Race and Ethnicity of Public School 

Teachers and Their Students 

DATA POINT

September 2020

NCES 2020-103

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

A Publication of the National Center for Education Statistics at IES

This Data Point examines the race and ethnicity of public school teachers in the United States. It uses data from the 

public school teacher data file of the 2017–18 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), which is a nationally 

representative sample survey of public and private K–12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District 

of Columbia. State representative information is also available for public schools, principals, and teachers. 

In the 2017–18 school year, 79 percent 

of public school teachers were White 

and non-Hispanic (FIGURE 1). About 

9 percent of teachers were Hispanic 

(of any race), and 7 percent were 

Black and non-Hispanic. Two percent 

of teachers identified as Asian and 

non-Hispanic, 2 percent as Two 

or more races and non-Hispanic, 

and less than 1 percent as Native 

Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, nonHispanic and American Indian/

Alaska Native, non-Hispanic. 

Note that in the rest of this report, 

“non-Hispanic” is not repeated after 

each racial category in order to 

improve readability.

Teachers of a given race/

ethnicity were more often found 

in schools where their race/

ethnicity matched a majority of 

the student body. 

• Agreement between the race

and ethnicity of teachers and

the majority race of the student

population of schools was most

pronounced for White teachers.

In schools where the majority

of students were White, over

90 percent of teachers were

White (FIGURE 2).

• At schools in which a majority of

students were Black, about onethird (36 percent) of teachers were

Black. This was higher than the

percentage of Black teachers at

schools with other student body

racial and ethnic compositions.

• Similarly, at schools in which a

majority of students were Hispanic,

33 percent of teachers were also

Hispanic. This was higher than the

percentage of Hispanic teachers at

other types of schools.

• At schools in which a majority of

students were American Indian/

Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian/

Pacific Islander, 29 percent of

teachers were American Indian/

Alaska Native and 19 percent were

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander,

respectively. These teachers

worked in schools in which a

majority of students shared their

race at a higher rate than other

types of schools.

Race/ethnicity

Hispanic, 

regardless 

of race1

9.3

White, nonHispanic

79.3

Black or 

African 

American, 

non-Hispanic

6.7

Asian, nonHispanicNative 

Hawaiian/

Pacific 

Islander, 

non-Hispanic

American

Indian/

Alaska

Native, nonHispanic 

Two or more 

races, nonHispanic

0

20

40

60

80

FIGURE 1. Percentage distribution of teachers by race/ethnicity: 2017–2018

Percent

100

2.1 0.2 0.5 1.8

1

 Hispanic includes Latino.

NOTE: Teachers include both full-time and part-time teachers. Detail may not sum to totals 

because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National 

Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Teacher Data File,” 2017–18. 

To learn more, visit https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps/. 

For questions about content or to view this report online, go to https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2020103. 
• At schools in which most students

were Asian, 27 percent of teachers

were Asian. This was higher than

the percentage of Asian teachers

at schools with student bodies in

which most students were White,

Black, or Hispanic.

At the same time, in schools 

where the majority of students 

were not White, the majority of 

teachers tended to be White.

Race and Ethnicity of Public School Teachers and Their Students

• The majority of teachers were

White in schools where a majority

of students were Hispanic

(54 percent), Black (54 percent),

Asian (60 percent), or American

Indian/Alaska Native (61 percent).

That is, a larger percentage of

teachers were White than of

the same race/ethnicity as the

majority of students.

• Schools in which a majority of

students were Native Hawaiian/

Pacific Islander were an exception

to this trend. At those schools,

26 percent of teachers were White,

26 percent were Asian, 19 percent

were Native Hawaiian/Pacific

Islander, and 20 percent were of

Two or more races, non-Hispanic.

FIGURE 2. Percentage distribution of teachers, by race/ethnicity and the race/ethnicity of students at their school: 

2017–18

93

2 3 1 0 0 1

54

36

5

2 0! 0! 2

54

7

33

3

0 0 2

60

2!

8

27

1 3!

61

29

5!

26

8

26

19 20

‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ #

Student body racial/ethnic composition

White, non-Hispanic

Black or African American, non-Hispanic

Asian, non-Hispanic

Hispanic, regardless of race1

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic

American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic

Two or more races, non-Hispanic

More than

50 percent White, 

non-Hispanic

More than 

50 percent Black, 

non-Hispanic

More than

50 percent

Hispanic

More than

50 percent Asian, 

non-Hispanic

More than

50 percent 

American Indian/

Alaska Native, 

non-Hispanic

More than

50 percent

Native Hawaiian/

Pacific Islander, 

non-Hispanic

0

20

40

60

80

100

0

20

40

60

80

100

Percent

# Rounds to zero.

! Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 percent and 50 percent (i.e., the standard error is 

at least 30 percent and less than 50 percent of the estimate). 

‡ Reporting standards not met. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is 50 percent or greater (i.e., the standard error is 50 percent or

more of the estimate).

1

 Hispanic includes Latino.

NOTE: Teachers include both full-time and part-time teachers. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding and because some data are not 

shown. There were no schools in which students who were Two or more races were a majority of the student body. To see data on schools in 

which no single race/ethnicity was more than 50 percent of the student body and schools for which data on student body racial and ethnic 

characteristics were not available, go to https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2020103. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School 

Teacher Data File,” 2017–18. 

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Data Point presents information on education topics of current interest. It was authored by Maura 

Spiegelman of NCES. Estimates based on samples are subject to sampling variability, and apparent differences may not be statistically significant. All stated 

differences are statistically significant at the .05 level, with no adjustments for multiple comparisons. In the design, conduct, and data processing of NCES 

surveys, efforts are made to minimize the effects of nonsampling errors such as item nonresponse, measurement error, data processing error, or other 

systematic error.