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Academic achievement among Hmong students in California: a quantitative and comparative analysis

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Academic achievement among Hmong students in California: a quantitative and comparative analysis

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Content Running head: ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 1
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS IN CALIFORNIA:
A QUANTITATIVE AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

by

Sue Lee

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2014

Copyright 2014 Sue Lee

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 2
Dedication
For my father, who fostered in me the perseverance I needed to achieve my educational goals
and was my largest source of motivation to finish my dissertation;
My mother, who constantly shows me unconditional love and support;
My nine brothers and sisters: Mayseng, Kia, Chayee, Xia, Nou, Jennings, Joshua, Cathy, and
Benjamin, who are my supporters providing me joy and laughter every step of the way;
My grandparents: Page Lee, Bray Vang Lee, Long Vang, and You Vue Vang, whose love,
courage, wisdom, and passion for education have been an inspiration to me.
All of you have made this possible.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 3
Acknowledgements
My sincerest gratitude and appreciation to my dissertation committee: Dr. Dennis Hocevar, my
advisor and committee chair, for providing me guidance, feedback, and suggestions not only for
this study, but throughout the Ed.D. program; Dr. Julietta Shakhbagova, a committee member,
for her constructive comments , valuable input, and much needed suggestions; and Dr. Patricia
Symonds, an outside committee member, for her endless support, guidance and constant
dedication in advancing and supporting research about the Hmong.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 4
Table of Contents
Dedication 2

Acknowledgements 3

List of Tables 6

List of Figures 7

Abstract 8

Chapter 1: The Research Problem 10
Background of Problem 11
Statement of the Problem 12
Purpose of the Study 13
Importance of the Study 14

Chapter 2: Review and Related Literature 16
The Achievement Gap 16
The Hmong as Model Minorities 18
Historical Background of the Hmong 18
Hmong Involvement in the Vietnam War 19
Escaping to Thailand 21
Thailand Refugee Camps 21
Resettling in the United States 21
Educational Background of the Hmong 23
Hmong Students and Educational Achievement Results 24

Chapter 3: Methodology 30
Research Files 31
Research Questions 32
Design Summary 32
Variables: Race/Ethnicity 35
Variables: Home Environment 36
English Language Fluency 38
Variables: School Environment 40
Participants and Setting 41
Instrumentation and Procedures: Demographics 45
Instrumentation and Procedure: Achievement 49
Analysis 51
Limitations 51

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 5
Chapter 4: Results 53
Comparison of CST ELA Mean Performance Tiered Scores of 12 Subgroups in California 53
Comparison of CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores of 8 Subgroups within 14 School Districts 55
Comparison of CST Math Mean Performance Tiered Scores of 12 Subgroups in California 60
Comparison of CST Math Mean Scaled Scores of 8 Subgroups within 13 School Districts 63
Effect Sizes: Cohen’s d (English Language Arts) 67
Effect Sizes: Cohen’s d (Mathematics) 69

Chapter 5: Discussion 72
Hmong Student Performance in English Language Arts in California 73
Hmong Student Performance in Mathematics in California 73
Implications 74
Limitations 75
Impact on Policy Changes 77
Need for Further Research 79
Qualitative Research 82
Longitudinal Research 82
Conclusion 83

References 84

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 6
List of Tables
Table 1: CELDT Domains, Components, and Types of Questions 39
Table 2: Student Enrollment 43
Table 3: Student Subgroups 44
Table 4: Fourteen School Districts with a Significant Hmong Subgroup 48
Table 5: CST Performance Tiered Scores 51
Table 6: CST ELA Average Performance Tiered Scores of 12 Subgroups in California 54
Table 7: CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores within 14 School Districts 56
Table 8: The Effects of Student Race/Ethnicity on CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores within
14 School Districts, No Control Variables 57
Table 9: The Effects of Student Race/Ethnicity, Free/Reduced Lunch Status, Parent
Education Level, ESL Status, and Grade Level on CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores, Control
Variables 59
Table 10: CST Math Scaled Score Means of 12 Subgroups 61
Table 11: Summary of CST Math Mean Scaled Scores within 13 School Districts 63
Table 12: The Effects of Student Race/Ethnicity on CST Math Mean Scaled Scores within
13 School Districts, No Control Variables 64
Table 13: The Effects of Student Race/Ethnicity, Free/Reduced Lunch Status, Parent
Education Level, ESL Status, and Grade Level on CST Math Mean Scaled Scores, Control
Variables 66
Table 14: Effect Sizes of the Hmong Subgroups’ CST ELA Mean Performance Tiered
Scores vs. Other Racial/Ethnic Subgroups’ CST ELA Mean Performance Tiered Scores by
Grade Level in California 68
Table 15: Effect Sizes of the Hmong Subgroups’ CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores vs. Other
Racial/Ethnic Subgroups’ CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores by Grade Level within 14 School
Districts 69
Table 16: Effect Sizes of the Hmong Subgroups’ CST Math Mean Performance Tiered Scores
vs. Other Racial/Ethnic Subgroups’ CST Math Mean Performance Tiered Scores by Grade
Level in California 70
Table 17: Effect Sizes of the Hmong Subgroups’ CST Math Mean Scaled Scores vs. Other
Racial/Ethnic Subgroups’ CST Math Mean Scaled Scores by Grade Level within 13 School
Districts 71
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 7
List of Figures
Figure 1: Educational Attainment by Gender in 2012: Total U.S. Population vs. U.S. Hmong
Population 26
Figure 2: Independent, Dependent, and Mediating Variables in the 12 Subgroups in California
Studies and the Eight Subgroups within School Districts Studies, No Control Variables 33
Figure 3: Independent, Dependent, and Mediating Variables in the Eight Subgroups in California
School Districts Studies, Control Variables 34
Figure 4; Total K-12 Enrollment for 2009-10: 6,190,425 Students 42
Figure 5: Racial and Ethnic Student Subgroups within the 14 School Districts 46
Figure 6: Racial and Ethnic Student Subgroups within the 13 School Districts 47
Figure 7: Graph of CST ELA Average Performance Tiered Scores of 12 Subgroups in
California 55
Figure 8: Graph of CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores by Grade Level and Student
Race/Ethnicity within 14 School Districts, No Control Variables 57
Figure 9: Graph of CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores by Grade Level and Student
Race/Ethnicity within 14 School Districts, Control Variables 60
Figure 10: Graph of CST Math Average Performance Tiered Scores of 12 Subgroups in
California 62
Figure 11: Graph of CST Math Mean Scaled Scores by Grade Level and Student
Race/Ethnicity within 13 School Districts, No Control Variables 65
Figure 12: Graph of CST Math Mean Scaled Scores by Grade Level and Student
Race/Ethnicity within 13 School Districts, Control Variables 67

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 8
Abstract
This quantitative study compared Hmong high school students’ scores in English
language arts (ELA) and mathematics on the 2010 California Standards Tests (CST) to the scores
of other racial/ethnic student subgroups at the state level. The study further examined whether
an achievement gap exists between the Hmong student subgroup and other comparable student
subgroups within the same school districts while controlling for socioeconomic status, English
language acquisition status, and parent education level.
California state level data were used to compare the CST ELA and CST math mean
scores for 12 major subgroups for this study. For a more accurate comparison of student
subgroups receiving the same curriculum and academic resources, data within 14 California
school districts that reported having tested a considerable Hmong student population were further
examined. Using data from the 14 school districts, the racial/ethnic student subgroups’ mean
performance tiered scores and mean scaled scores on the CST ELA and CST mathematics were
reported by grade level, and then again with the control variables. Lastly, Cohen’s d was used to
measure the effect sizes.
The analysis and effect sizes indicated that a comparable achievement gap exists between
the Hmong student subgroup and other racial/ethnic student subgroups. Specifically, Hmong
students in California did not perform well compared to the majority, if not all, of the other
racial/ethnic student subgroups at the state and district level. Moreover, the three consistent
student subgroups found to be performing at the level of the Hmong student subgroup in ELA
and mathematics were the Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Laotian student
subgroups. The findings of this study point towards other practices and research needed to better
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 9
understand the realities of the Hmong educational experience, which is the start of understanding
best practices for teaching Hmong students.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 10
Chapter 1: The Research Problem
The United States saw an influx of Hmong refugees in 1978 because of the aftermath of
the Vietnam War. Along with the struggles of adapting to an advanced American society,
Hmong refugees had an extreme experience of coming from a background of no formal
education to a structured system that includes compulsory education. Within the past thirty
years, Hmong Americans remain one of the ethnic groups who have the lowest levels of
educational attainment among Asians.
Hmong refugees have faced many challenges within K-12 education in the past,
especially low test scores and high dropout rates from high school. Known primary barriers to
Hmong educational achievement have consistently been: cultural differences, poverty, limited
English language skills, and limited experiences with formal education. The statistical
significance of these variables is common in qualitative research, but is seldom calculated
against the standardized test scores of Hmong students. With a growing number of Hmong
Americans being born and growing up in the United States, previous research studies suggest
that the number of Hmong students excelling in K-12 is increasing along with the number of
Hmong students pursuing higher education. However, Hmong American students are still
considered “high risk” students as they continue to come from homes where the parents’
education levels are low and household salaries are below the poverty line.
The United States government announced in 2003 that about 15,000 new Hmong
refugees would be granted access to enter and settle in the United States (15,000 Laotian Hmong,
2003). Starting in 2004, the first group of the 15,000 Hmong refugees arrived in America.
Many settled in California cities that had a large Hmong population already. Just like the
Hmong refugees from the late 1970s and 1980s, these new groups of Hmong refugees faced
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 11
poverty and extreme culture differences while trying to navigate the American education system.
Unlike the first influx of Hmong refugees, the new refugees had established Hmong communities
and individuals to alleviate the process of adjusting to life in the United States.
This quantitative study examined the current academic achievement results of Hmong
students and other significant subgroups within the same school districts in California.
Furthermore, the study looked deeper into variables that may be correlated with student
academic achievement, specifically socioeconomic status, English language acquisition status,
and parent education level. The need for this study was rooted in the idea that educators and
policy makers need to understand the status quo of the education achievement of student
subgroups, whether they are minority subgroups or not, to be knowledgeable about how to better
serve student subgroups and implement best practices.
Background of Problem
The Hmong are an Asian ethnic group from China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand who
often practiced a slash-and-burn agriculture and raised their own livestock for self-sufficiency.
In Asian, the Hmong culture was strongly based on oral traditions, and the majority of the
Hmong population was not educated; therefore, they could not read or write when they first
migrated to the United States in the 1970s.
Since 1975, after their involvement in the Vietnam War through assisting the United
States Central Intelligence Agency, thousands of Hmong have resettled in the United States to
seek asylum. After the United States withdrew from the Vietnam War, an estimated 150,000
Hmong people fled from Laos to Thailand to seek safety in the refugee camps, and an estimated
130,000 Hmong people went through the American Immigration and Naturalization screening
process (Torii, 1996). The Hmong who were granted refugee status and permission to enter
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 12
America were initially disbursed across the states so they could quickly progress their
assimilation. However, the Hmong people soon migrated towards friends, families, and an
agricultural lifestyle that resembled their lives in Laos. This led about half of the 130,000
Hmong immigrants in the United State to make the move towards California, mainly the Central
Valley area (Torii, 1996).
As the Hmong population in the United States grew over the past four decades, the ethnic
group’s history, culture, and language remain unheard of to many Americans. In addition,
Hmong refugees had very little experience with formal education prior to coming to the United
States. With the realization that returning to their homeland of Laos was not likely after the
Vietnam War, many Hmong families transitioned to and learned a new way of life in the United
States. After some time, the first acquired language for Hmong American children shifted from
Hmong to English in many Hmong homes.
In America, Hmong refugees experienced a dramatic culture shock. The move from
limited resources on the hills of Laos to a fast-paced, technologically savvy American society
introduced many hardships to the Hmong community. The language barrier also contributed to
the struggles of adjusting to American society. These struggles, along with a different set of
cultural skills, experiences, and knowledge, had an impact on the acculturation of Hmong
refugees.
Statement of the Problem
Within the past four decades that Hmong refugees have resettled in the United States,
research findings about the education gap between Hmong students and other racial/ethnic
subgroups have completely shifted from Hmong students being “at risk” students to a new
implication that Hmong American students are performing as well as or better than other student
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 13
ethnic subgroups (Hutchinson, 1997; McNall et al., 1994; Rumbaut, 1995; Vang, 2005). Often
included under the aggregated label of Asian Americans, Hmong American students are
sometimes perceived as hardworking and/or high achievers, but they also represented in the
groups of high school dropouts, gangsters, and welfare dependents. However, an accurate
depiction of the academic achievement among Hmong students is more complex when taking
into account the Hmong historical experiences and culture.
In the United States, Asian language speaking students make up the second largest
English Language Learner group, following the Spanish speaking group of students. Although
most of these Asians come from high-income and highly educated parent households, this
generalization does not hold true for some Asian subgroups, such as the Hmong (Goldenberg,
2008). In fact, only 50% or fewer Hmong adults in the U.S. have completed the equivalent of a
high school education, and less than 10% of all Hmong adults have a college degree
(Goldenberg, 2008). There is no doubt that an achievement gap still persists between Hmong
students and their native-English speaking peers; however, the estimated measurement of the
achievement gap still remains a blur. Further research to truly understand how well Hmong
American students are performing is needed in order to better serve not only the Hmong
students, but also all other student subgroups who struggle with the same historical, social,
cultural, and language barrier experiences.
Purpose of the Study
This quantitative research study examined Hmong high school students and their
performance in English language arts (ELA) on the California Standards Test (CST) in
comparison to other major student ethnic subgroups. Data are taken from the 2009-10 academic
school year. The study further examined whether an achievement gap exists between the Hmong
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 14
student subgroup and other comparable student subgroups within the same districts when
controlling for socioeconomic status, English language acquisition status, and parent education
level.
Research Questions. This study’s research questions provide a valuable snapshot of
observed differences in academic achievement scores between Hmong students and their peers.
The research was specifically designed to look at CST ELA and CST mathematics achievement
scores. All student data used were aggregated at the school level. The school-level data
provided CST ELA and CST mathematics mean scaled scores by ethnicity, socioeconomic
status, English language acquisition status, and parent education level. The three research
questions accommodate the data that were available about Hmong American students within
California.
This study aimed to answer the following research questions:
1. How do racial/ethnic student subgroups differ from the Hmong student subgroup with
respect to academic achievement in ELA in California public schools?
2. How do racial/ethnic student subgroups differ from the Hmong student subgroup with
respect to academic achievement in mathematics in California public schools?
3. Can the gap or similarities in ELA and mathematics test scores of Hmong students and
their counterparts be explained by other observed differences?
Importance of the Study
In general, Hmong American children adopt the English language and American culture
at a faster pace and higher level than do their parents. As Hmong American children, they are
given the opportunity to do this through the American education system – an option not many of
their parents were able to take full advantage of, as many of them were Hmong refugees who
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 15
were already married and had the responsibility of being full-time parents and/or past the age of
receiving free public education when they arrived in the United States. Since the majority of the
Hmong refugees who resettled in the United States came after 1978, the oldest age an American-
born Hmong can be, at the time of this study, is 35. With that in mind, it should also be noted
that the research on Hmong academic achievement continuously evolves, because the new
generations of Hmong students who come into the K-12 education system come with a different
range of knowledge about the American culture, parental education levels, and proficiency in
English. Therefore, research on Hmong students and their educational attainment levels may be
relevant only for a short period of time, and new research is constantly needed.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 16
Chapter 2: Review and Related Literature
The literature review covers six topics: 1) the definition of the achievement gap, 2) the
summary of theoretical frameworks regarding Southeast Asian achievement results, 3) the
explanation of the relationship between the model minority concept and the Hmong, 4) the
historical background of the Hmong, 5) the educational background of Hmong Americans, and
6) an overview of studies on Hmong education achievement results.
The Achievement Gap
The “achievement gap” is, in fact, a matter of race and class, and the term can be
stretched to refer to the gap between any two or more groups/subgroups, such as the gap between
female and male students, and the gap between students who speak different primary languages,
students who come from different cultures, and students from different socioeconomic statuses.
As gaps in academic achievement persist between minority and disadvantaged students and their
affluent counterparts, the student achievement gap has remained a pressing education policy
challenge at the federal, state, district, and school level. Contributing to the achievement gap is a
confluence of factors, although not all factors are within the school’s control.
The achievement gap between students of different classes has been explained through
the effects of poverty on student outcomes. Many studies have found a relationship between low
socio-economic status and children’s academic outcomes (Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997;
Holme, 2002). Brooks-Gunn and Duncan’s (1997) research specifically explored many other
studies that support the conclusion that family income effects children’s health, cognitive
development, behavior problems, emotional well-being, and problems with school achievement.
In fact, family income was found to be more strongly related to children’s abilities and
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 17
achievement than to their emotional outcomes, with the students in more extreme poverty
conditions suffering the worst academic outcomes.
The achievement gap can also be a consequence of “historical events, social
relationships, and human actions that often come together to construct identities that have
consequences in people’s lives and with how those identities are reproduced, maintained, and
transformed” (Cornell et al, 1998, p. 39). Ogbu and Simons (1998) suggested that “the treatment
of minority groups in society at large and in school as well as by the perceptions of the minorities
and their responses to school due to such treatment” contribute to the differences in school
performance outcomes between minority and non-minority groups (Ogbu & Simons, 1998, p.
155). As defined by Ogbu and Simons (1998), immigrant or voluntary minorities are people
who voluntarily migrated to the United States because they thought it would result in economic
well-being, better opportunities, and/or more freedom. The Hmong may consider themselves as
voluntary minorities because of the conditions in Southeast Asia that brought them to the United
States. Although the Hmong may still experience subordination, the positive expectations that
they bring with them influence their perceptions of the society and schools of the United States.
For the most part, becoming educated in Laos or Thailand was only for the most privileged
among the Hmong community because the schools primarily served Laotian or Thai students and
classes were taught in Laotian, Thai, and French only. Social, peer, and psychological pressures
may have contributed to the better than average academic performance among voluntary
minorities, such as the Hmong. However, the Hmong can also view themselves as involuntary
minorities. After all, the Hmong are not necessarily part of the American society by choice, but
by default, because of the Hmong’s involvement in the Vietnam War and the genocide that
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 18
occurred afterward. Social and psychological pressures among these individuals, according to
Ogbu and Simons (1998), would tend to discourage academic success.
The Hmong as Model Minorities
The model minority myth has often been a generalization that the Asian subgroup
achieves at a higher degree than the average person in education and other indicators of success.
Many researchers, including Ng et al. (2009), have contested the stereotype of Asian Americans
as model-minorities and perpetual foreigners. In their study, Ng et al. (2009) stressed the
importance of understanding the diversity of experiences, needs, and outcomes of the different
groups within the general subgroup of Asian Americans. Too often, Asian American students
continue to be overlooked because educational policies refer to them in aggregate, when, in
reality, some Asian-American groups (e.g. Hmong) experience difficulty bridging cultural gaps
and do not achieve at the same level. For example, Census 2012 data revealed that 32.1% of
Hmong, 35.2% of Cambodians, 30.2% of Laotians, and 29.2% of Vietnamese over 25 years of
age have less than a high school education. However, the high percentages of adults at age 25 or
older having less than a high school education is not a trend for all Asian American subgroups.
Census 2012 data reported that 8.2% of Asian Indians, 7.6% of Filipinos, 7.7% of Koreans, and
4.8% of Japanese over 25 years of age have less than a high school education (U.S. Bureau of the
Census, 2012). This serves as an example of how lumping all Asian subgroups into one
aggregate group does not take into account a holistic view of the educational disparities among
each ethnic subgroup.
Historical Background of the Hmong
The Hmong refugees who migrated to the United States are one of the many ethnic
groups from Laos. According to oral history, before the Hmong resided in Laos, they lived in
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 19
China along the plains of the Yellow River earning their living as farmers (Quincy, 1995).
Coming from a preliterate society, the Hmong had their own language, culture, and long oral
history (Timm, 1994). They were known to have held strong to their own culture and religion
rather than assimilating to the ways of the Chinese. In fact, the Chinese used the derogative term
“Miao” to refer to Hmong people, which later became “Meo” to Southeast Asians and Western
people; both terms translate to “Barbarian” (Yang, 1981).
Sometime between 3000 B.C. and 2000 B.C., conflict arose among the Chinese and
Hmong, and war continued for centuries (Quincy, 1995). By the tenth century, imperial forces
had destroyed the Hmong kingdom (Quincy, 1995). This meant extreme casualties for the
Hmong, as many of them were killed, imprisoned, or put into slave labor. The fortunate Hmong
who escaped relocated to Southern China and lived there until the eighteenth century when the
Manchu Dynasty started war with the Hmong. The war resulted in the Manchu Dynasty driving
out many Hmong men, forcing them to leave behind their property, culture, and women to
Chinese men (Quincy, 1995). Once again, the Hmong relocated and migrated to the
mountainous regions of China, and many continued to travel southward into the mountainous
regions of northern Laos (Quincy, 1995).
Hmong Involvement in the Vietnam War
In the mid-1960s, the United States involvement in the Vietnam War gradually increased.
For this reason, having internal assistance within Laos and the Ho Chi Minh Trail that paved way
into South Vietnam became a military strategy to support the United States (Adams & McCoy,
1970). To gain an advantage over the Vietnamese troops, the Vietcong, the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) recruited thousands of trained and untrained Hmong males to aid the American
troops. The village of Long Cheng was the main military center for Hmong soldiers (Hutchison,
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 20
1997). During the war, the recruited Hmong soldiers took on a wide range of military tasks that
included ambushing the Vietcong troops, mining the Ho Chi Minh Trail, fighting against the
Pathet Lao forces, and rescuing American pilots who were shot down while flying over Laos
(Quincy, 1995; Savana, 1995).
Under the command of General Vang Pao, the Hmong army remained as one of the only
standing forces in Laos that opposed the Pathet Lao and fought back. Hmong soldiers struck
their enemies with hit and run missions and rescued American pilots downed by the communists
(Hamilton-Merritt, 1993; Lee, 1999). The Hmong “secret army” experienced great casualties,
and the number of these remains unknown to this day. The battles continued until 1975 when the
United States withdrew the last of its soldiers from South Vietnam and the war in general, and
the military coup delivered the whole country of Laos to the Pathet Lao (Hamilton-Merritt,
1993). An estimated 30,000 Hmong, about 10% of the Hmong population living in Laos at the
time, were killed during the Vietnam War while secretly fighting for the United States
(Hutchison, 1997). It was also estimated that approximately 100,000, or about 30% of the
Hmong population in Laos, became refugees within their own homeland of Laos (Hutchison,
1997).
When the United States pulled out of the war, it marked the beginning of the vengeance
of Laos’s new, communist government and the exodus of the majority of Hmong soldiers and
families that trailed from Laos into Thailand through the Mekong River (Hamilton-Merritt, 1993;
Lee, 1999; Quincy, 1995). As a consequence of the United States withdrawing from the
Vietnam War altogether in 1975, more than 1,000,000 Hmong soldiers and civilians who assisted
the French and American war efforts were abandoned and became victims of genocide
(Hutchison, 1997).
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 21
Escaping to Thailand
With their lives endangered, thousands of Hmong secretly traveled towards Thailand.
The Hmong did not travel with ease to the Thailand refugee camps along the border of Laos and
Thailand. Many Hmong people drowned in the Mekong River or were shot by Communist
soldiers during their flight to Thailand (Hamilton-Merritt, 1993; Lee, 1999; Quincy, 1995). Thai
officers sometimes robbed the Hmong of their money and valuables during searches, and some
Hmong refugees were jailed once they arrived in Thailand (Lee, 1999). As more Hmong
refugees fled to Thailand, more camps were built while shelter and resources became more
limited.
Thailand Refugee Camps
The Hmong alliance with America during the Secret War had negative repercussions on
the Hmong people. The war had forced many Hmong to flee out of Laos to Thailand as
refugees. These refugee camps in Thailand were the main locations that aided thousands of
displaced Hmong. As the Hmong refugee camps became more crowded, the food and water
supplies became scarce, and many people became malnourished, contracted diseases, and died.
It was not until late 1975 that the United States and France began taking in Hmong refugees.
Only those who were of close kin to those who had directly aided the U.S. during the Secret War
were given the opportunity to resettle in the United States or France immediately after the United
States withdrew from the Vietnam War.
Resettling in the United States
It was not until later that more Hmong refugees were able to settle in the United States
regardless of whether they were close family to those involved in the Secret War or not. The
maintenance of direct family was a strong determinant in where Hmong families chose to
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 22
emigrate. Many Hmong families moved to live close together because of better opportunities
such as social and economic benefits (Hutchison, 1997; Reder, 1985).
When America extended its aid to Hmong refugees, there were protocols that had to be
followed in order to ensure their resettlement without affecting the social and economic structure
of the country. The government ensured that each state would formulate an agenda of their own
to help resettle the Hmong refugees without severely damaging the economic infrastructure of
each state (Fass, 1986; Hutchison, 1997). The initial idea was that the refugees had to be
dispersed among regions in order to provide enough social services for them without exhausting
a single state’s or city’s revenue. It was believed that a concentrated population would result in
difficulty for any local area in providing sufficient resources for resettlement. Disallowing a
concentrated population of refugees would help speed up the social integration process
(Hutchison, 1997).
When the government took action in resettling the Hmong refugees, it did not take the
Hmong cultural value of kinship into consideration. In a short period of time after the
resettlement of the refugees across the United Sates, many Hmong began moving to highly
Hmong concentrated areas. The majority of Hmong refugees were resettled in California,
followed by Minnesota and Wisconsin (Hutchison, 1997). The two major areas with the highest
concentrated Hmong populations were Fresno, California, and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
(Fass, 1986; Hutchison, 1997).
The increase in population density of the resettled Hmong population placed a heavy
burden on the states. Many Hmong refugees did not have the skills to integrate into the
American culture (Hutchison, 1997). Many were unemployed, remained unemployed and relied
on welfare services, and social integration was a problem that hurt the states which provided
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 23
services for them (Hutchison, 1997). The states also did not take into account the long-term
investment required to educate and train the refugees in order for them to be able to join the
American labor force. The social services provided were costly and insufficient. As a result, a
language and cultural barrier was created between many Hmong refugees and the American
culture.
Educational Background of the Hmong
Being that the Hmong came to the United States as refugees of the Secret War in Laos
during the Vietnam War, many Hmong were unprepared linguistically, culturally, educationally,
socially, and economically for the education system in America. Ranard (1988) found that 70%
of Hmong refugees who came to the United States were pre-literate. Another study by D. Yang
(1993) concluded that more than 90% of Hmong villagers were pre-literate because formal
schooling did not exist for the Hmong. The first school located close enough to the Hmong
villages opened in 1939, and, even then, only the few wealthy Hmong families could afford to
have their sons attend schools that were taught in the Laotian and French languages. Given the
history of the educational experiences of the Hmong in Laos, it is of no surprise that the first
Hmong student to graduate high school did so in 1942, the first Hmong college graduate received
his degree in 1966, and the first Hmong doctoral graduate completed his graduate studies in 1972
(K. Yang, 2003). The struggle for the Hmong to be educated was carried from Laos to Thailand,
and then to the U.S. Once the Hmong got to the U.S., not only did the Hmong have to navigate
through the education system, they simultaneously had to navigate through American culture and
decide what they did and did not want to adopt.
Since the migration in 1975, some common issues in education have remained within the
Hmong community: low educational attainment, high drop-out rates, and low test scores.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 24
Hmong Americans have always been a student subgroup that defies the concept of the model
minority. In 1990, Hmong Americans had the lowest educational attainment compared to all
other Asian American student subgroups (Shinagawa & Jiang, 1998). Twenty-two years later,
data from the 2012 Census indicated that 36.8% of the Hmong population at the age of 25 and
older in the U.S. still has not earned a high school degree (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2012).
The percentage is consistent with the percentage of Hmong who identified themselves as
foreign-born (37.6%) in the 2012 Census; however, many foreign-born Hmong individuals have
earned a high school degree or higher, and many Hmong at the age of 25 and over who were
born in the U.S. have not earned a high school diploma or the equivalent.
Over the years, there has been a gradual increase in the number of Hmong who have
completed a high school education or the equivalent. According to the 1990 Census, only 11%
of Hmong had completed a high school education, and 3% had bachelor’s degrees. By the year
2012, 67.9% of the Hmong population (25 years and older) reported being a high school
graduate or higher (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2012). Fifteen percent of the 25 years and older
Hmong population had reported earning a bachelor’s degree or higher (U.S. Bureau of the
Census, 2012). With increases in the percentages of the Hmong population earning a high
school diploma and higher over the decades, these percentages remain lower than those of the
general U.S. population, where 86.4% of Americans have a high school diploma, and 29.1%
have a bachelor’s degree or higher (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2012).
Hmong Students and Educational Achievement Results
Hmong adolescents have been and are still perceived to be a high “at risk” population, as
a majority of Hmong adults have been and are unemployed in most communities across the state.
Many Hmong households have incomes below the poverty line, and many of these households
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 25
are headed by one or two parents who have not earned a high school diploma. According to the
2012 Census, 12.9% of the California population lived in poverty, but 37.2% of the Hmong
households in California lived below the poverty line. In regards to the children, 44% of the
Hmong population under the age of 18 lived in poverty in California in 2012 (U.S. Bureau of the
Census, 2012). The ways in which the variable of low socioeconomic status affect educational
achievement trends among the Hmong student population have been recorded in research
conducted in multiple locations throughout the United States.
Lee (2001) mentions that Hmong American youth are usually categorized as being good
or bad kids in the Hmong community. Usually, these two groups are associated with being a 1.5
generation or second generation Hmong American. The 1.5 generation youths are generally
more associated with their Hmong culture and are seen as being good. The second generation
youths immerse themselves in mainstream American culture, which can be seen as rebellious and
bad. However, these youths’ identities are more complex than can be categorized in only two
groups. They are, rather, a mixture of both along the spectrum of preserving their Hmong
culture and adopting the mainstream American culture. Being part of one group more than the
other does not necessarily affect an individual’s academic performance. Groups of students who
exemplify characteristics from both side of the spectrum demonstrate academic success and
failures. Those who excelled in their education had a structure of “accommodation and
acculturation without assimilation” (Gibson, 1988; Lee, 2001). Their structure consisted of
keeping the identity of their culture while adopting the new methods of the mainstream society in
order to adapt. As for second generation youths, they tended to favor more American ideologies
of individuality, equality, and rights, and, when exposed to long-term experiences of racism and
poverty, they doubted that the education system would provide them with equal opportunities
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 26
(Lee, 2001). This often led second generation youth towards the perception that education does
not lead to success.
According to earlier studies on educational performance, very few of the earlier Hmong
students completed their basic studies. The estimated percentage of Hmong girls who dropped
out of high school in the Minneapolis, St. Paul area was 90% in 1984, according to Downing et
al. (1984). However, these results may only apply to the first wave of Hmong students who
entered the public school system immediately after arriving in the United States without prior
knowledge or expectations of a school environment.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census (2012).
Figure 1. Educational Attainment by Gender in 2012: Total U.S. Population vs. U.S. Hmong
Population
For a more accurate depiction of the gender differences in educational attainment within
the Hmong community today, recent numbers provide a better picture. Data from the 2012
Census in Figure 1 indicate that the percentages of Hmong graduates in high school and college
are still trailing behind the total U.S. population’s percentages. Figure 1 also demonstrates the
educational attainment differences between males and females within the U.S. Hmong
High school
graduate +
Male, high
school
graduate +
Female, high
school
graduate +
Bachelor's
degree +
Male,
bachelor's
degree +
Female,
bachelor's
degree +
86.4% 85.7% 87.0%
29.1% 29.1% 29.1%
67.9%
75.9%
60.3%
15.0%
15.2% 14.9%
Educational Attainment in 2012: Total U.S. population vs. U.S. Hmong
population
Total Population (25 years and over) Hmong Population (25 years and over)
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 27
population. In 2012, 75.9% of Hmong men were high school graduates or the equivalent,
whereas only 60.3% of Hmong women were high school graduates or the equivalent. In
contrast, the educational attainment percentages of the Hmong males and females at the college
level did not have as great of a difference. As seen in Figure 1, 15.2% of the Hmong men held
bachelor’s degrees or a higher degree while, similarly, 14.9% of the Hmong women had also
received a bachelor’s degree or higher degree. According to the 2012 Census, the dramatic gap
between the percentages of Hmong males and females graduating from high school and college
that were seen in the 1980s and 1990s have been narrowed as of 2012, but this does not make
any implications that the disparities are completely extinct.
Research has also indicated that Hmong students in San Diego, California, and St. Paul,
Minnesota, performed well in academics. Mueller (1997) concluded that Hmong children
performed fairly well in acquiring reading and math skills when compared to other children from
low socioeconomic backgrounds. In this study, teacher ratings of Hmong students and
achievement test results showed that Hmong students did just as well as their classmates by the
end of first grade. In addition, Mueller found that Hmong children received higher ratings than
their classmates did in overall motivation to succeed academically, overall classroom behavior,
cooperation, and self-control. In another study, Rumbaut and Ima (1998) found in San Diego,
California that Hmong students, in general, had above-average grades and standardized scores in
the highest quartile for a mathematics achievement test. On another positive note, Rumbaut
(1995) argued that, of new immigrant groups in California, Hmong students had higher retention
rates and grade point averages in high school than other recent immigrants.
A longitudinal study’s data about Hmong high school students in St. Paul, Minnesota
suggested that Hmong high school students outperformed other racial/ethnic student subgroups.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 28
McNall, Dunnigan, and Mortimer (1994) found that, on average, the Hmong students’ grade
point average at 3.24 was a full point higher than the 2.48 of other student subgroups.
Furthermore, Hmong students reported spending 5.5 hours per day on homework compared to
non-Hmong students who reported that they spent an average of 1.4 hours per day.
Most of the Hmong students were from neighborhoods of poverty, yet they still excelled in
academics. The study concluded that Hmong students often saw that they had more
opportunities than they would have had back in Laos, and the Hmong community highly
emphasized the value of education, hoping that youths would voluntarily take the opportunity.
According to the researchers, for the Hmong, education is used as a means of providing and
securing better opportunities not just for the individual, but also for the family. Moreover, the
family played a supportive role to ensure that the child would complete a high school education.
McNall et al. (1994) also suggested that the academic success of the child also depended on the
individual’s free agency. Although many Hmong students finished high school with high and
competitive grade point averages, there were also students who did not complete high school or
reached only the minimum requirement to graduate. The researchers also found that Hmong
students reported having higher educational aspirations than non-Hmong students. In addition,
while Hmong young ladies married and had (a) child(ren) during their years in high school, the
majority of these Hmong ladies graduated on time and took advantage of post-secondary college
opportunities (Hutchison & McNall, 1997).
Studies have reiterated that “socio-economic status” (SES), whether defined by family
income, parent education, or parent occupation, is the most highly correlated variable to
achievement and test score performance, sometimes triumphing over all other variables
(Krashen, 2005; White, 1982). The Hard Work hypothesis, according to Krashen (2005), states
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 29
that students can overcome the disadvantages of poverty, as long as they work hard. In his study,
Krashen noted that the Hmong American students were among the poorest and least educated
immigrant groups; however, they reported spending the most time on homework. Simply, the
Hmong students in the study were undeniably hard workers and did well in school, but their
success in school was limited to receiving and/or earning good grades, as they did not perform
well on tests. Walker-Moffett (1995) made a similar argument and also found that Hmong
students worked hard and pleased their teachers, but seldom accomplished what their high grades
indicated. Both studies pointed towards the implication that the effects of poverty and having
less-educated parents are powerful and difficult to overcome. Krashen (2005) concluded that,
although our attention should go beyond test scores, high performance scores on standardized
tests of reading are highly correlated with access to reading materials (Krashen, 1993;
McQuillan, 1998), and children of low SES, like Hmong students, have far less access to reading
materials (Neuman & Celano, 2000). According to Krashen (2005), the case of the Hmong
students proved that engagement in and dedication towards homework are limited in moving
students of poverty towards academic achievement.
The indicators of student achievement have varied within previous research studies about
Hmong students, ranging from dropout rates, graduation rates, student ratings, achievement tests,
grade point averages, and many more. The data and findings have led to contradicting
conclusions and blur the answer to the question of how well Hmong students are doing when
compared to their non-Hmong peers. Specifically, this research study did not consider the
accounts of Hmong and non-Hmong students, which may have been detrimental to the study, but
looked at recent student standardized test scores to investigate whether an achievement gap
exists between Hmong students and other racial/ethnic student subgroups in California.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 30
Chapter 3: Methodology
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the education gap in California between
Hmong students and other racial/ethnic subgroups. Hmong Americans, along with many other
Southeast Asian Americans, have often been aggregated in the discourse of Asian American
success. As Asian Americans are positioned inside this discourse and perceived as hardworking
and/or high achievers, they are also positioned outside the discourse of success and represented
as high school dropouts, gangsters, and welfare dependents. The realities of academic
achievement among Hmong students are more complex, as psychology, sociology, and ethnic
studies researchers have concluded (Ngo & Lee, 2007; Um, 2003). Researchers have also come
to different conclusions when comparing Hmong students with other minority groups, with some
claiming that Hmong students outperform their white peers and others indicating that Hmong
students are lagging behind in college readiness (Hutchinson, 1997; McNall et al., 1994;
Rumbaut, 1995; Vang, 2005). However, academic achievement data on Hmong students have
been extremely limited and are often not referred to or not considered in claims about the
academic state of Hmong students.
Specifically, this quantitative research study examined the comparison of Hmong high
school students’ achievement results in ELA and mathematics on the CST to the achievement
results of other major subgroups. For the first part of this study, state data for the 2009-10
academic school year were used to compare the results of the Hmong student subgroup against
11 other student subgroups. The study concentrated on the specific academic school year of
2009-10 because that is the year the California Department of Education (CDE) began tracking
data specifically on the Hmong student subgroup. It is also the only academic school year that
was publicly available at the time of the start of the study. Data from the 2010-11 academic
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 31
school year were perceived as not reliable because Fresno Unified School District (FUSD), a
California school district that enrolls a large Hmong student population, identified only 67
students as “Hmong” on CST answer documents (DataQuest, 2013). During the 2010-11
academic school year, it is highly probable that more than 67 Hmong students were enrolled in
FUSD, because during that same academic year, the CDE reported that 3,516 Hmong students
had taken the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) within FUSD
(DataQuest, 2013). In addition, the CDE also reported that 4,367 Hmong students had been
tested during the 2009-10 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) administration
(DataQuest, 2013). It was perceived that a decrease from 4,367 Hmong students to 67 Hmong
students from one academic school year to the next was highly unlikely.
For a more thorough and descriptive analysis of the education gap between Hmong
students and their peers from other racial/ethnic student subgroups, the state data for the 2009-10
academic school year were used again, but this time, only schools within school districts
enrolling a considerably significant Hmong student population were included in the study.
Lastly, the third part of the study controls for low socioeconomic status, English learners, and
parent education level within the districts enrolling a significant Hmong student population.
Research Files
The data used in this research come from three statewide data files. The first set of data
used is referred to as the California statewide research file for all students, and this file provides
2009-10 academic term aggregate score data for the CSTs, the California Modified Assessment
(CMA), the California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA), and the Standards-based
Tests in Spanish (STS). A 2010 entity file was merged with the first research file to identify the
district and school names for each observation. Lastly, the 2010 base Academic Performance
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 32
Index (API) data file was merged with the 2010 entity file and the 2010 California statewide
research file.
Research Questions
This study’s research questions aimed to present valuable information about observed
differences in CST ELA and CST mathematics scores among Hmong students and their peers at
the state level. The data collected at the state level provided a description of the California
student population served and the CST results of each racial/ethnic student subgroup within each
school and district.
The study focused on answering the following questions:
1. How do racial/ethnic student subgroups differ from the Hmong student subgroup with
respect to academic achievement in ELA in California public schools?
2. How do racial/ethnic student subgroups differ from the Hmong student subgroup with
respect to academic achievement in mathematics in California public schools?
3. Can the gap or similarities in ELA and mathematics test scores of Hmong students
and their counterparts be explained by other observed differences?
Design Summary
A non-experimental design was most appropriate for this study for many reasons. In
contrast to experimental research, non-experimental research involves variables that cannot be
manipulated by the researcher; rather, these variables are studied as they exist. The main reason
for using non-experimental research is that most variables of interest in social science cannot be
manipulated because they are attribute variables. Examples include: race, ethnicity,
socioeconomic status, culture, learning style, or any other personal characteristic or trait. For
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 33
instance, a researcher cannot randomly place individuals into different groups based on gender or
socioeconomic status because these are naturally existing attributes.
Using already existing data, a retrospective study was necessary to discover a potential
cause or explanation for the status quo of Hmong student performance in ELA and mathematics.
To answer all three research questions, two studies were carried out: 1) a comparative analysis of
the CST ELA and CST math mean performance tiered scores among racial/ethnic student
subgroups within California and 2) a comparative analysis of the CST ELA and CST math mean
scaled scores among racial/ethnic student subgroups within California districts that reported a
considerable population of Hmong students taking the CSTs.
For the first study, the independent, dependent, and mediating variables are described in
Figure 2. The dependent variables are each student subgroup’s CST ELA mean scaled scores
and CST math mean scaled scores. The independent variables include the race/ethnicity of each
student subgroup, and the mediating variables are the students’ grade levels.

Figure 2. Independent, Dependent, and Mediating Variables in the 12 Subgroups in California
Studies and the Eight Subgroups within School Districts Studies, No Control Variables
Student
Outcomes
-CST ELA scores
-CST math scores
School
Environment
-Grade level
Race
Ethnicity
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 34
Figure 3 illustrates the dependent, independent, control, and mediating variables for the
second study. The dependent variables consisted of each subgroup’s percentage of students who
scored at each proficiency level in ELA and mathematics. The independent variable is
represented by the Race and Ethnicity category-left of the diagram. Mediating variables consist
of variables that would qualify under School Environment. These variables are affected by the
student demographics of the student population within the schools and districts, and would have
an impact on the student outcomes. The home environment variables serve as control variables,
correlating with the demographics of the students, the school environment, and the student
achievement scores.

Figure 3. Independent, Dependent, and Mediating Variables in the Eight Subgroups in California
School Districts Studies, Control Variables
Home Environment
-Socioeconomic Status
(NLSP)
-Parent Ed. Level
-English Language
Acquisition Status
-School Characteristic
Index
Student Outcomes
-CST ELA mean
scaled scores
-CST math mean
scaled scores

School
Environment
-Grade level

Race
Ethnicity

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 35
The estimation strategy for the first study was:
MPTSit = Raceit  it
where MPTSit denotes the mean performance tiered score of a student subgroup i in grade level
t, and the variable i is a full set of student ethnicity groups as dummy variables with Hmong as
the omitted category. Subsequently, the coefficients on race reveal the gap between the named
racial category and the Hmong subgroup. Finally, is the mean error term,
For the second study, the estimation strategy is represented as:
MSSit = Raceit + Xit+ it
where MSSit expresses the mean scaled score of a student subgroup i in grade level t. Raceit
stands for the race/ethnicity of the student subgroup i in grade level t, the X is a vector of
covariates (control variables), and  is the error term.
Variables: Race/Ethnicity
To answer Research Questions 1 and 2, the CST scores of 11 other racial/ethnic student
subgroups were compared to the Hmong student subgroup’s achievement scores in ELA and
mathematics at the state level. In choosing the racial/ethnic student subgroups to compare with
the Hmong student subgroup, it was taken into consideration that Hmong students within
California were consistently within the top five subgroups with the highest percentage of
students being designated as English learners since 1995. Thus, other Asian subgroups within
the top 20 languages that had a large percentage of students classified as English learners in 2010
were identified as comparison groups, along with the Hispanic or Latino, White, and Black or
African American subgroups. Through this methodology of choosing comparison groups,
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 36
Research Questions 1 and 2 examined the achievement results of the following racial/ethnic
student subgroups:
 Asian Indian
 Black or African American*
 Cambodian
 Chinese*
 Filipino*
 Hispanic or Latino*
 Hmong*
 Japanese
 Korean
 Laotian*
 Vietnamese*
 White*
To answer Research Question 3, only 385 public K-12 schools within 14 school districts
were observed, and only the racial/ethnic student subgroups with an asterisk (*) from the list
above were considered, because they were consistently represented in most of the school
districts. The reason why these school districts were chosen was that they served, at the time of
this study, a considerably large Hmong student population, which allows the CDE to report the
number of students tested and the average score of each student subgroup on each STAR
assessment.
Variables: Home Environment
Socioeconomic status. A student’s socioeconomic status is distinguished by whether the
student applied and qualified for free or reduced-price lunch under the National School Lunch
Program (NSLP). The NSLP is a federal program operated to assist in providing meals to
students in public schools, non ‐profit private schools, and residential child care institutions (U.S.
Department of Agriculture, 2013). The program provides nutritionally balanced, low ‐cost or free
lunches. Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty level are
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 37
eligible for free meals. Those with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty
level are eligible for reduced ‐price meals, for which students can be charged no more than 40
cents (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2013).
There are also two ways children may be classified as categorically eligible for free
lunch:
 Through participation in Assistance Programs- SNAP/FDPIR or TANF, or
 Through Other Source Categorically Eligible designation- children documented under the
applicable definition as:
o Homeless, runaway, or migrant
o A foster child
o Enrolled in a federally-funded Head Start Program or a comparable state-funded
Head Start Program or pre-kindergarten programs; or in an Even Start Program
(U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2013).
Through these guidelines, students are identified as qualifying or not qualifying for
NSLP. The students who do qualify for NSLP are the students within the socioeconomically
disadvantaged student subgroup, as defined by the CDE. It should be noted that parents must
apply for free or reduced-price lunch, and, at the time of this study, charter schools were and
currently are not mandated to participate in the NSLP or provide free or reduced-price lunch;
therefore, the number of students within the public school system who could qualify for the
NSLP is not fully captured every academic school year.
Parent education level. Upon enrolling their students in public schools, parents report
the highest education level of the most educated parent of the student. The following categories

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 38
are what parents must choose from:
 Not a high school graduate
 High school graduate
 Some college
 College graduate
 Graduate school
 Decline to state

In this study, the following scale was used to determine the average parent education
level for individual schools:
1 = Not a high school graduate
2 = High school graduate
3 = Some college
4 = College graduate
5 = Graduate school

Like free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, parent education levels are also used to
represent pupil socioeconomic status in determining student subgroups. Specifically, if neither
parent has a high school diploma, the student is defined by the CDE as socioeconomically
disadvantaged.
English Language Fluency
According to federal law (Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
[ESEA]) and state law (Education Code [EC] sections 313 and 60810 through 60812), a
statewide English language proficiency test must be administered at each local educational
agencies (LEAs) to students in kindergarten through grade 12 whose primary language is not
English and to students previously identified as English learners (ELs) who have not been
reclassified as fluent English proficient (RFEP). In the state of California, California Code of
Regulations, Title 5, Section 10510, states that the CELDT is the assessment used to 1) identify
students with limited English proficiency; 2) determine the English language proficiency of those
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 39
students; and 3) assess the progress of limited English-proficient students in the domains of
listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English.
The CELDT is aligned to the English Language Development (ELD) standards adopted
by the State Board of Education (SBE). The CELDT domains and test components are described
in Table 1.
Table 1
CELDT Domains, Components, and Types of Questions
Domains Test Components Types of Questions
Listening  Strategies and applications  Following oral directions
 Extended listening comprehension
(passage)
 Rhyming
 Listening comprehension (short,
school situation)
Speaking  Strategies and applications  Oral vocabulary
 Speech functions
 Choosing and giving reasons
 Four-picture narrative
Reading  Word analysis
 Fluency and systematic vocabulary
development
 Reading comprehension
 Literary response and analysis
 Alphabet recognition
 Word analysis
 Fluency and systematic vocabulary
development
 Reading comprehension
 Literary analysis
Writing  Strategies and applications
 English language conventions
 Writing words
 Grammar and structure
 Writing sentences
 Writing a short composition

The CELDT scores are reported by the following performance levels: beginning, early
intermediate, intermediate, early advanced, and advanced. An overall English performance
level attained by each student is reported as well as the student’s performance in each domain by
level.
Based on the Home Language Survey (HLS) that parents/guardians fill out when they
enroll their students in a public school, all students whose home language is not English are
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 40
administered the CELDT within 30 calendar days after they enroll for the first time in a
California public school. The CELDT is also annually administered to EL students once during
the annual assessment window from July 1 through October 31 until students are designated
RFEP. All LEAs must establish reclassification policy and procedures based on the four criteria
below:
 Assessment of language proficiency using an objective assessment instrument, including,
but not limited to, the ELD test pursuant to EC Section 60810 (i.e., the CELDT);
 Teacher evaluation including, but not limited to, a review of the student’s curriculum
mastery;
 Parental opinion and consultation; and
 Student performance on a statewide assessment of basic skills in English.

Students who pass the CELDT by attaining an overall performance level of Early
Advanced and who score at least at an Intermediate performance level in all domains the first
time they are initially assessed with the CELDT are identified as Initially Fluent English
Proficient (IFEP). If parents report that English is the student’s home language, the student is
automatically identified as an English Only (EO) student.
Variables: School Environment
Grade level. This study consistently used the CST ELA achievement scores of students
in grades 2-11 and the CST mathematics scores of students in grades 2-7 to answer all three
research questions. The reason for this was that, based on their grade level, students in grades 2-
11 take the same ELA test (with multiple test version numbers), and students in grades 2-7 take
the same math test (with multiple test version numbers). It was assumed that testing students
based on grade level, rather than the course of enrollment, was a better indicator of whether an
achievement gap exists among racial/ethnic student subgroups; however, it should be noted that a
difference in courses could also be a contributing factor to a possible achievement gap.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 41
School Characteristic Index. The School Characteristic Index (SCI) is a composite
measure in which the formula was originated by the CDE. The SCI’s main purpose is to
identify schools that are similar in regards to socio ‐demographic characteristics (California
Department of Education, 2011). The index is based on: the school’s racial/ethnic composition,
free/reduced ‐price lunch eligibility, the percentage of English language learners, the percentage
of Reclassified-English-proficient students, the percentage of students with disabilities, student
mobility, the percentage of fully credentialed teachers and of teachers with emergency
credentials, enrollment, parental education, average class size, the enrollment of students in
grades 2-11 on the first day of the STAR Program testing, the number of students exempted from
the STAR Program per parent written requests, the number of students tested in the STAR
Program, and whether the school operates year-round or has multi-tracks (CDE, 2012). “Each of
the items used in the index is weighted by its relationship to academic performance; schools with
higher scores have more characteristics that are associated with higher school performance”
(Hanson, 2012, p. 5). Using the SCI in this study allowed for comparison of the achievement
results of the student subgroups within schools with similar demographics.
Participants and Setting
During the 2009-10 academic school year, 6,190,425 students were in enrolled in
California’s K-12 public schools (CDE, 2012). According to the CDE, 50% of the student
population identified as Hispanic or Latino, 27% identified as White, 8% identified as Asian, and
7% identified as African American (Figure 4).
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 42

Figure 4. Total K-12 Enrollment for 2009-10: 6,190,425 Students
Table 2 provides a grade-level breakdown of the CDE’s reported 4,758,311 students
enrolled in grades 2-11 during the 2009-10 academic school year. Of those students, 4,720,776
took the STAR tests (CDE Dataquest, 2012). The STAR tests are the California Standards Tests
(CST), the California Modified Assessment (CMA), the California Alternative Assessment
(CAPA), the Standards-based Tests in Spanish (STS), the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth
Edition (SAT/9), and the California Achievement Tests (CAT).

Hispanic or Latino of
Any Race
50%
American Indian
or Alaska Native,
Not Hispanic
1%
Asian, Not Hispanic
8%
Pacific Islander, Not
Hispanic
1%
Filipino, Not
Hispanic
2%
African American,
Not Hispanic
7%
White, Not Hispanic
27%
Two or More Races
2%
None
Reported
2%
Total K-12 Enrollment for 2009-10: 6,190,425 Students
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 43
Table 2
Student Enrollment
Grade Level Reported Enrollment
Grade 2
463,097
Grade 3
463,877
Grade 4
469,202
Grade 5
464,615
Grade 6
465,951
Grade 7
469,719
Grade 8
478,697
Grade 9
515,720
Grade 10
497,957
Grade 11
469,476
Total 4,758,311

The California Department of Education requires all LEAs to provide individual student
demographic data on the answer documents of STAR assessments. Table 3 provides a
breakdown of the numbers and percentages of students that fell under each student subgroup
related to economic status, parent education level, and English language acquisition status.
According to data from the 2010 STAR answer documents, 57.5% of students enrolled in
California public schools in grades 2-11 were classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged.
Also reported was each student’s parents’ highest educational level: 17.10 % of parents were not
high school graduates, 20.17% of parents had graduated from high school, 19.62% had
experienced some college or attained an Associate of Arts Degree, 16% of parents reported that
they were college graduates, 10.12% of parents pursued post graduate studies, and 16.54% of
parents declined to state the highest education level of the parent(s) within the student’s
household.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 44
Table 3
Student Subgroups
Student Subgroups Number of Students Percent of Students
Total Number of Students Tested 4,720,776
Economic Status
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged 2,714,564 57.50%
Parent Education Level
Not a High School Graduate 807,082 17.10%
High School Graduate 952,314 20.17%
Some College (Includes AA Degree) 926,313 19.62%
College Graduate 755,553 16.00%
Graduate/Post Graduate 477,603 10.12%
Declined to State 780,663 16.54%
English Language Fluency
English Only 2,632,345 55.76%
Initially Fluent English Proficient 326,417 6.91%
Reclassified-Fluent English Proficient 691,854 14.66%
English Learner 1,063,399 22.53%

The Hmong population in California. An estimated 95,557 Hmong reside in California
(Bureau of the U.S. Census, 2012). According to the 2012 Census, the California Hmong
population is a young population in that the median age was 21.8, the average family size was
reported as 5.57 (compared to the California average of 3.57), and the family poverty rate, as
mentioned before, was listed as 37.2% (compared to the California average of 11.9%) (Bureau of
the U.S. Census, 2012). According to the 2012 Census, the largest groups of Hmong reside in
three main regions: California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin (Bureau of the U.S. Census, 2012).
Secondary migration has also led to an increasing Hmong population in the Midwestern states
and North Carolina. For many years now, California has housed the largest Hmong populations
compared to other states.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 45
Within California, many Hmong families settled in northern California and the Central
Valley. As a result, there are concentrated Hmong populations within only certain cities, and,
therefore, school districts. These school districts are:
 Banning Unified School District
 Central Unified School District*
 Clovis Unified School District*
 Del Norte County Unified School District
 Elk Grove Unified School District
 Fresno Unified School District
 Lodi Unified School District*
 Merced City Elementary School District
 Merced Union High School District
 Oroville City Elementary School District
 Sacramento Unified School District
 San Diego Unified School District*
 Sanger Unified School District
 Stockton Unified School District
 Twin Rivers Unified School District
 Weaver Union School District
 West Fresno Elementary School District
 Winton Elementary School District

Instrumentation and Procedures: Demographics
Of the 18 school districts, 14 were incorporated within this study. The cases included
385 individual schools. Four school districts were left out from the study due to a lack of data.
One main reason was that the California Department of Education did not report observed
subgroups’ average scores or number of students scoring at each STAR performance level to
protect the privacy of the students if there were 10 or fewer students within the subgroup. Three
of the school districts, Central Unified School District, Lodi Unified School District, and San
Diego Unified School District did not have any individual schools where more than ten identified
Hmong students had valid scores for at least one grade level in the subjects of ELA and/or math.
With no STAR data on the Hmong student subgroup, all individual schools and student test
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 46
scores from these schools were taken out of the study. Another school district not included in
this study was Clovis Unified School District. According to the state’s data, schools within
Clovis did not identify any students taking the CSTs during the 2009-10 academic school year as
Hmong (DataQuest, 2012). However, in 2013, Clovis Unified had STAR test results for 1,626
Hmong students when the CDE matched each student’s test results to the race and ethnicity of
the student as reported in CALPADS. Student race and ethnicity identification on standardized
tests may have been a challenge within many other school districts.
Within the 385 schools in the 14 school districts, 159,050 students’ CST ELA scores
were used for this study. Over half the students in this research were reported to be Hispanic or
Latino, about 21% of the students were white, and 12% of the students were Black or African
American. Other racial/ethnic subgroups that were used as comparison groups to the Hmong
were: Filipino, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Laotian. Figure 5 portrays a breakdown of the number
and percentages of students in each racial/ethnic subgroup.

Figure 5. Racial and Ethnic Student Subgroups within the 14 School Districts
Black or African
American, 19213,
12%
Chinese, 2319, 1%
Filipino, 2510, 2%
Hispanic or Latino,
92165, 58%
Hmong, 6578, 4%
Laotian,
888, 1%
Vietnamese,
1604, 1%
White, 33773, 21%
Student Racial and Ethnic Subgroups within the 14 School Districts
CST-ELA (n=159,050)

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 47
In comparison to the sample size of ELA achievement scores observed, the sample size
of students’ achievement scores in mathematics was considerably smaller, because the study
examined only students in grades 2-7 within 13 school districts. One school district, Merced
Union High, only served high school students, so the district was taken out of the study focusing
on grades 2-7 achievement in mathematics. Exactly 91,998 students’ CST mathematic scores
were observed (Figure 6). Similar to the CST ELA race and ethnicity demographics, more than
half of the students were reported to be Hispanic or Latino, 21% were identified as White, and
11% were identified as Black or African American. Other racial/ethnic student subgroups that
were consistent throughout each district and used as comparison groups in this study were the
Chinese, Filipino, Laotian and Vietnamese student subgroups.

Figure 6. Racial and Ethnic Student Subgroups within the 13 School Districts
Black or African
American,
10203, 11%
Chinese, 866, 1%
Filipino, 1037, 1%
Hispanic or Latino,
57475, 62%
Hmong, 2490,
3%
Laotian,
380, 1%
Vietnamese,
580, 1%
White, 18967, 21%
Racial and Ethnic Student Subgroups within the 13 School Districts
CST Mathematics - Grades 2-7 (n=91,998)
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 48
Table 4 below provides information about the 14 school districts that are included in this
study.
Table 4
Fourteen School Districts with a Significant Hmong Subgroup
Economic
Status
Parent Education English language Acquisition Status

Economically
Disadvantaged
Not a
High
School
Graduate
High
School
Graduate
Some
College
(Includes
AA Degree)
College
Graduate
Graduate
/Post
Graduate
Declined
to State
English
Only
Initially
Fluent
English
Proficient
Reclassified
-Fluent
English
Proficient
English
Learner
State 57.50% 17.10% 20.17% 19.62% 16.00% 10.12% 16.54% 55.76% 6.91% 14.66% 22.53%
Banning
Unified 85.81% 31.46% 26.76% 20.28% 7.11% 0.91% 13.25% 56.27% 6.94% 11.16% 25.60%
Del Norte
County 61.35% 13.49% 26.77% 36.38% 9.42% 6.12% 7.81% 80.71% 3.34% 7.00% 8.95%
Elk Grove
Unified 54.23% 9.25% 23.90% 25.90% 22.71% 11.66% 6.47%% 64.37% 2.99% 17.08% 15.51%
Fresno
Unified 90.00% 25.42% 25.79% 22.43% 7.30% 5.19% 13.79% 56.70% 4.55% 14.90% 23.80%
Merced
City
Elementary 78.43% 21.31% 21.54% 21.86% 11.13% 8.24% 15.87% 57.02% 5.02% 12.29% 25.63%
Merced
Union High 70.64% 27.74% 22.87% 22.90% 10.69% 6.83% 8.83% 48.95% 5.07% 32.36% 13.57%
Oroville
City
Elementary 74.01% 13.47% 26.61% 34.31% 11.02% 4.67% 9.87% 84.41% 1.97% 3.90% 9.67%
Sacramento
City
Unified 71.23% 19.10% 22.46% 19.51% 13.02% 8.11% 17.79% 60.82% 1.08% 14.07% 24.03%
Sanger
Unified 78.80% 28.12% 24.32% 23.33% 17.38% 2.18% 4.63% 53.76% 7.10% 17.72% 21.40%
Stockton
Unified 85.37% 21.09% 24.43% 14.30% 6.27% 3.89% 29.90% 46.30% 10.44% 15.18% 27.40%
Twin
Rivers
Unified 79.10% 15.75% 27.45% 20.47% 8.54% 2.02% 25.49% 57.53% 2.26% 13.56% 26.30%
Weaver
Union 85.39% 29.81% 25.60% 30.35% 7.89% 3.04% 2.61% 47.95% 1.33% 12.37% 38.03%
West
Fresno
Elementary 99.86% 54.13% 23.08% 12.25% 4.99% 0.85% 4.56% 37.61% 2.14% 7.41% 52.56%
Del Norte
County
Unified 99.85% 51.36% 32.23% 5.57% 2.20% 1.17% 7.47% 24.91% 2.93% 25.79% 46.37%
14 Districts 75.85% 19.66% 24.63% 21.70% 12.08% 6.47% 15.36% 57.59% 4.27% 15.51% 22.48%
CDE Dataquest

The cases observed in this study were 365 individual schools within 14 school districts in
California. Although the individual schools shared slightly different characteristics, the 14
school districts shared the commonality of serving a considerably large economically
disadvantaged population (Table 4). By the CDE’s definition, the primary indicators for low
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 49
socioeconomic status for a student are eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch and the reporting
of both parents not having a high school diploma. Table 4 shows that other than Elk Grove
Unified, every school district in this study served a larger percentage of economically
disadvantaged students than that found in the state’s overall population. In addition, the 14
school districts, on average, served a smaller percentage of students who came from households
where at least one parent had some college experience (including an Associate of Arts Degree),
was a college graduate, or pursued a post-graduate degree.
The student population within all 14 districts, at an aggregate level, moderately mirrored
California’s percentages of students broken down by subgroups based on English language
acquisition status (Table 4). As defined by the CDE, if a student was classified as an English
learner, it meant that the student did not meet set benchmarks on the California English
Language Development Test (CELDT) or had been reclassified as fluent-English-proficient by
passing the CELDT, but the student had not scored at a level deemed proficient or above on the
CST in ELA for three years after being reclassified. Specifically, in this research, to account for
all students whose primary language were not English and were classified as an EL for at least
one year during their educational experience, students classified as EL and RFEP served as
control variables.
Instrumentation and Procedure: Achievement
California Standards Test. Public schools must administer assessments to evaluate and
report school and student academic progress at the individual and subgroup level. In the state of
California, under the California Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999, the STAR program
was implemented to provide a range of assessments for different student populations and grade
levels to comply with federal mandates.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 50
California public schools administer the STAR tests, and the tests must be completed
within a 21-day window with a range of 10 days before and 10 days after the day that 85 percent
of instruction is completed. School districts and school sites schedule students in grades 2-11 for
participation in the STAR program to assess the students on California content based standards.
The main purpose of the STAR is to assess and evaluate how well schools and students are
performing. This study specifically examined only one of the four STAR program assessments,
the CST, which was designed to measure student achievement on the state’s academic content
standards for each grade level from grades 2-11. The other three assessments are alternative
assessments for students with disabilities or Spanish-speaking students who must meet certain
criteria to take the specific test.
As mentioned before, the only tests used in this study were the CST ELA administered to
students in grades 2 -11 and the CST mathematics administered to students in grades 2-7. We
examined specifically only ELA for students in grades 2-11 and math for students in grades 2-7,
because every student takes the same test (different version numbers) based on his/her grade
level, unlike the CST mathematics for grades 7-11, social sciences, and sciences, which are
based on which courses the individual student is enrolled in or has completed. It should be noted
that seventh grade students may take either the grade seven math test or the Algebra I test
depending upon the math course they’re enrolled in. Grade seven mathematics is considered in
this study, because during the 2009-10 academic school year, 87% of the student population in
grade seven took the CST grade seven math test, whereas only 7% of the grade seven population
took the Algebra 1 test (DataQuest, 2011).
Students’ scores on the CSTs range from a scale of 150 to 600, with 150 being the lowest
possible score and 600 being the highest possible score. Relative performance levels are based
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 51
on a continuum of far below basic, below basic, basic, proficient, and advanced. The CST
scaled scores and performance levels signify an overall measurement of student proficiency and
performance. The state’s goal is that every student within California public schools will be at a
minimum scaled score of 350 at the proficient level in all content areas.
The sources used to attain CST achievement data for this study were the 2010 STAR
Research File, the 2010 Entities List, and the 2010 Base API-Data File. The CST performance
levels were designated tiered scores as seen in Table 5.
Table 5
CST Performance Tiered Scores
Performance Level Tiered Score
Far Below Basic 0
Below Basic 1
Basic 2
Proficient 3
Advanced 4

Analysis
To measure the statistical differences between the academic achievement among Hmong
students and other subgroups within California, a univariate test was conducted via Statistical
Product and Service Solutions (SPSS). The effect sizes between each racial/ethnic student
subgroup and the Hmong student subgroup at each grade level of each study was also calculated.
Limitations
The limitations to this comparative analysis study of the 14 school districts enrolling
Hmong student subgroups included threats to internal and external validity. A major limitation
to internal validity is that the study was not an experiment, and selection bias was intentional.
To conduct a study about a minority group that can only be found in certain school districts, all
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 52
school districts were screened beforehand and had to have a considerable amount of Hmong
students as a significant subgroup to qualify as a district in this study. One may argue that
selection bias of the districts may be responsible for observed outcomes. An appropriate
counterargument is that it was necessary to screen each district participating in this specific study
because few districts within California had a significant Hmong student population that could
serve as an observed group. In addition, it was most reasonable to compare the observed group
with other comparison groups receiving the same resources at the district level and living within
close proximity to neighborhood schools that enrolled a significant population of Hmong
students. Lastly, a threat to external validity is that all the specifics and definitions of variables
within this study may have limited generalizability and may not be applicable to other settings.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 53
Chapter 4: Results
Chapter Three outlined the methodology used to measure the achievement gap in ELA
and mathematics among the Hmong student subgroup and other racial/ethnic student subgroups
using the 2009-10 CST scores. This chapter specifically presents the results of the research.
First, at the state level, the CST ELA average performance tiered scores of each of the 12 student
subgroups’ performances are presented and compared at each grade level. Second, data from the
14 school districts that had a significant amount of Hmong students are presented by comparing
racial/ethnic student subgroups’ CST ELA mean scaled scores by each grade level. Third, there
is a description of the findings from the CST ELA data from the 14 school districts with the
control variables: low socioeconomic status, average parent education level, and EL and RFEP
status. After examining the CST ELA data, the results of the CST mathematics data for the 12
subgroups at the state level are presented in the same fashion. Then, the mean scaled scores of
the racial/ethnic student subgroups within 13 districts are compared, followed by the comparison
of the mean scaled scores of the racial/ethnic student subgroups with the control variable.
Comparison of CST ELA Mean Performance Tiered Scores of 12 Subgroups in California
The results of the CSTs are reported at the student level by subject tests with scaled
scores that correspond to performance levels representing the students’ achievement on the
standards. There are five performance levels: advanced, proficient, basic, below basic, and far
below basic. The state’s designated target is for all students to score at the performance levels of
proficient or advanced for each subject test. As mentioned in chapter three, in this study, each
CST performance level was designated a tiered score (Table 6). The range of the performance
tiered scores consisted of the lowest performance level of Far Below Basic being designated a
tiered score of 0, and the highest performance level of Advanced earning a tiered score of 4.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 54
Table 6 describes the number of CST ELA test scores observed, each subgroup’s mean
performance tiered score on the CST ELA, and the standard deviation.
Table 6
CST ELA Average Performance Tiered Scores of 12 Subgroups in California
Subgroup Name N Mean Std. Deviation

Asian Indian 52,100 3.17 0.19
Black or African American 303,182 2.11 0.23
Cambodian 11,819 2.48 0.24
Chinese 106,906 3.32 0.14
Filipino 121,632 2.94 0.18
Hispanic or Latino 2,286,174 2.15 0.20
Hmong 10,166 2.02 0.19
Japanese 17,120 3.24 0.14
Korean 41,498 3.32 0.16
Laotian 8,063 2.37 0.20
Vietnamese 58,428 3.05 0.19
White 1,228,320 2.92 0.19
Total 4,245,408 2.76 0.51
Based on the 2010 CST ELA results, the average performance tiered score of each of the
12 subgroups in this study followed a similar linear pattern from each grade level to the next, as
seen in Figure 7. Figure 7 also illustrates that the 2010 CST ELA results provided evidence of
severe achievement gaps among the student subgroups. At the state level, the Korean, Chinese,
and Japanese student subgroups consistently scored at a performance tiered score of 3.0 or above
(at a performance level of Proficient or above), on average, at each grade level. The student
subgroups with the lowest CST ELA mean performance tiered scores at each grade level were
the Hispanic/Latino, Black/African American, and Hmong student subgroups. On average,
students who identified with the racial/ethnic subgroups of Cambodian, Laotian,
Hispanic/Latino, Black/African American, or Hmong scored either in the Below Basic or Basic
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 55
performance levels on the CST ELA across the grade levels. Of all the five subgroups with low
mean performance tiered scores, the Hmong student subgroup had the lowest CST ELA mean
performance tiered scores across all grade levels, with the exception of grades 9 and 10.

Figure 7. Graph of CST ELA Average Performance Tiered Scores of 12 Subgroups in California
Comparison of CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores of 8 Subgroups within 14 School Districts
To better understand how well Hmong students perform on the CST ELA in comparison
to their non-Hmong peers, only the data of school districts with a considerable Hmong
population were further observed. In addition, the following variables were also observed:
student qualification for NSLP, average parent education level, student English language
acquisition status, and grade level. In the 385 public schools within the 14 California school
California English Language Arts Standards Test: Average
Performance Tiered Scores of 12 Subgroups in California
Average Performance Tiered Score

Grade
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 56
districts that reported a considerable amount of Hmong students taking the CSTs, there were
seven subgroups within the districts that were consistent comparison groups: Black/African
American, Hispanic/Latino, White, Chinese, Filipino, Laotian, and Chinese. Table 7 describes
the number of ELA test scores observed within the 14 school districts, each subgroup’s mean
scaled score, and standard deviations.
Table 7
CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores within 14 School Districts
Subgroup Name N Mean
Std.
Deviation
Black or African
American
19166 339.32 22.79
Chinese 2319 363.85 20.97
Filipino 2508 355.40 18.38
Hispanic or Latino 92030 339.06 23.37
Hmong 6572 331.64 15.52
Laotian 887 341.18 17.64
Vietnamese 1604 356.05 17.99
White 33725 351.08 23.10
Total 158811 342.93 23.54

A univariate analysis of variance (UNIANOVA) was used to observe the effects of
student race/ethnicity on CST ELA mean scaled scores. The analysis of variance (ANOVA)
results point out that there is a significant effect for the student race/ethnicity factor on CST ELA
mean scaled scores, F(7,3683) = 245.81, p< .001.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 57
Table 8
The Effects of Student Race/Ethnicity on CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores within 14 School
Districts, No Control Variables
Tests of Between-Subjects Effects
Dependent Variable:MeanScaledScore
Source
Type III Sum
of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Corrected Model 1.399E+06 79 17714.440 33.080 .000
Intercept 1.112E+08 1 1.112E+08 207717.799 .000
SubgroupName 921449.603 7 131635.658 245.814 .000
Grade *
SubgroupName
403192.634 72 5599.898 10.457 .000
Error 1.972E+06 3683 535.509
Total 4.459E+08 3763
Corrected Total 3.372E+06 3762
a. R Squared = .415 (Adjusted R Squared = .403)

Figure 8. Graph of CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores by Grade Level and Student
Race/Ethnicity within 14 School Districts, No Control Variables
California English Language Arts Standards Test: Mean Scaled
Scores of 8 Subgroups within 14 School Districts, No Control
Variables
Mean Scaled Score

Grade
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 58
Figure 8 illustrates that during the 2009-10 academic school year, the Chinese subgroup
had the highest mean scaled scores on the CST ELA for all grade levels, followed by the
Filipino, Vietnamese, and White subgroups within the 14 school districts that reported a
considerable amount of Hmong students. The graph also shows that the Hmong, Black/African
American, and Hispanic/Latino subgroups have the lowest CST ELA mean scaled scores from
grades 2-11 in the 14 districts. Specifically, the Hmong subgroup has the lowest CST ELA mean
scaled scores from grades 2-6 compared to the other seven comparison subgroups, and the
Black/African American subgroup has the lowest CST ELA mean scaled scores from grades 7-
11. Lower midrange of the eight subgroups’ CST ELA mean scaled scores are the Laotian
students’ ELA mean scaled scores.
In Table 9, the third UNIANOVA compares the effects of student race/ethnicity, student
grade level, student qualification for the NSLP, average parent education level, and student
English language acquisition status on CST ELA mean scaled scores. Results indicated a
significant effect for all variables: student race/ethnicity, F(7,3860) = 198.27, p< .001; student
grade level F(9,3680) = 27.75, p< .001; student qualification for the NSLP F(1,3860) = 119.28,
p< .001; average parent education level F(1,3860) = 179.68, p<.001; and student English
language acquisition status of EL F(1,3869) = 33.87.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 59
Table 9
The Effects of Student Race/Ethnicity, Free/Reduced Lunch Status, Parent Education Level, ESL
Status, and Grade Level on CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores, Control Variables
Tests of Between-Subjects Effects
Dependent Variable:MeanScaledScore
Source
Type III Sum of
Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Corrected Model 2.069E+06 82 25228.637 71.254 .000
Intercept 1.241E+06 1 1.241E+06 3505.707 .000
meals_first 42233.734 1 42233.734 119.281 .000
avg_ed_first 63619.527 1 63619.527 179.682 .000
EL 11991.945 1 11991.945 33.869 .000
Grade 88438.077 9 9826.453 27.753 .000
SubgroupName 491413.641 7 70201.949 198.272 .000
Grade *
SubgroupName
27444.611 63 435.629 1.230 .106
Error 1.303E+06 3680 354.068
Total 4.459E+08 3763
Corrected Total 3.372E+06 3762
a. R Squared = .614 (Adjusted R Squared = .605)

Figure 9 illustrates the mean scaled scores of each of the eight subgroups with low
socioeconomic status, the average parent education level, and EL classification as control
variables. The CST ELA mean scaled scores of the Hmong subgroup across all grade levels are
consistently one of the lowest three CST ELA mean scaled scores. The other two subgroups
with the lowest CST ELA mean scaled scores are the Black/African American and
Hispanic/Latino subgroups. Compared to the Hmong subgroup, the CST ELA mean scaled
scores of the Hispanic/Latino subgroup are actually higher from the second grade through the
sixth grade. From seventh grade to eleventh grade, the Hmong student subgroups’ CST ELA
mean scaled scores are a bit higher than the Hispanic/Latino subgroups’ CST ELA mean scaled
scores. The Black/African American subgroup’s CST ELA mean scaled scores are lower than
all other subgroups from grades 2-11, with the exception of the third grade, in which the Hmong
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 60
and Laotian subgroups had the lowest mean scaled scores. Figure 9 also points out that, within
the 14 school districts observed, the Chinese student subgroup consistently had the highest CST
ELA mean scaled scores across grades 2-11 while the White, Filipino, and Vietnamese
subgroups’ CST ELA mean scaled scores interchangeably followed behind as the second highest
CST ELA mean scores.

Figure 9. Graph of CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores by Grade Level and Student Race/Ethnicity
within 14 School Districts, Control Variables
Comparison of CST Math Mean Performance Tiered Scores of 12 Subgroups in California
The 2010 CST mathematics data were observed for grades 2-7 because the majority of
the students in California’s public schools take the same mathematics exam. From the eighth
California English Language Arts Standards Test: Mean Scaled
Scores of 8 Subgroups within 14 School Districts, Control
Variables
Mean Scaled Score

Grade
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 61
grade and beyond, students take a CST End of Course exam that is directly aligned to the
standards of the course in which they are currently enrolled. The number of observed CST math
scores, each subgroup’s mean performance tiered score, and the standard deviation can be found
in Table 10.
Table 10
CST Math Scaled Score Means of 12 Subgroups
Subgroup Name N Mean Std. Deviation
Asian Indian 32,781 3.35 0.17
Black or African American 206,566 2.24 0.24
Cambodian 6,471 2.83 0.26
Chinese 57,456 3.60 0.13
Filipino 67,819 3.08 0.22
Hispanic or Latino 1,366,933 2.44 0.25
Hmong 5,289 2.59 0.23
Japanese 9,681 3.49 0.16
Korean 22,087 3.58 0.13
Laotian 4,616 2.67 0.23
Vietnamese 34,065 3.36 0.16
White 688,195 3.02 0.20
Total
2,501,959
3.02 0.49

Similar to the 2010 CST ELA data trends among the 12 subgroups, the 2010 CST
mathematics mean performance tiered scores of each subgroup followed a similar linear pattern
across all grade levels. As seen in Figure 10, the Chinese, Asian Indian, and Japanese student
subgroups had the highest mean performance tiered scores from grades 2-7. The Korean and
Vietnamese subgroups consistently followed close behind with their average CST math
performance tiered score at 3 or above, at the proficient level. The Filipino, White, and
Cambodian subgroups’ CST math mean performance tiered scores were midrange at the
proficient and basic performance levels across the grade levels when compared within the 12
subgroups. With the lowest CST math mean performance tiered scores, the Laotian, Hmong,
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 62

Figure 10. Graph of CST Math Average Performance Tiered Scores of 12 Subgroups in
California
Hispanic/Latino, and Black/African American subgroups continuously performed, on average, at
the Basic level at all grade levels. In comparison to all 12 subgroups, the Black/African
American subgroup had the lowest CST mathematics performance, on average, from grades 2-7.
Much like the CST ELA data for all 12 subgroups, the CST mathematics data indicate that
achievement gaps do exist among certain races/ethnicities in California, and the Hmong student
subgroup, on average, continuously performed poorly and within the bottom three subgroups at
each grade level.

California Math Standards Test: Average Performance Tiered
Scores of 12 Subgroups in California
Average Performance Tiered Score

Grade
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 63
Comparison of CST Math Mean Scaled Scores of 8 Subgroups within 13 School Districts
Table 11 states the CST math mean scaled scores, standard deviation, and the sample size
for each racial/ethnic student subgroup.
Table 11
Summary of CST Math Mean Scaled Scores within 13 School Districts
Subgroup Name N Mean
Std.
Deviation
Black or African American 10,176 359.28 28.33
Chinese 866 402.92 27.75
Filipino 1,037 377.14 28.22
Hispanic or Latino 57,376 362.75 29.09
Hmong 2,489 353.72 22.26
Laotian 380 361.62 27.75
Vietnamese 580 387.63 23.40
White 18,933 377.92 28.55
Total 91,837 366.67 29.90

The UNIANOVA results suggest that there is a significant effect for the student
race/ethnicity factor on CST math mean scaled scores, F(7,2793) = 191.76, p< .000.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 64
Table 12
The Effects of Student Race/Ethnicity on CST Math Mean Scaled Scores within 13 School
Districts, No Control Variables
Tests of Between-Subjects Effects
Dependent Variable:MeanScaledScore
Source
Type III Sum of
Squares df
Mean
Square F Sig.
Corrected
Model
2.025E+06 47 43090.925 43.041 .000
Intercept 6.899E+07 1 6.899E+07 68909.304 .000
SubgroupName 1.344E+06 7 191981.886 191.758 .000
Grade *
SubgroupName
584620.413 40 14615.510 14.598 .000
Error 2.796E+06 2793 1001.165
Total 3.868E+08 2841
Corrected
Total
4.822E+06 2840

a. R Squared = .420 (Adjusted R Squared = .410)

Only 13 school districts were further observed to allow a more narrow and accurate
comparison between the Hmong student subgroup and their peers’ academic achievement in
mathematics. The reason for having one school district fewer than the CST ELA Mean Scaled
Scores study that included grades 2-11 is that, for mathematics, only grade levels 2-7 are
observed. One high school district enrolling students in grades 9-11 only, Merced Union High
District, is included in the CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores study, but taken out of the CST Math
Mean Scaled Scores study for grades 2-7. Again, districts were only considered for the study if
they identified and reported a considerable amount of students taking the CSTs as Hmong. The
same seven subgroups used in the CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores study were identified as
consistent comparison groups in the CST Math Mean Scaled Scores study: Black/African
American, Hispanic/Latino, White, Chinese, Filipino, Laotian, and Chinese. Lastly, student
qualification for NSLP, average parent education level, student English language acquisition
status, and grade level were all variables considered in the study. There were a total of 91,837
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 65
students’ scores within 321 schools observed to analyze the CST mathematics achievement
differences among the eight subgroups.

Figure 11. Graph of CST Math Mean Scaled Scores by Grade Level and Student Race/Ethnicity
within 13 School Districts, No Control Variables
The UNIANOVA for this study tested the effects of student race/ethnicity, student grade
level, student qualification for the NSLP, average parent education level, and student English
language acquisition status on CST math mean scaled scores. Results indicated a significant
effect for the student race/ethnicity factor, F(7,2790) = 152.04, p< .001. Other factors with a
significant effect on CST math mean scaled scores included: student grade level, F(5, 2790) =
California Math Standards Test: Mean Scaled Scores of 8
Subgroups within 13 School Districts, No Control Variables
Mean Scaled Score

Grade
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 66
31.65, p< .001, student qualification for the NSLP, F(1, 2790) = 103.03, p< .001, and average
parent education level, F(1, 2790) = 11.25, p=.001. The number of students identified as ELs
within schools had no significant effect on CST math mean scaled scores, F(1, 2790) = .12,
p>.001.
Table 13
The Effects of Student Race/Ethnicity, Free/Reduced Lunch Status, Parent Education Level, ESL
Status, and Grade Level on CST Math Mean Scaled Scores, Control Variables
Tests of Between-Subjects Effects
Dependent Variable:MeanScaledScore
Source
Type III Sum of
Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Corrected Model 2.607E+06 50 52138.389 65.685 .000
Intercept 1.436E+06 1 1.436E+06 1808.577 .000
meals_first 81779.718 1 81779.718 103.027 .000
avg_ed_first 8926.428 1 8926.428 11.246 .001
ESL 91.821 1 91.821 .116 .734
Grade 125594.515 5 25118.903 31.645 .000
SubgroupName 844807.368 7 120686.767 152.043 .000
Grade *
SubgroupName
46715.493 35 1334.728 1.682 .007
Error 2.215E+06 2790 793.767
Total 3.868E+08 2841
Corrected Total 4.822E+06 2840
a. R Squared = .541 (Adjusted R Squared = .532)

In the plot graph in Figure 11, the CST math mean scaled scores of each subgroup in the
13 school districts is illustrated at each grade level with low socioeconomic status, average
parent education level, and student English language acquisition statuses of EL or RFEP as
control variables. The plot graph illustrates that the Chinese student subgroup within the 13
school districts had the highest CST math mean scaled scores from grades 2-7, followed by the
Vietnamese student subgroup. The Filipino, White, Hmong, and Laotian subgroups’ CST math
mean scaled scores are all midrange across all grade levels between the eight subgroups. The
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 67
Hispanic and Black/African American student subgroups’ CST math mean scaled scores are
repeatedly lower than the other six subgroups’ CST math mean scaled scores from grades 2-7

Figure 12. Graph of CST Math Mean Scaled Scores by Grade Level and Student Race/Ethnicity
within 13 School Districts, Control Variables
Effect Sizes: Cohen’s d (English Language Arts)
To measure the effect sizes in this study, Cohen’s d was used. Cohen’s d is used by
finding the difference in the two groups’ means divided by the average of their standard
deviations. A d of 1 tells us that the two groups’ means differ by one standard deviation, a d of
0.5 indicates that the two groups’ means differ by half a standard deviation, and so on (Cohen,
Mean Scaled Score

California Math Standards Test: Mean Scaled Scores of 12
Subgroups within 13 School Districts, Control Variables
Grade
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 68
1988). According to Cohen, when d=0.2, it is considered a “small” effect size, when d=0.5, this
represents a “medium” effect size, and d=0.8, it’s a “large” effect size (Cohen, 1988). Thus,
when two groups’ means do not differ by 0.2 standard deviations or more, the difference is
small.
Table 14 shows that the effect sizes for the analyses between the Hmong student
subgroup’s CST ELA mean performance tiered scores and other comparison student subgroups
by each grade level exceeded Cohen’s (1988) convention for a large effect (d ≥ .80). The student
subgroups with large effect sizes consistently throughout all the grade levels were: Asian Indian,
Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and White. The Cambodian subgroup’s effect
sizes were large and medium across the grade levels, whereas the Black/African American and
Hispanic/Latino subgroups had effect sizes that were medium, small, or none when analyzed
with the Hmong subgroup’s CST ELA mean performance tiered scores by grade level.
Table 14
Effect Sizes of the Hmong Subgroups’ CST ELA Mean Performance Tiered Scores vs. Other
Racial/Ethnic Subgroups’ CST ELA Mean Performance Tiered Scores by Grade Level in
California

Hmong

Grade
2
Grade
3
Grade
4
Grade
5
Grade
6
Grade
7
Grade
8
Grade
9
Grade
10
Grade
11
Asian Indian
2.24 2.56 2.55 2.59 2.42 2.35 2.27 2.05 1.98 2.05
Black or African
American 0.06 0.46 0.49 0.57 0.23 0.30 0.10 -0.14 -0.18 0.09
Cambodian
0.96 1.17 1.27 1.28 0.92 0.95 0.82 0.59 0.62 0.62
Chinese
2.62 2.76 2.74 2.84 2.64 2.60 2.46 2.35 2.36 2.59
Filipino
1.77 1.91 2.10 2.08 1.82 1.91 1.78 1.66 1.57 1.75
Hispanic or Latino
0.08 0.34 0.47 0.61 0.31 0.30 0.16 0.04 0.00 0.33
Japanese
2.24 2.42 2.55 2.59 2.36 2.48 2.42 2.37 2.40 2.56
Korean
2.62 2.72 2.78 2.82 2.62 2.60 2.56 2.35 2.34 2.54
Laotian
0.64 0.75 0.93 0.84 0.68 0.79 0.72 0.49 0.48 0.66
Vietnamese
1.87 2.07 2.29 2.23 2.05 2.27 2.09 1.88 1.90 1.92
White
1.50 1.95 2.08 2.12 1.88 1.97 1.74 1.64 1.41 1.79
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 69

When looking specifically at the student populations within the 14 school districts with a
fairly large Hmong student population and ELA mean scaled scores, the effect sizes for the
analyses were large across all grade levels for the following student subgroups: Chinese,
Filipino, Vietnamese, and White. Table 15 also indicates that the analysis between the Laotian
student subgroup’s ELA mean scaled scores and the Hmong subgroup’s mean scaled scores
varied between large, median, and small effect sizes depending on the grade level. The effect
sizes for the analyses between the Hmong student subgroups mean scaled scores and the
Black/African American and Latino/Hispanic mean scaled scores were medium, small, or none
at grade levels 2-7.
Table 15
Effect Sizes of the Hmong Subgroups’ CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores vs. Other Racial/Ethnic
Subgroups’ CST ELA Mean Scaled Scores by Grade Level within 14 School Districts

Hmong
Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11
Black or
African
American 0.05 0.45 0.49 0.58 0.29 -0.23 -0.33 -0.39 -0.62 -0.42
Chinese 3.09 2.66 3.16 3.49 3.20 2.83 2.76 2.42 2.84 2.24
Filipino 2.80 2.00 2.94 2.15 2.24 2.23 1.56 1.72 1.67 1.72
Hispanic
or Latino 0.48 0.69 0.71 0.76 0.64 0.00 -0.15 -0.07 -0.45 -0.12
Hmong 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Laotian 1.35 0.76 1.36 1.31 1.26 0.67 0.30 0.03 1.06 0.99
Vietnamese 2.64 2.18 3.06 2.05 2.35 2.38 1.75 1.89 1.84 1.58
White 1.61 1.94 2.23 2.21 2.10 1.54 1.19 1.10 1.00 1.12

Effect Sizes: Cohen’s d (Mathematics)
The effect sizes for the analysis among six of the 11 student subgroups’ CST math mean
performance tiered scores and the Hmong student subgroup’s CST math mean performance
tiered scores in California were found to exceed Cohen’s convention for a large effect across
grades 2-7. These six subgroups were the Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 70
Vietnamese student subgroups. Between the White student subgroup and Hmong student
subgroup’s CST math mean performance tiered scores, there were large and medium effect sizes.
Table 16 also points out large, medium, and small effects according to Cohen’s conventions in
grades 2-7 for the Black or African American, Cambodian, and Hispanic subgroups’ CST math
mean performance tiered scores. The analysis between the Laotian student subgroup’s CST
math mean performance tiered scores and the Hmong student subgroup’s CST math mean
performance tiered scores indicated that the effects were small or very minimal from grades 2-7.
In grades 4-6, the effect sizes for the Laotian subgroup fell under Cohen’s convention for a small
effect (d = .2).
Table 16
Effect Sizes of the Hmong Subgroups’ CST Math Mean Performance Tiered Scores vs. Other
Racial/Ethnic Subgroups’ CST Math Mean Performance Tiered Scores by Grade Level in
California

Hmong
Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7
Asian Indian
1.92 1.95 1.45 1.43 1.56 1.51
Black or African American
-0.43 -0.43 -1.09 -0.96 -0.76 -0.83
Cambodian
0.75 0.93 0.46 0.41 0.31 0.28
Chinese
2.30 2.45 1.98 2.03 2.14 2.11
Filipino
1.29 1.43 0.94 0.90 0.86 0.89
Hispanic or Latino
-0.04 0.06 -0.48 -0.56 -0.42 -0.40
Hmong
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Japanese
2.17 2.23 1.78 1.75 1.79 1.87
Korean
2.33 2.32 1.93 1.95 2.10 2.07
Laotian
0.24 0.48 0.13 0.00 0.08 0.14
Vietnamese
1.77 1.93 1.50 1.48 1.60 1.57
White
1.29 1.32 0.61 0.60 0.88 0.79

Table 17 lists the effect sizes for each of the eight subgroups’ CST math mean scaled
scores by grade level within the 13 districts. The analysis reveals that only two student
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 71
subgroups’ CST math mean scaled scores surpassed Cohen’s standard for a large effect across all
grade levels: the Chinese and Vietnamese student subgroups. The Filipino subgroup also had
large effects for all grade levels, with the exception of grade five, which had a medium effect.
Between the Black/African student subgroup and the Hmong student subgroup’s CST math mean
scaled scores, there were large and medium effects across grades 2-7. The effect sizes for the
White student subgroup were found to meet Cohen’s standards for small, medium, and large
effects, depending on the grade level. Lastly, the effect sizes for the Hispanic/Latino and Laotian
student subgroups proved to be within the ranges of Cohen’s conventions for very minimal,
small, and medium effects across the grades 2-7.
Table 17
Effect Sizes of the Hmong Subgroups’ CST Math Mean Scaled Scores vs. Other Racial/Ethnic
Subgroups’ CST Math Mean Scaled Scores by Grade Level within 13 School Districts

Hmong

Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7
Black or African American
-0.92 -0.59 -1.50 -0.91 -0.66 -1.21
Chinese
2.60 2.67 2.25 2.56 3.53 2.32
Filipino
1.58 1.19 1.24 0.36 1.74 1.13
Hispanic or Latino
-0.17 0.04 -0.83 -0.53 -0.11 -0.80
Hmong
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Laotian
0.54 0.74 0.74 -0.48 0.78 0.39
Vietnamese
1.84 2.19 1.67 1.12 1.98 1.96
White
1.00 1.17 0.22 0.49 1.20 0.20

The effect sizes confirm the findings that an achievement gap exists between the Hmong
student subgroup and many student subgroups that, on average, have performed well on
standardized assessments in the subjects of ELA and mathematics. The three consistent student
subgroups performing at the level of the Hmong student subgroup in ELA and mathematics are
the Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Laotian student subgroups.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 72
Chapter 5: Discussion
Even though many Asian Americans are thriving in California public school classrooms,
the aggregation of multiple Asian ethnic groups in the Asian American category has hidden
variations of academic achievement and struggles among many Asian American subgroups.
This study specifically concentrated on one Southeast Asian American student subgroup: the
Hmong student subgroup. The first wave of Hmong students within the American public school
systems in the 1990s faced multiple variables that contributed to their educational hardships;
these “at-risk” factors included household poverty, minimal parent educational background, and
limited English proficiency. Consequently, these factors and many more variables hindered
student achievement among the Hmong population then.
By the late 1990s, studies started to suggest that Hmong students were doing well in
public schools, and their standardized test scores were above the national norm in many subject
areas despite the “at-risk” factors they faced (Gozali-Lee, 1996). Studies concluded that the
possible causes of what was perceived as success in the public school system for Hmong
students were the strong value of education among the Hmong community, strong family bonds,
shared responsibilities among family and kin, and the parents’ high educational expectations for
their children (Koltyk, 1997). Many of these studies examining the academic achievement of the
Hmong student population often concentrated on the factors and explanations for achievement.
Rather than finding explanations for successes and struggles of the Hmong student subgroup, the
focus of this comparative and quantitative study is to analyze whether an achievement gap
existed today between Hmong high school students’ performance in ELA and mathematics on
the CST and that of other racial/ethnic student subgroups. This study does have limitations, but
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 73
the results do have some validity to be considered when making education policies and in future
research.
Hmong Student Performance in English Language Arts in California
For the first part of this study, the CST ELA mean performance tiered scores of each
student subgroup for the academic 2010 school year were used to compare the achievement
results of the Hmong student subgroup against the achievement results of 11 other student
subgroups. The findings suggest that, at the state level, where all tested students in grades 2-11
are accounted for and identified with one racial/ethnic subgroup, the Hmong student subgroup’s
CST ELA mean performance tiered scores were lower than all other subgroups’ CST ELA
performance tiered scores from grades 2-8 and within the bottom three subgroups from grades 9-
11. Within the 14 districts that enrolled and reported testing a considerable amount of Hmong
students, the results indicated that the Hmong student subgroup had the lowest CST ELA mean
scaled scores across all grade levels when compared to the other racial/ethnic student subgroups.
Finally, when the control variables of low socioeconomic status, EL and RFEP status, and
average parent education level are considered, the CST ELA mean scaled scores of the Hmong
student subgroup remain consistently within the lowest three CST ELA mean scaled scores along
with the Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino student subgroups.
Hmong Student Performance in Mathematics in California
Similar to the CST ELA results at the state level, the CST math results indicated that
achievement gaps do exist among certain races/ethnicities in California, and the Hmong student
subgroup, along with the Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Laotian student
subgroup, performed within the bottom four subgroups at each grade level. The results did not
differ when the focus was on CST math data from 13 districts that reported testing a considerable
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 74
amount of Hmong students in grades 2-7. Once again, even with low socioeconomic status, EL
and RFEP status, and the average parent education level as control variables, the Hmong student
subgroup remained within the bottom four subgroups with the lowest math mean scaled scores
across grades 2-7.
Implications
The notion that Asian Americans are the model minority is challenged by the results of
many studies focused on the academic achievement of Southeast Asian American students,
including this study. In fact, Asian American students’ excelling exceptionally well in education
is perceived as a product of the racism that was dealt towards Asians in America at one time.
This stems from the United States government’s barring most of Asia from immigrating to the
U.S; however, after World War II, immigration laws changed and allowed Asians with an
education or professional background to enter the U.S. (Siu, 1996). The children of this wave of
Asian immigrants performed very well academically, creating the misleading stereotype that all
Asians embody the characteristics, work ethics, and values needed to achieve in school.
However, many Asian Americans have also been at high risk of failing in the education system.
Many of the ones failing were not immigrants, but, rather, Southeast Asian refugees of war who
were displaced in America, including the Hmong.
The numbers show that there are still Hmong student in California suffering academically
and at risk of failing. In the 1980s, the Asian American youths that were academically at risk
lived at or below poverty level in urban areas, spoke English as a second language, and
immigrated in their teen years (Waggoner, 1991). Whether these factors still hinder the
educational experiences of Asian Americans today is not answered in this study, but we do know
that, of the Southeast Asian groups in California, Hmong students seem to be at the highest risk
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 75
of not attaining academic achievement via standardized test results. The fact that the Hmong
student subgroup has the lowest CST ELA mean scaled scores compared to each racial/ethnic
student subgroup without considering control variables and remains within the bottom three
across all grade levels even when controlling for low socioeconomic status, English learner
status, and parent education level implies that Hmong students are still struggling with the same
“at risk” factors they experienced in the 1980s. A high percentage of the students within the
Hmong student subgroup most likely still come from a background of poverty and experience a
language barrier within the classroom.
Limitations
One major limitation in this study is that only one year of assessment results were
analyzed. In this case, the academic school year of 2009-10 was chosen because it was the first
year that there was an option for students to be identified as Hmong on the CST student answer
document. In addition, the 2009-10 CST results were the only available data when the study
started, and CST results following that year did not account for many Hmong students in districts
that should have had a large amount of enrolled Hmong students, such as Fresno Unified School
District. The failure to use multiple years of assessment results does prevent what could be a
more accurate portrayal of whether there is an achievement gap between other student subgroups
and the Hmong student subgroup. The CST scores for subgroups may vary from one year to the
next.
Another limitation of this study was that only mean performance tiered scores and mean
scaled scores for each subgroup were used for the analysis. Although only mean performance
tiered scores and mean scaled scores for each subgroup were available to conduct this study, the
aggregate scores may be poor indicators of the overall performance of the groups. Comparing
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 76
mean scaled scores for each subgroup only provides a generalization of whether an achievement
gap persists among Hmong students and their peers, but the aggregate test scores do not tell the
full and/or accurate story about the students’ performances, nor does it convey the reasons the
gaps exist. It is acknowledged that, like any other subgroup, although some Hmong students are
not experiencing academic achievement, others Hmong students may be excelling.
More indications of academic achievement should be considered when measuring an
achievement gap between the Hmong student subgroup and other racial/ethnic student
subgroups. Studies such as Berlin et al.’s (2011) have identified national and state indicators of
academic achievement and youth success based on scientific literature. These indicators should
be used to also measure the achievement gap between Hmong students and their non-Hmong
peers. Indicators other than test scores that have been valid, reliable, and easy to track at the
national level in the past and in the future include high school graduation rates, grade point
averages, promotion to grades 9 and 10, preschool enrollment, college enrollment, and
participation in extracurricular activities. Concentrated on finding indicators to allow
stakeholders to be more forward thinking rather than reactive, Foley et al. (2008) move beyond
test scores to identify leading indicators: “indicators that provide early signals of progress toward
academic achievement” (Foley et. al, 2008, p. 1). These leading indicators are: early reading
proficiency, enrollment in pre-algebra and algebra, overage-under credit, college admission test
scores, attendance and suspension rates, special education enrollment, student engagement, and
teacher and principal quality. Non-test indicators of achievement much like those identified in
Berlin et al. (2011) and Foley et al.’s (2008) studies should be further examined to provide a
better holistic view of the status quo of Hmong students and their non-Hmong peers to identify
where Hmong students fall behind and where they excel. As Krashen (2005) demonstrated with
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 77
the notion that Hmong students spend the most time on homework compared to any other
subgroup but did not perform well on standardized tests, studies much like this one need to
concentrate on where Hmong students excel as well as where there is a deficit to fully understand
why an achievement gap exists.
Impact on Policy Changes
The core principles of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 are increased
accountability, flexibility, local control, options for parents, and utilization of best practices
inside the classroom. The cornerstone of NCLB is the increased focus on accountability and
standards. For this reason, each state sets accountability and ELA and math standards targets for
each district, school, and significant student subgroup. In all states, including California, many
high-stakes standardized assessments are being used to make important policy decisions that
affect tracking, grade promotion, grade retention, graduation, teacher evaluation, teacher hiring,
school funding, and much more. The goal of NCLB is to ensure that every student in public
schools receives a quality education and that the achievement gap between poor and minority
students and their peers will narrow and come to a close.
Although NCLB does require data on student achievement to be disaggregated by race, it
does not mandate that achievement data be disaggregated by ethnicity. The California
Department of Education has progressively moved towards disaggregating data at not only the
race level, but also at the ethnicity level, which has only benefitted educational stakeholders who
use data to make decisions. However, the accountability portion relies only on data
disaggregated by race, which lumps all Asian ethnicities into one group. This blurs the unique
needs and concerns of the diverse Asian American ethnic groups, and possibly others. What is
highly recommended is that disaggregated data by ethnicity not necessarily be accounted for, but
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 78
that disaggregated data by ethnicity be systematically collected at the national, state, and local
levels to ease the processes in addressing the concerns and meeting the needs of all ethnic
student subgroups.
This study not only revealed that achievement gaps existed among the Hmong student
subgroup and other racial/ethnic student subgroups in the academic school year of 2009-10, but
it also revealed the gaps in the reporting of student race and/or ethnicity within California’s
school districts and California’s Accountability Reporting System. According to the research
data files provided by the California Department of Education, school districts that are known to
enroll a large Hmong student population compared to other school districts had very low
numbers of students identified as Hmong taking the CST within the past couple of years. For
example, starting the 2012-13 academic school year, the California Department of Education
used the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data Systems (CALPADS) Operational
Data Store (ODS) to connect students’ races and ethnicities with students’ STAR results. During
the 2010-11 academic school year, Clovis Unified School District reported that the district had
five Hmong students take the CSTs. With the change of using CALPADS demographic data to
connect with STAR results, Clovis Unified School District had 1,626 students in the Hmong
student subgroup with STAR results for the 2012-13 academic school year (DataQuest, 2013).
Another district with inconsistencies in identifying Hmong students with CST results is Fresno
Unified School District. During the 2009-10, Fresno Unified reported that 4,367 Hmong
students had CST scores. During the 2010-11 academic school year, only 67 Hmong students
were reported to have CST scores, and during the 2012-13 academic school year, 242 Hmong
students were reported to have taken the CSTs in Fresno Unified. It is recommended that
schools and districts reevaluate how they report student race and ethnicity via CALPADS each
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 79
year. An update of student demographic data from the parents, school, and local educational
agency each year or every number of years may result in more accurate data and, hence, more
accurate research.
Need for Further Research
According to the CST ELA and math results in 2009-10, an achievement gap did exist
between the Hmong student subgroup and other racial/ethnic student subgroups in California.
The findings in this study indicate that the Hmong student subgroups’ CST ELA and math mean
scaled scores are either lower or similar to the mean scaled scores of the Black/African American
and Hispanic/Latino student subgroups. To further understand whether there is a persistent
disparity in achievement and attainment between Hmong students in California and their peers,
as well as why the achievement gap exists, it is recommended that more research be conducted
on today’s generation of Hmong students’ academic achievement and how it correlates to
socioeconomic status, English as a second language, parental education level and support, and
instructional methods. Furthermore, more qualitative research and longitudinal research would
also contribute towards a better understanding of the achievement gap between Hmong students
and their non-Hmong peers.
Socioeconomic status. Academic performance can generally be predicted based on the
socioeconomic status of the family. Lower income families’ children tend to perform at a lower
level or even drop out of school (Frank, 1990; Merchant, 1987; Waggoner, 1991), as seen with
most Southeast Asians who were refugees of war, ended up in low income housing in the U.S.,
and became “at risk” students, as they did not perform well academically. However,
socioeconomic status and academic performance may be correlated, but not necessarily be the
cause of one another. It is recommended that further research be conducted regarding how or
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 80
even if socioeconomic status affects Hmong students’ academic achievement. Simply, is there a
statistical significance between the difference in academic achievement among Hmong students
who come from a lower socioeconomic background and Hmong students who come from a more
affluent background? Understanding the answer to this research question can help pinpoint
further factors that hinder the educational success of Hmong students.
English as a Second Language. Further research on how English as a second language
plays a role in the Hmong student achievement data would be beneficial to pinpoint which best
practices could help advance the Hmong student population. Analyzing and comparing Hmong
students’ CELDT scores to other student subgroups’ CELDT scores over time would also add on
to the literature of the Hmong students’ pace in English language development skills. The
importance of understanding the level of the language barrier experienced by Southeast Asian
students, as well as other non-English speaking subgroup, lies in the fact that it plays a major
role in the lack of education of some youth. English language learning students most likely have
had no or limited exposure to the English language before they enter the classroom. In order for
them to learn in the U.S., they have to learn English first. According to recent studies, it takes
about seven years of learning English before an individual can become proficient enough to keep
up with Western standard curriculum (Wong, 1988; Wong & Lopez, 1994). Such a long period
can cause an individual to feel hopeless and lead to other psychological traumas. Language
poses a greater challenge for students with no proper education prior to being educated in the
U.S., such as Hmong students. In the scope of the Vietnamese, some of them are literate in a
language and it shows to be beneficial to their learning in the U.S. (Siu, 1996; Walsh, 1991). As
seen in this study, the groups that suffer most from learning are the Southeast Asian groups that
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 81
come from rural areas where many people are not educated, such as the Hmong and Laotian
student subgroups.
Parental education level and support. Even if financially struggling parents had the
time, with very little formal education or none at all, parents who raise their families in poverty
have difficulty playing a direct role in assisting their children with their school work. This
would then propose the argument that, regardless of socioeconomic status, the child’s ability to
succeed in education largely depends on the education level of the parents (Whitmore et al.,
1989). Educated parents are able to support the child educationally by reading to him/her and
helping with schoolwork. The support relieves the stress put on the child and provides a
resource for learning in the home and family. How parental educational levels and which
parental support practices correlate with Hmong student achievement needs to be further
examined to understand which practices need to be taking place at home to ensure academic
success for Hmong students.
Instructional methods. There is a high demand to conduct and publish more research
on what it means and how to address Hmong issues in the classroom. Specifically, how are
school districts and schools that serve a considerably large Hmong population responding to the
needs of their Hmong students? In what ways are they integrating best teaching practices
towards Hmong students, especially Hmong English language learners, in the curriculum of
various disciplines and grade levels? Whether it be a cognitive strategies approach to reading
and writing, differentiated instruction, other research-based methodology, it is essential that
districts choose vetted, respected forms of instruction and train and support all teachers using it.
Not only will this provide teachers with an effective way to educate, it will also give districts the
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 82
credentials to implement and sustain a proven approach to teaching English learners as well as
all other students.
Qualitative Research
There is a need for research studies to go beyond identifying and examining
characteristics of students and their families, because there are conflicts that cannot be
pinpointed by gathered quantitative data. It’s imperative that research also focuses on locating
the factors that contribute to or hinder achievement and success of students. This can be done
through qualitative methods and data. Such data would include a wide range of topics such as:
student motivation, student engagement, student self-efficacy, the interaction between students
and teachers, and student and parent ethnographies. Although examining variables that influence
student achievement can be beneficial, we need to dig deeper and gain a better understanding of
what factors lead students to decide to drop out of school or try to succeed in school. Simply, the
voices of the students, the students’ educators, and the students’ parents need to be heard. Only
through qualitative methods can these types of data be best collected and analyzed.
Longitudinal Research
We need to conduct more longitudinal studies on the academic achievement of the
Hmong subgroup. A longitudinal study is a research study used to discover correlations between
variables that are not related to various background variables over a long period of time in which
the same group of individuals is tracked for the same data. The benefit of longitudinal studies is
that they provide researchers the opportunity to observe changes and trends more accurately.
Rather than analyzing and making inferences from data at one point in time to make decisions on
improving the status quo of Hmong student achievement, understanding the patterns and shifts of
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 83
Hmong student achievement throughout the years can assist all stakeholders to create policies to
enable student success before intervention is needed.
Conclusion
Specifically for the 2009-10 academic school year, the analysis of the CST ELA and
math mean performance tiered scores and mean scaled scores indicated that the Hmong student
subgroup trailed behind the majority, if not all, of the other racial/ethnic student subgroups at the
state and district level. Not only do the findings reject the model minority myth that Hmong
students, as Asian American students, are succeeding inside the classrooms, but the findings also
shed light on the many more areas of research that are needed on the topic of the Hmong
educational experiences today. A more current analysis and a longitudinal analysis are very
much needed to further understand the progress of the academic achievement of the Hmong
student population and what policies and/or interventions have and have not been effective.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HMONG STUDENTS 84
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Abstract (if available)

Abstract This quantitative study compared Hmong high school students’ scores in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics on the 2010 California Standards Tests (CST) to the scores of other racial/ethnic student subgroups at the state level. The study further examined whether an achievement gap exists between the Hmong student subgroup and other comparable student subgroups within the same school districts while controlling for socioeconomic status, English language acquisition status, and parent education level. ❧ California state level data were used to compare the CST ELA and CST math mean scores for 12 major subgroups for this study. For a more accurate comparison of student subgroups receiving the same curriculum and academic resources, data within 14 California school districts that reported having tested a considerable Hmong student population were further examined. Using data from the 14 school districts, the racial/ethnic student subgroups’ mean performance tiered scores and mean scaled scores on the CST ELA and CST mathematics were reported by grade level, and then again with the control variables. Lastly, Cohen's d was used to measure the effect sizes. ❧ The analysis and effect sizes indicated that a comparable achievement gap exists between the Hmong student subgroup and other racial/ethnic student subgroups. Specifically, Hmong students in California did not perform well compared to the majority, if not all, of the other racial/ethnic student subgroups at the state and district level. Moreover, the three consistent student subgroups found to be performing at the level of the Hmong student subgroup in ELA and mathematics were the Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Laotian student subgroups. The findings of this study point towards other practices and research needed to better understand the realities of the Hmong educational experience, which is the start of understanding best practices for teaching Hmong students.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Lee, Sue (author)

Core Title Academic achievement among Hmong students in California: a quantitative and comparative analysis

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 02/07/2014

Defense Date 09/20/2013

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag academic achievement,achievement gap,Hmong,OAI-PMH Harvest,test scores

Format application/pdf (imt)

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Advisor Hocevar, Dennis (committee chair), Shakhbagova, Julietta (committee member), Symonds, Patricia (committee member)

Creator Email suelee@usc.edu,suelee112@gmail.com

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