Improving teacher diversity is key to reducing racial disparities in academic outcomes and addressing the teacher shortage
There is a well-documented shortage of qualified candidates willing to teach in public schools at current compensation levels. But there is also a relative shortage of Black, Hispanic, and Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) teachers. In this post, we measure this relative shortage of teachers by race and ethnicity by comparing the current teacher labor force to the current enrollment of school-aged children. We document a significant demographic mismatch between public school teachers and students, and we describe a substantial body of research indicating that narrowing this demographic mismatch could have educational benefits for Black, Hispanic, and AAPI students.
In 2023, almost half of U.S. K–12 students were Black, Hispanic, or AAPI, while only a quarter of teachers identified in the same way (Figure A). This large disparity has major implications for education policy.
Almost half of U.S. K–12 students are Black, Hispanic, or AAPI, while only a quarter of teachers identify in the same wayStudents and teachers, by race and ethnicity, 2023
Notes: We define teachers as workers in occupation codes 2300 (Preschool and Kindergarten teachers), 2310 (Elementary and Middle School teachers), 2320 (Secondary School teachers), and 2330 (Special Education teachers) in the public sector. AAPI refers to Asian American and Pacific Islander. Race/ethnicity categories are mutually exclusive (i.e., white non-Hispanic, Black non-Hispanic, AAPI non-Hispanic, and Hispanic any race). Totals do not add to 100% because a small share of respondents identify themselves with different racial/ethnic categories.
Source: EPI analysis of the Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata, EPI Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 1.0.52 (2024), https://microdata.epi.org.
Improving teacher diversity leads to better student outcomes
Research links same-race teachers to better educational outcomes for students. Cheng (2017) finds that increasing the representation of Black teachers “even by a single percentage point” is associated with lower suspension rates among Black high school students. Lindsay and Hart (2017) find that exposure to same-race teachers is associated with reduced rates of exclusionary discipline (out-of-school suspensions, in-school suspensions, and expulsion) for Black students in elementary, middle, and high school. Same-race teacher matches are also associated with lower high school dropout rates and greater college aspirations. Gershenson, Hart, Lindsay, and Papageorge (2017) estimate that exposure to a same-race teacher during elementary school not only reduces the high school dropout rate by 39% for the most economically disadvantaged Black male students, but also increases the likelihood that persistently low-income students aspire to attend a four-year college and take a college entrance exam.
Moreover, same-race teachers are shown to improve test scores at magnitudes that could potentially help close the Black-white achievement gap. Egalite, Kisida, and Winters (2015), for example, find that same-race teacher matches have demonstrable impacts on test scores in math and reading for both elementary and middle/high school students, but at greater magnitudes for Black students relative to white students. This suggests that if the racial composition of teachers moved closer to the racial composition of the students they teach, one would likely see a measurable decline in the test score gaps between Black and white students.
Same-race teachers can also improve outcomes that may be more difficult to quantify numerically. Egalite and Kisida (2017) find that middle school students who are assigned to teachers of the same race report higher personal effort, happiness in class, feeling cared for and motivated by their teacher, and higher quality of student-teacher communication.
Figure B shows the difference in shares of teachers and students, for each educational category, by race and ethnicity in 2023. A positive difference indicates that the share of teachers in a given racial group is larger than the share of students in that same group. From Pre-K through high school, the figure shows that the share of white teachers exceeds the share of white students by 22.1 to 27.7 percentage points. The figure also shows that Black, Hispanic, and AAPI teachers in all schooling levels are underrepresented relative to the shares of students from those racial and ethnic groups. This demographic mismatch is largest for Black and Hispanic high school teachers and students. For example, the share of Black teachers is 7.6 percentage points lower than the share of Black students in high school, while the share of Hispanic teachers is 15.8 percentage points lower than the share of Hispanic students in high school. Of all the groups, the differences in the share of teachers and students are smallest for AAPI students across all levels of schooling.
Student-teacher disparities by race and ethnicity exist across teaching levelsDifference in the share of teachers and students, by teaching level and race/ethnicity, pooled 2021–2023
Notes: These results use pooled data from 2021 through 2023. Differences in shares represent the share of teachers minus the share of students by race and ethnicity. AAPI refers to Asian American and Pacific Islander. Race/ethnicity categories are mutually exclusive (i.e., white non-Hispanic, Black non-Hispanic, AAPI non-Hispanic, and Hispanic any race). A small share of respondents identify themselves with different racial/ethnic categories, not shown. We define teachers as workers in occupation codes 2300 (Preschool and Kindergarten teachers), 2310 (Elementary and Middle School teachers), and 2320 (Secondary School teachers) in the public sector.
Source: EPI analysis of the Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata, EPI Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 1.0.52 (2024), https://microdata.epi.org.
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