Disaggregate: Race and ethnicity

What to know about measurement

Data systems across sectors do not always use the same reporting standards for race and ethnicity, which can limit the comparability and availability of data reported across sectors. For example, IPEDS requires postsecondary institutions to exclude from race and ethnicity reporting students who are nonresident aliens according to the visa and citizenship information on record at the institution; these students instead are classified as a separate category of nonresident aliens. The National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) also asks institutions to follow these guidelines established by IPEDS. Further, the NSC does not require institutions to report students’ race and ethnicity, and only 62 percent of 2020–2021 enrollment records reported to the NSC included this information.

E-W systems should align their approaches to collecting and reporting racial and ethnic data. These systems may follow the minimum categories required by the U.S. Department of Education, which are based on guidelines by the Office of Management and Budget last updated in 2024. These include collecting data on minimum categories for race and ethnicity, including Asian; Black or African American; Hispanic or Latino, Middle Eastern or North African, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and White. Individuals may select more than one group, and OMB guidance encourages the inclusion of an “Another group” detail category with a write-in option. They note that this is especially relevant for individuals who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, which is not included in the updated minimum categories. Updates to OMB guidance in 2024 removed the requirement to collect data separately on Latino or Hispanic ethnic identity and racial identity, recognizing that these are not mutually exclusive categories.

In addition to these minimum categories, we recommend capturing more detailed ethnicity data based on national origin, as broad race and ethnicity groupings can mask disparities. For instance, there are more than 48 Asian ethnicities, and patterns of disparities emerge when disaggregating data for South Asian groups, such as Laotians and Cambodians, separately from East Asian groups, such as Chinese and Korean. As another example, individuals with origins in North Africa and the Middle East are categorized as “White” under federal definitions, though these groups can face different experiences and challenges than do White Americans with European roots.