Dive Brief:

• Teacher diversity grew slowly between 2014 and 2022, with the percentage of teachers from historically disadvantaged racial groups rising nationwide from 18.3% to 21.1%, according to new research from the National Council on Teacher Quality.
• Meanwhile, diversity among working-age adults with degrees is beginning to outpace that of the teacher workforce. Some 22.6% of those workers came from historically disadvantaged backgrounds in 2022, up from 17.2% in 2014.
• The gap is leading to concerns that people of color are opting out of pursuing a career in education. Advocates and policymakers must consider this data point if they want to address gaps in classroom representation, said Sharif El-Mekki, founder and CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development, in a statement.

Dive Insight:

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.

“Teachers of color have a positive impact on all students — especially students of color — yet our teacher workforce continues to lack racial diversity,” said Heather Peske, president of NCTQ, in a statement. “Addressing this issue begins with better data.”

But hurdles remain that could drive teachers of color away from the profession, particularly when it comes to pay. 

A recent Rand Corp. survey found that Black teachers were more likely to receive lower average salaries and pay raises compared to White teachers, which researchers say they fear will exacerbate Black teacher turnover.

From a workforce pipeline perspective, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling striking down race-conscious college admissions has raised concerns about future diverse representation in teacher preparation programs. In fact, a federal lawsuit filed in October challenged an Illinois scholarship program’s efforts to improve diversity among teacher candidates.

Meanwhile, NCTQ’s findings further illustrate how the teacher workforce does not reflect either students or the overall adult population. The 14-percentage-point gap between students and working-age adults from historically disadvantaged groups “cannot be overlooked,” the organization said.  

“Simple math suggests that the diversity gap between students and teachers will only close when teachers from historically disadvantaged groups enter the workforce at a faster pace than the student population is diversifying,” the NCTQ report said.

Other recent measurements of teacher diversity have relied solely on comparisons between student demographics and the teacher workforce. 

NCTQ spotlighted The Center for Black Educator Development, a nonprofit focused on strengthening the Black teacher pipeline, for its success in implementing strategies to diversify the teacher workforce.

To build a strong and diverse teacher pipeline, NCTQ recommends embedding teaching opportunities for high school students, supporting college-enrolled students to succeed in teacher preparation programs, and exploring high-quality teacher pathway programs like registered teacher apprenticeships or grow-your-own programs. 

To retain teachers of color, districts will need to improve school climate and leadership, NCTQ added.

The report also breaks down teacher demographic data at the state level. NCTQ suggests that school leaders can use its teacher diversity dashboard to identify state and national trends among specific demographic groups. They can also tap into that data to better understand how efforts to diversify the teacher workforce are performing and to set data-driven goals for the future.