However, it doesn't mean the stereotype is any less insidious to Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders who too often find themselves lumped into a single demographic mass.

The results of such stereotyping can be counterproductive and even harmful in education because they result in practices not based in reality, according to a new report.

Released Monday by the College Board, the report strikes a blow at three myths surrounding Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, then recommends policymakers base their studies on data that reflect Asian diversity to develop future education programs, admissions policies and financial aid programs.

Contrary to xenophobic expectations, the report states that Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders are not "taking over" U.S. higher education, do not gain admission to selective universities at any rate higher than the general population and, most importantly, do not constitute a homogenous ethnic group with similar cultural backgrounds.

"In reality, significant numbers of Asian-American and Pacific Islander students struggle with poverty, are English-language learners increasingly likely to leave school with rudimentary language skills, are at risk of dropping out, joining gangs, and remaining on the margins of society," the report states.

Pamela Perlich, of the University of Utah's Bureau of Business and Economic and Business Research, reached similar conclusions in a February report.

Most notably, both reports find that, contrary to public perceptions about Asian industriousness, financial success most often hinges on how long a family has lived in the U.S., plus the conditions under which immigration occurred.

Both reports found that Americans of Chinese and Japanese ancestry, who are more likely to come from families with deeper generational roots in the U.S., attain at least a bachelor's degree in greater percentages than do Cambodians, Laotians or Vietnamese, many of whom came under stress as refugees.

"This population is really no different than others," Perlich said. "I'm a third-generation German-American with a Ph.D. But if you go back to my grandmother she didn't even finish high school."