Episode 6: Pass or Fail in Cambodia Town

Full Episode: Pass or Fail in Cambodia Town

Asian Americans are the best-educated and highest-income ethnic group in the United States. 54% of Asian-Americans aged 25 and older hold a college degree, compared to 33% of all U.S. adults. They are often referred to as the “model minority,” suggesting that all Asians are successful in school and in life. But Southeast Asian Americans have some of the lowest high school completion rates in the nation; as 31.2% of Cambodian, 28.1% of Hmong, and 28.4% of Laotian adults do not have a high school diploma or equivalent.

We visit Long Beach, California—the city with America’s largest Cambodian community—to find out why this educational crisis is happening and what people are doing about it.