Based on a study on academic achievement released last week, the College Board has decided not to classify Asian-Americans as minorities. In an article printed in the Boston Globe, the Board explains Asian-Americans can't be grouped with other minorities because they consistantly out-perform them. If decisions like this continue nationwide, Asian-Americans will receive cease to receive special consideration in education and hiring choices within the academic world, as well as in government aid. This decision is grounded in the mistaken belief that Asian Americans are the "model minority." Asian Americans have been mistakenly dubbed the "model minority" in this country since the 1960s. Since then they have been pitted against other minority groups and simultaneously maligned for their alleged success. Asians are often viewed as hard-working machines, without emotion, without humanity, only looking toward the goal. What is not taken into account in perceptions about the Asian-American community as a whole is its interior diversity. The U.S. Census classifies approximately 20 different ethnic groups under the label "Asian/Pacific Islander." The group as whole includes Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Asian Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, Thai, Pacific Islander, Polynesian, Hawaiian, Samoan, Micronesian, Guamanian, and few others. It doesn't make sense to assume that because a few ethnic groups are doing well with in the larger group, that everyone else in the group is. It's an over-generalization that unfortunately some people buy into. The term "Asian" is problematic in itself. It was coined in the 1960s when the need for minorities to unite and address racial issues. The umbrella term that sounded like a good idea during the revolutionary '60s is beginning to show its darker side. Because all these people are being lumped together as one entity, ethnic groups who need assistance are being shut out from opportunities due to the successes of others under the umbrella. UC Berkeley, for example, is attempting to address the problem by changing their applications to distinguish between different ethnic groups within "Asian." They have separated groups such as Filipinos and Pacific Islander into their own categories so that they can have a better chance of competing with other groups. Asian scholars are saying that changing Asian-Americans to non-minority status will create a larger gap between Asians who are successful and those who are not. It will also cause more tension between Asians and other minority groups. According to the Task Force on Minority High Achievement, as cited by the Boston Globe, native Hawaiians graduate from high school at a rate less than black students. If given non-minority status, these Native Hawaiians will find college entry and financial assistance intensely difficult. Some argue that Asian Americans should not be classified as a minority at all because they are not underrepresented. But using the successes of some to create the norm for all is, in effect, creating a glass ceiling, limiting the potential for everyone.