Imagine being handed a script for your life before you’ve learned your lines. For millions of Asian American students, this script is the “model minority” myth: you are studious, disciplined, and destined for success. But this stereotype is not a leg up; it is a cage.

Behind the myth of universal success lies a reality our schools too often ignore. In California's community colleges, on-time completion rates for some Asian (7%) and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (5%) students are shockingly low. By grouping dozens of cultures into one “Asian” box, we celebrate a few and erase the rest.

The term “Asian American” covers families whose stories stretch from centuries in the U.S. to those newly arrived as refugees. While more than 75% of Indian Americans hold a bachelor’s degree, only 15% of Bhutanese Americans do, according to Pew Research Center. When schools only look at the aggregate average, they mistake invisibility for success.

The Psychology Behind the Problem

Disaggregating data reveals a different story: a sharp divide in belonging and engagement. Students who feel proud of their heritage tend to focus better and participate more, whereas those burdened by the "model minority" stereotype often withdraw: speaking less, tuning out, and resisting expectations they never chose.

Psychologists call this Ethnic-Racial Identity (ERI), a person’s sense of belonging to a cultural, national, or racial group and their understanding of what that membership means. ERI is a core part of how we see ourselves and how others see us.

The research is clear: when young people are given the space to explore and feel proud of who they are, they become more motivated and emotionally invested in their education, according to a landmark 2014 study. Conversely, students who feel pressure to hide or suppress parts of their identity often disengage.

Yet our school data systems erase this process altogether. By collapsing dozens of ethnicities into “Asian,” they erase the very identities students need to thrive. A single impressive average hides the students quietly falling behind.

Schools also miss an opportunity to foster what psychologists call positive ERI attitudes, which links to real outcomes like showing up to class, following rules, and valuing education. Students high in both identity commitment and multicultural openness were the most engaged across all areas of school life.

They didn’t simply behave better; they belonged.

Some critics fear that recognizing subgroup differences divides students or lowers standards. The opposite is true. Seeing difference is how real inclusion begins. When educators understand that a Vietnamese student’s challenges differ from those of a Korean or Filipino peer, they can provide support that actually fits.

Moving Beyond the Average

It's time for our education system to move beyond the average and see the individual. Here’s how:

1. Disaggregate the data. Schools must report achievement, discipline, and climate data by detailed ethnicity. You can’t fix what you don’t measure.

2. Train educators. Teachers need professional development to understand diversity within the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community and to challenge the “model minority” myth in classrooms. Cultural identity should be treated not as a checkbox, but as a bridge, where acknowledgment becomes belonging, and discipline becomes collaboration.

3. Invest in ERI support. Help students explore their roots and build pride in who they are. When they feel seen and supported, they show stronger belonging, focus, and respect for school expectations.

Students follow rules when they feel they have a place in them. True excellence isn’t measured by perfection at the top, but by possibility for all.