Black or African American Teachers: Background and School Settings

In 2017–18­­, a higher percentage of Black or African American teachers (18 percent) had been teaching for less than 4 years than all teachers (14 percent).  A new NCES Data Point, Black or African American Teachers: Background and School Settings in 2017–18, examines the characteristics of Black or African American teachers and the characteristics of public and private schools where Black or African American teachers worked in the United States during school year 2017–18. Findings include: Though somewhat less experienced than average, Black or African American teachers had a higher rate of post-master’s degree education (13 percent) than average (9 percent). Black or African American teachers had a higher rate of alternative certification than teachers as a whole. While about one in five public and private school teachers (18 percent) had an alternative path to certification, about one in three (34 percent) Black or African American teachers obtained certification this way. When compared to all teachers, Black or African American teachers taught in city schools at higher rates. About half of Black or African American teachers (51 percent) taught in city schools, compared with 31 percent of all teachers. Black or African American teachers were clustered in southern schools. About two-thirds (66 percent) of Black or African American teachers taught in the South, compared with 39 percent of all teachers. This report uses data from National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Teacher and Private School Teacher Data Files,” 2017–18.