In the past 25 years, the American teaching force has grown significantly, becoming less experienced but more diverse, a new analysis by the National Center on Education Statistics finds.
Based on data from the federal Schools and Staffing Survey, researchers found the teaching pool grew by 46 percent, twice the rate of student enrollment, from 1987 to 2012. The teaching force in high-poverty schools more than tripled during that time.
The average teacher had five years of experience in 2012, down from 15 years in 1988. While teachers from racial minority groups are still underrepresented overall, they made up 17.3 percent of teachers in 2011-12, up from 12.4 percent in 1987-88.
