Both domestic and international students were separated into different subgroups based on whether or not they spoke English fluently and their experience with American culture. As a result, at least 4 subgroups were analyzed in the study:

• International English speaker/American high schooler student (one of the international student groups, who had either English knowledge or experience with the U.S. but came from a different country and did not intend to reside in the U.S.)
• International English learner/foreign high schooler student (the other international student subgroup)
• Domestic English speaker/American high schooler student (the domestic student subgroup who was likely to have been born and raised in the U.S.)
• Domestic English learner/foreign high schooler student (domestic student subgroup who came from a different country to reside in the U.S. as an immigrant)

The intent behind the creation of these subgroups was to show that there were many factors that were involved in the comparison of domestic versus international students and that either category was not homogeneous and should not be seen as such.