The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of minority students who take the General Knowledge Test of the National Teachers Examination (NTE) Core Battery. Low minority pass rates on these tests demonstrate the need for interventions to increase the supply of minority teachers. Data were analyzed to determine candidates': (1) demographic, socioeconomic, and educational background; (2) education experience in college and graduate school; (3) experiences in teacher education programs; (4) career plans and teaching aspirations; (5) and reasons for taking the test. The question of whether successful and unsuccessful NTE candidates differ significantly on these background and educational characteristics was also studied. Findings suggest that strong academic preparation and support are essential to the development of academic talent, and that increasing the pool of minority teachers translates to increasing the quality of elementary and secondary education. Also included in this report are policy implications, references, tables, figures, and three appendixes: figures and a discussion concerning the representativeness of survey respondents; the study questionnaire; and a coding of variables for regression analysis. (LL)