The collection and reporting of race and ethnicity was updated in 2015-16 to align with U.S. Department of Education guidelines. Because of these changes, use caution when you interpret College Board reports and make comparisons between 2015-16 results and race and ethnicity subgroup data from prior years.
Test takers now complete a two-part question that asks them to indicate their racial and ethnic group.
Ethnicity categories are:
- Cuban
- Mexican
- Puerto Rican
- Another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin
- Not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin
Race categories are:
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian (including Indian subcontinent and Philippines origin)*
- Black or African American
- White (including Middle Eastern origin)
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
*Prior to 2016, this category was Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander.
Important changes:
- Students may select all options that apply. In prior years, they were asked to select one option.
- Students who identify as both “Hispanic” and another race are reported as “Hispanic.”
- Students reported as “Two or more races” are non-Hispanic.
- Although “Other” as an option is no longer available, it may continue to be reported until all students have answered the new two-part question.
Again, use caution when making comparisons between the new data and race and ethnicity data from prior years.