Students Much More Diverse than Teachers

The nation's elementary and secondary school students are much more diverse than their teachers. Half of public school students are Hispanic, Black, Asian or another minority, according to the Digest of Education Statistics. But only 18 percent of public school teachers are minorities, according to a National Center for Education Statistics report.

Although the minority share of school teachers is growing, the Black share of school teachers  is shrinking. Between 1987 and 2012, the Black share of elementary and secondary school teachers fell from 8 to 6 percent. Here is how the racial and ethnic diversity of school teachers has changed over the past quarter century...

Non-Hispanic White share of teachers
2012: 83%
1987: 88%

Black share of teachers
2012: 6%
1987: 8%

Hispanic share of teachers
2012: 7%
1987: 3%

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, A Quarter Century of Changes in the Elementary and Secondary Teaching Force: From 1987 to 2012