Teacher diversity lags behind rate in broader workforce
The gap is raising concerns that people of color are opting out of careers in education, a Natonal Council on Teacher Quality report suggests.
Nearly half — 49% — of students in 2022 were from historically disadvantaged groups, according to the data from NCTQ, a nonpartisan research and policy organization that advocates for teacher diversity.
Of working-age adults overall, 35% are from historically disadvantaged racial groups — which NCTQ defines to include people who are American Indian, Black, Hispanic, Islander/Pacific Native, or two or more races.
Calls to improve teacher diversity and the data measuring it have grown as research has shown substantial benefits, particularly for students of color, when schools hire teachers of color. For instance, when teachers are the same race as their students, rates of exclusionary discipline drop for Black and Latinx students in large, diverse and urban districts, according to a 2021 working paper from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University.