Previous reports in JBHE have shown that Black students who have Black teachers are significantly more likely to perform well on standardized tests, graduate from high school, and attend college. Additionally, many HBCUs have experienced surges in enrollment in recent years, suggesting there is significant potential to increase Black representation among America’s teacher workforce.
However, a new study from the National Council on Teacher Quality has found that although diversity among college-educated adults in the United States is on the rise, diversity among K-12 teachers has remained relatively stagnant.
A decade ago, 17.2 percent of working-age adults with degrees in the United States were from underrepresented racial backgrounds. In the same year, 18.3 percent of the teacher workforce was non-White. Today, the share of underrepresented peoples with a college degree has increased to 22.6 percent, while representation among K-12 teachers increased by less than 3 percentage points.
Furthermore, diversity among students and all working-age adults is significantly outpacing the share of teachers from underrepresented groups. In 2024, nearly half of all students and over a third of all working-aged adults in America are from diverse backgrounds.
Notably, this trend varies based on location. In California, diversity among the state’s teacher workforce has grown from 24.5 percent to 32.8 percent over the last 10 years. In contrast, the share of diverse teachers in Pennsylvania’s workforce has increased by a meager 0.2 percent in the last decade, from 5.8 percent in 2014 to 6 percent in 2024.
In order to reverse this troubling trend, the report authors offer several suggestions for school policymakers, administrators, and higher education leaders. These include creating opportunities for students to learn about K-12 education while still in high school, developing multiple pathways into teaching careers and apprenticeships, and improving efforts to retain diverse teachers.
