Few Minority Teachers In Classrooms, Gap Attributed To Bias And Low Graduation Rates

Few Minority Teachers In Classrooms, Gap Attributed To Bias And Low Graduation Rates: Minority students will likely outnumber white students in the next decade or two, but the failure of the national teacher demographic to keep up with that trend is hurting minority students who tend to benefit from teachers with similar backgrounds.

Minority students make up more than 40 percent of the national public school population, while only 17 percent of the country's teachers are minorities, according to a report released this week by the Center for American Progress.

"This is a problem for students, schools, and the public at large. Teachers of color serve as role models for students, giving them a clear and concrete sense of what diversity in education--and in our society--looks like," the report's authors write. "A recent review of empirical studies also shows that students of color do better on a variety of academic outcomes if they're taught by teachers of color."