Enrollment in Pennsylvania Educator Preparation Programs by Race/Ethnicity (2009 to 2021)

With growing evidence that educators of color have positive benefits for both students of color and white students, there is increasing demand for hiring educators of color. Numerous reports have shown that most teachers in Pennsylvania are not teachers of color. For example, Research for Action has released several reports on this topic. They found that, from 2013-14 to 2022-23:

• The percentage of Pennsylvania teachers who were teachers of color increased from 5.4% to 6.6%.

• The gap between the percentage of students of color and percentage of teachers of color increased from 25 percentage points in 2013-14 to almost 32 percentage points in 2022-23.

• About 46% of schools employed no teachers of color.

This brief from the Pennsylvania Educator Diversity Consortium (PEDC) and the Penn State Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Analysis (CEEPA) the racial/ethnic diversity of students enrolled in Pennsylvania educator preparation programs (EPPs) from 2009 to 2021. The data are from the United States Department of Education’s (USDoE’s) Title II data collection. Unfortunately, data from the 2021 academic year is the most recent data available. The reader should also note that this data is self-reported by program personnel and there is no validation of the data.

I begin this report by reviewing the racial/ethnic demographics Educator Preparation Program (EPP) students in Pennsylvania from 2009 to 2021. I then examine the number of white students and students of color enrolled in EPPs from 2009 to 2021. Subsequently I examine the results for individual EPPs across the Commonwealth. Followed by data for the six PEDC regions. The final sections of the paper are my conclusions and policy recommendations.

Download the study: