Black teachers help their white colleagues’ ability to teach Black students, but at what cost?

Teachers of color benefit all students, especially students of color.¹ There is no shortage of research demonstrating the positive impact teachers of color have on students of color across a long list of outcomes, including test scores,² completion of advanced coursework,³ high school graduation,⁴ and even college completion.⁵ For example, Black students who have at least one Black teacher in elementary school have higher reading⁶ and math scores⁷ and are almost 20% more likely to go to college.⁸ 

Despite the many benefits of a diverse teacher workforce, the nation and nearly all school districts struggle to create a teacher workforce that mirrors our increasingly diverse student population. As NCTQ previously reported, our national teacher workforce is not even as diverse as the broader population of working-age adults, let alone the much more diverse student population. (Use NCTQ’s Teacher Diversity Dashboard to explore more about how the diversity of the teacher workforce compares to the broader population in your state and across the country.) 

As education leaders work to close representation gaps, what can be done to support students of color in our schools right now? A 2025 Annenberg EdWorking paper offers an approach, albeit one with a potentially high cost. The researchers posit that developing a more representative teacher workforce is best for students, but it will take time. Meanwhile, they argue, increasing the current and mostly white teacher workforce’s ability to effectively teach in diverse classrooms is a necessary shorter-term goal. 

The study focuses on whether and how white teachers can improve their ability to teach Black students. To answer these questions, researchers tested two types of on-the-job learning: experience in diverse classrooms and experience with Black colleagues. They find these two forms of learning are both beneficial.

First, they looked at whether prior experience teaching Black students translated to greater effectiveness with Black students, beyond the general improvements that come with more years of teaching experience. When the teacher had at least one year of prior experience teaching in a racially diverse classroom, their Black students had higher math scores and fewer out-of-school suspension days. 

Second, they looked at the impact same-grade Black colleagues have on white teachers’ ability to teach Black students. The results suggest that Black teachers may bring even more benefits to their school communities than previously understood, given that most past research focused solely on students directly taught by Black teachers. This study found that having a same-grade Black colleague increased white teachers’ effectiveness with Black students, measured by both reading and math scores. Consistent with other research on teacher peer effects, veteran Black peers had an even greater impact on novice white teachers’ effectiveness with Black students. The researchers conducted a qualitative analysis involving teacher interviews about their experiences with peers, which largely affirmed the quantitative results.

In contrast, Black colleagues had no impact on white teachers’ effectiveness with their white students, and falsification tests showed that the positive effects of a Black colleague on white peers was observable only after the white teachers had a Black peer. Taken together, the authors conclude that the positive results they observed were caused by the white teachers’ experiences working with their Black colleagues. 

The authors suggest that school districts can maximize the impact of Black teachers through more thoughtful teacher assignments that allow for Black teachers’ “knowledge spillovers” to reach more of their white peers. However, district and school leaders should use an abundance of caution when pursuing human capital strategies that seek to plug teachers into roles based on race. School leaders should be especially wary, given the “invisible tax” too often assessed to teachers of color, as they often face added responsibilities, such as mentoring students of color, disciplining students, interpreting for families, and advising on school culture—all of which are uncompensated. Adding mentoring their white colleagues to the long list of uncompensated responsibilities could lead to more Black teachers choosing to leave teaching. 

Research also suggests that Black teachers are more likely to leave the teaching profession when they are racially isolated.⁹ This is an important consideration when implementing any strategy that seeks to maximize Black teacher exposure to white peers, especially when it comes at the expense of Black teachers working with Black colleagues. 

That Black teachers have a positive impact on their white peers’ Black students is an important finding that bolsters the already robust case for a more diverse teacher workforce. However, the authors’ jump to direct implications for teacher assignment strategies must be approached with care. If we ask Black teachers and teachers of color generally to carry the torch for their white colleagues, we must ensure they do not get burned in the process.