Teachers of color leave the teaching profession at higher rates than white teachers (about 19 percent vs. 15 percent turnover).¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 2 studies · 1 review r2, 1 qualitative r2 · q1–q2
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2025: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The turnover rate for teachers of color is about 19 percent, compared to white teachers at 15 percent. → Gold 2020

q1 i? By the early 2000s, teachers of color left the classroom at higher rates than White teachers (close to 19 percent versus 15 percent), whereas in the late 1990s the groups left at relatively similar rates. → Davis Dixon 2019

Evidence¶

Gold 2020¶

Gold, T. (2020). Pipeline and Retention of Teachers of Color: Systems and Structures Impeding Growth and Sustainability in the United States. Digital Promise. https://digitalpromise.org/2020/03/24/pipeline-and-retention-of-teachers-of-color-systems-and-structures-impeding-growth-and-sustainability-in-the-united-states/ doi:10.51388/20.500.12265/96

q2 · i? · review · r2

Narrative review citing Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond (2017) on turnover: "The turnover rate for teachers of color (TOC) is about 19 percent, compared to white teachers at 15 percent." No standardized effect size is printed, so the magnitude is reported as descriptive rates only.

"Teachers of color also leave at a higher rate than white teachers. The turnover rate for teachers of color (TOC) is about 19 percent, compared to white teachers at 15 percent (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017)."

Davis Dixon 2019¶

Davis Dixon, Ashley Griffin, and Mark Teoh. (2019). If You Listen, We Will Stay: Why Teachers of Color Leave and How to Disrupt Teacher Turnover. The Education Trust & Teach Plus. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED603193 doi:10.3102/1445541

q1 · i? · qualitative · r2

The report cites prior research (footnoted) for this workforce trend; the review reports that turnover rates diverged from similar rates in the late 1990s to "15 percent for White teachers and close to 19 percent for teachers of color."

"But by the early 2000s, teachers of color started leaving the classroom at higher rates than their White counterparts — 15 percent for White teachers and close to 19 percent for teachers of color."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Race and Ethnicity — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause

Related Claims¶

• Teachers of color are judged more harshly in evaluations: within the same schools, Black teachers were 50 percent more likely than white teachers to receive a low rating. — related
• Attrition gaps between staff of color and non-Hispanic White staff grew during the pandemic except for school administrators, where they narrowed — related
• Only about half of beginning teachers of color had taken any teaching classes prior to teaching, compared to 59% of beginning White teachers — related
• Overall U.S. teacher turnover is about 16% annually, with about 8% leaving the profession and about 8% moving schools — related
• Teachers of color disproportionately teach in schools serving more than 75% students of color and more than 75% students from low-income families — related
• Teachers of color leave schools or the profession at higher annual rates than White teachers, driven largely by school moving — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Between 2020–21 and 2021–22, 15.1% of U.S. public school teachers moved schools or left the profession, and turnover is now about 20% higher than in 1992 — related
• Teachers of color disproportionately enter through alternative certification pathways, which predict higher turnover — related
• Teaching has a relatively high turnover rate compared to nursing and national employee turnover benchmarks — a broader claim this one bears on
• Teachers of color are more likely than White teachers to intend to leave teaching and to actually leave the profession — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Teachers with high job and workplace satisfaction have less than half the predicted turnover of teachers with low satisfaction (8.0% vs. 22.0%) — related