Now that the debate is over about whether the U.S. Census should add a multiracial category to its data collecting and the decision has been made to allow respondents to choose as many racial and ethnic classifications as they feel apply to them, the time has come to figure out how this new and confusing information will be tabulated.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has set up a year-long task force to study exactly that: how to tabulate data from the 2000 census.

Earlier this year, the OMB announced that it will allow people to check off as many racial and ethnic categories as they feel apply to them on their census forms. Because some people will check more than one category, government agencies will have to sort and interpret the data as it relates to things like voting districts and educational funding. That is what is causing concern among civil rights groups, ethnic organizations, and higher education officials.

"We support the notion of self-identification, [but] we have major concerns with the tabulation of the information and the interpretation of information - particularly in the area of civil rights and affirmative action," said Eric Rodriquez, policy analyst for the National Council of La Raza.

The OMB announced its multiple-choice decision after years of survey testing and discussions across the country with individuals and groups who wanted to say something about how Americans will be counted in 2000. The agency's decision does not alter the fact that for Census purposes, there are four racial groups - White, Black/African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Asian and Pacific Islander - and one ethnic group - Hispanics/Latinos.

The new option confuses racial counting, said Dr. Reginald Wilson, senior scholar for the American Council on Education. He and other observers say that no matter how many categories a person checks, they will still have to be counted as part of only one racial or ethnic group.