Brief

Six Years of Change: What Statewide Trends Reveal About California’s Teaching Workforce

Grace Ha Eun Kim, Erika Yagi, Stanley L. Johnson Jr., and Joseph Bishop
April 2026 | UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools

This research brief from UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools analyzes teacher data from the California Department of Education from 2019 to 2024, noting statewide trends that paralleled nationwide concerns about the profession post-pandemic. Although student-level data related to pandemic-learning differences have been accessible, teacher-level data have largely been absent. This report draws from data of more than 285,000 teachers to reveal shifts in levels of experience, racial diversity, pathways to credentialing, and staffing in critical subjects. The report emphasizes a decreasing number of experienced teachers, specifically in English language arts, mathematics, and science. Further, the findings show increases in Latine and Asian teachers with decreases in white and Black teachers. The brief provides recommendations to improve teacher recruitment, diversity, preparation, retention, and quality.