UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools

This brief examines statewide administrator workforce data released by the California Department of Education (CDE) in 2025, providing the first comprehensive look at California’s educational leadership workforce since 2019. The purpose of the study was to identify trends in administrator demographics, experience, gender, and educational attainment across the 2019–20 through 2023–24 school years. Using publicly available CDE certificated staff datasets, researchers conducted a descriptive longitudinal analysis of administrators, including principals and superintendents, examining changes in counts and percentages across key workforce indicators. Findings indicate that California’s administrator workforce grew over the study period while becoming more racially and gender diverse. The proportions of Latine, Asian, and Black administrators increased, while the share of white administrators declined. Female administrators also increased from 63.97% to 66.86% of the workforce. Although the number of experienced administrators increased overall, their percentage declined slightly as more inexperienced leaders entered the profession. Educational attainment remained relatively stable, with master’s degrees continuing to be the most common credential; however, the proportion of administrators holding only a bachelor’s degree increased and surpassed those with bachelor’s-plus credentials. Additionally, Black administrators continued to outnumber Asian administrators, a pattern that differs from both California’s teacher workforce and broader population demographics. These findings suggest gradual progress toward a more diverse leadership workforce while highlighting the need for improved data systems, stronger leadership pipelines, and targeted policies to support recruitment, retention, and equitable advancement within California’s educational leadership ranks.