Final answer:
The EEOC definition of race excludes mental capacity attributes such as GPA and ACT/SAT scores, which do not pertain to racial identity but rather individual achievement and abilities.
Step-by-step explanation:
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines race in a way that does not consider attributes such as mental capacity, standardized test scores like GPA and ACT/SAT, because these elements are not characteristics of race. Rather, the EEOC focuses on preventing discrimination based on immutable racial characteristics and the societal understanding of race. Employer perception of a person's race can be relevant to race discrimination if it impacts hiring and employment decisions. Race-associated illnesses can reflect racial disparities in health but are not definitions of race. While culture, including dress, grooming practices, accent, or manner of speech, can be tied to ethnicity and race, the EEOC's primary concern is discrimination based on physical or biological traits considered part of race, as well as by racial identification. Therefore, the option that is not 'encompassed' in the EEOC's definition of race is mental capacity characteristics — GPA and ACT/SAT test scores. These are measures of achievement or ability, not racial identifiers.