Increasing the Number of Minority Teachers will Help Close Achievement Gap, Report Says
A national group devoted to increasing the number
of minority educators has issued a report calling for:
- Revising the so-called No Child Left Behind law to clearly spell
out diversity as a critical element of a “highly-qualified”
teacher workforce.
- Identifying and eliminating the obstacles faced by minority teachers
in passing entry tests.
- Developing programs that support teachers of color both in the pipeline
and in the classroom.
The analysis on teacher diversity was prepared by
the National Collaborative on Diversity in the Teaching Force. In its
report, “Assessment of Diversity in America’s Teaching Force,”
the collaborative found that increasing the percentage of teachers of
color in classrooms is connected directly to closing the achievement
gap of students.
The Collaborative is composed of six leading education
groups: American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE),
American Council on Education (ACE), Association of Teacher Educators
(ATE), Community Teachers Institute (CTI), Recruiting New Teachers (RNT),
and the National Education Association.
The report cited these trends:
- Nationally, about 17% of public school students are African American
and 6% of teachers are African American. Likewise, about 17% of public
school students are Hispanic and 5% of teachers are Hispanic.
- In 38% of America’s public schools, there is not a single teacher
of color on staff.
- Students of color tend to perform better – academically, personally
and socially – when taught by teachers from their own ethnic
groups.
The entire report (pdf file: 16
pages, 512KB)
Posted November 12, 2004