, respectively (source).
Of the 90,438 full-time Asian faculty members at degree-granting postsecondary institutions in fall 2020, the most commonly held position was professor (21,938). Of the 1,215 full-time Pacific Islander faculty members, the most commonly held position was assistant professor (289) (source).
In fall 2020, there were 51,135 full-time male Asian faculty members and 587 full-time male Pacific Islander faculty members at degree-granting postsecondary institutions, compared with 39,303 full-time female Asian faculty members and 628 full-time female Pacific Islander female faculty members (source).
In fall 2020, Asian/Pacific Islander males made up 6.8 percent of full-time faculty and Asian/Pacific Islander females made up 5.3 percent of full-time faculty at degree-granting postsecondary institutions (source).⁴

The data in this figure is described in the surrounding text.

Adult Outcomes

In 2022, some 99.1 percent of Asian 25- to 29-year-olds and 90.4 percent of Pacific Islander 25- to 29-year-olds had completed at least high school (source).

¹ Throughout this Fast Fact, all references to Asian or Pacific Islander exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
² Throughout this Fast Fact, Pacific Islander refers to persons who indicated that they were Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
³ Not all students served under IDEA receive services in public school settings.
⁴ Percentages are based on full-time faculty whose race/ethnicity was known. Race/ethnicity was not collected for U.S. nonresidents.

Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date)

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