TY  - JOUR
AB  - Race is a socially and politically charged concept that remains contested in the United States. We examine racial data (mis)classification in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS-K) dataset. Centering the racial data journey of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA&NHPI) students, we find two types of racial data (mis)classification: (1) racial reformation related to the reconfiguration of parent/caregiver-reported racial data and (2) categorical friction when ethnicity was parent/caregiver-reported and race was not. Educational data practices and datasets like ECLS-K play a role in obscuring differentiated educational outcomes by operationalizing the myth that AA&NHPIs are a monolith. We offer recommendations for addressing racial data (mis)classification and engaging a critical race research praxis.
AU  - Castillo, Wendy
AU  - Taychachaiwongse Teng, Daranee 
AU  - Jan Cruz Espinoza, Kristine 
PY  - 2026
ST  - Hmong but not Asian, Sāmoan but not Pacific Islander: Tracing the ECLS-K Racial Data (Mis)Classification Journey
TI  - Hmong but not Asian, Sāmoan but not Pacific Islander: Tracing the ECLS-K Racial Data (Mis)Classification Journey
UR  - http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1486
ER  -