Demographics: St. Paul Asian American Students Lagging

Just a good article on the demographics of Asian American students in St. Paul.

According to the article, Asian American students make up 31 percent of all students in the district with about two-thirds Hmong, followed by Karen and several other ethnic groups for the last 1/3.

A few highlights:

On last year's Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, just 38 percent of St. Paul's Asian-American students were proficient in math, compared with 59 percent statewide. Their reading proficiency was 29 percent, compared with 51 percent for the state.

Significant differences in that data the data below.

And judging by the ACT scores of last year's seniors, Asian-American students as a group are less ready for college than any other racial group in the district: Girls averaged a score of 17, and boys 18. Nationally, the ACT average for Asian-Americans was 23.5 last year.

Not all is coming from behind.

Among the positive indicators for the students are that they have the lowest rates of suspension and chronic absence, and their graduation rate is slightly better than the district average.