National AAS Exam

The 1995 National Asian American Studies Examination

Materials on This Site

Take the 1995 Practice Examination

Take the 1995 Examination

Read About the Results and Research Findings

Media Coverage

Asian America is Your America

caaseposter.gif (84972 bytes)

Show what you know.

Even if you aren't part of Asian America, chances are you know someone who is. With eight million people in 1990, Asian America includes many of your friends and neighbors. And, as the fastest-growing ethnic group in America, Asian America will include many of your co-workers and clients. Isn't it about time you showed what you know about Asian America?

Asian America is 160 years of history -- of backbreaking labor and heartbreaking sacrifice, of harsh realities and extravagant dreams, of discriminatory laws and universal truths. It is a story of strangers from a different shore.

Take the challenge. The first National Asian American Studies Examination will be offered at your school on Thursday, March 9, 1995. The exam will be based on two best-selling books on Asian America. They'll help you get ready for a bright future in your America. They're a good read, too.

Register now with your teacher-sponsor: ____________

Images and text from the three-color poster for the 1995 National Asian American Studies Examination that was distributed by mail to 1100 schools nationwide. (Collage by Jean Lee Cole.)

amagazine.jpg (72059 bytes) Review from A. Magazine, Winter 1994:

Examining Identity

Introducing.... The National Asian American Studies Examination!

By Jeff Yang

The fight for Asian American Studies continues -- and this time, the battlegrounds aren't just colleges, but high schools across the nation. The Council for Asian American Studies Education has initiated a grass-roots effort to bring young students into an awareness of Asian American culture and identity through an innovative new program, the National Asian American Studies Examination. Over 1000 schools throughout the country were sent a 20-question practice exam covering Asian Pacrici American basics ranging from history to activist issues to our community's changing demographics. The full test will be released to participating schools in February of next year, and CAASE will offer scholarships to top-scoring students and school teams.

Dr. Andrew Chin, executive director of CAASE and fellow at the University of Texas at Austin's Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, hopes the examination can be turned into an annual event. It's certainly a clever, and low-cost, way of introducing our invisible history into the high school curricula that still largely ignore the Asian experience in America. For it to succeed, however, it will be necessary to raise funds for operating expenses and scholarship awards. Donated scholarships from $250 or more can be dedicated to a person of your choosing -- from a deceased relative to an Asian American hero you'd like to memorialize -- and CAASE hopes to raise at least $7,500 for next year's awardees. Spread the word to schools and individuals, and consider donating yourself -- it's a worthy cause.