Behind Racial Identification

How students racially identify continues to be critical for tracking and monitoring disparities in a number of outcomes. Little is known, however, about the meanings of race students enact when encountering the ubiq-uitous “race questions ” used to operationalize these groups. This mixed-methods study explored college students ’ (N = 637) underlying meanings behind racial identification, finding six distinct patterns of racial meanings that provide insight into the fluidity of racial demographics and implica-tions for practice. College students are routinely asked to “check boxes ” to racially identify at various points in their lives and academic careers. From college applications and departmental assessments, to census forms and job applications, these racial identification questions have arguably become so “ubiqui-tous ” that they promote beliefs that race is “a permanent and individual characteristic: something that is embedded within us and does not change over time ” (Morning, 2011, pp. 3–4). Evidence, however, suggests that the format and context in which these questions are asked influence vari