NCES 2009-323 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Characteristics of Public, Private, and 

Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and 

Secondary School Principals in the 

United States:

Results From the 2007–08 Schools and Staffing Survey

First Look

NCES 2009-323

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Characteristics of Public, Private, and 

Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and 

Secondary School Principals in the 

United States:

Results From the 2007–08 Schools and Staffing Survey

First Look

JUNE 2009

Danielle Battle

Education Statistics Services Institute

American Institutes for Research

Kerry Gruber

Project Officer

National Center for Education Statistics
U.S. Department of Education

Arne Duncan

Secretary

Institute of Education Sciences

John Q. Easton 

Director

National Center for Education Statistics

Stuart Kerachsky

Acting Commissioner

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Suggested Citation

Battle, D. (2009). Characteristics of Public, Private, and Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and Secondary School Principals 

in the United States: Results From the 2007–08 Schools and Staffing Survey (NCES 2009-323). National Center for Education 

Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.

Content Contact

Kerry Gruber

(202) 502-7349

kerry.gruber@ed.gov
Contents 

Page

List of Tables ............................................................................................................. iv

Introduction................................................................................................................. 1

Selected Findings ........................................................................................................ 3

References................................................................................................................... 5

Estimate Tables ........................................................................................................... 6

Appendix A: Standard Error Tables............................................................................ A-1

Appendix B: Methodology and Technical Notes........................................................ B-1

Appendix C: Description of Data Files........................................................ C-1

Appendix D: Description of Variables....................................................... D-1

iii 
List of Tables 

Table Page

1. Number of school principals, by school type and selected school 

characteristics: 2007-08................................................................ 7

2. Number of school principals and percentage distribution of school 

principals, by race/ethnicity, school type, and selected school 

characteristics: 2007-08................................................................ 8

3. Percentage distribution of school principals by age category, average and 

median age of principals, and percentage distribution of principals, by 

sex, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08............... 10

4. Percentage distribution of school principals, by highest degree earned, 

school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08...................... 12

5. Average annual salary for school principals, by years of experience as a 

principal, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08......... 14

6. Average hours per week that school principals spent on all school-related 

activities and interacting with students, by school type and selected 

school characteristics: 2007-08............................................................ 16

7. Average total years of experience as a school principal, average years at 

current school as a principal, and percentage distribution of principals, by 

years of experience as a principal at current school, school type, and 

selected school characteristics: 2007-08............................................. 18

8. Percentage of school principals who thought they had a major influence 

on evaluating teachers at their school and hiring new full-time teachers at 

their school, by school type and selected school characteristics: 2007-08... 20

Appendix A: Standard Error Tables 

A-1. Standard errors for Table 1: Number of school principals, by school type 

and selected school characteristics: 2007-08......................................... A-2

iv 
Table Page

A-2. Standard errors for Table 2: Number of school principals and percentage 

distribution of school principals, by race/ethnicity, school type, and 

selected school characteristics: 2007-08........................................... A-3

A-3. Standard errors for Table 3: Percentage distribution of school principals 

by age category, average and median age of principals, and percentage 

distribution of principals, by sex, school type, and selected school 

characteristics: 2007-08............................................................... A-5

A-4. Standard errors for Table 4: Percentage distribution of school principals, 

by highest degree earned, school type, and selected school 

characteristics: 2007-08............................................................ A-7

A-5. Standard errors for Table 5: Average annual salary for school principals, 

by years of experience as a principal, school type, and selected school 

characteristics: 2007-08 ........................................................... A-9

A-6. Standard errors for Table 6: Average hours per week that school 

principals spent on all school-related activities and interacting with 

students, by school type and selected school characteristics: 2007-08...... A-11

A-7. Standard errors for Table 7: Average total years of experience as a school 

principal, average years at current school as a principal, and percentage 

distribution of principals, by years of experience as a principal at current 

school, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08........... A-13

A-8. Standard errors for Table 8: Percentage of school principals who thought 

they had a major influence on evaluating teachers at their school and 

hiring new full-time teachers at their school, by school type and selected 

school characteristics: 2007-08.................................................... A-15

Appendix B: Methodology and Technical Notes 

B-1. Base-weighted unit and overall response rates, by survey: 2007-08......... B-8

B-2. Comparisons between frame distribution and base-weighted and finalweighted respondent distributions for school principals with an indication

of potential sources of bias, by school type: 2007-08.................................. B-10

 

v 
Table Page

B-3. Summary of base-weighted item response rates, by survey: 2007-08....... B-11

Appendix C: Description of Data Files 

C-1. Names of data files and the questionnaires from which the data were 

drawn: 2007-08..................................................................... C-2

C-2. The number of cases in the district data file, by respondent and source of 

data: 2007-08......................................................................... C-3

Appendix D: Description of Variables 

D-1. Variables used in the Characteristics of Public, Private, and Bureau of 

Indian Education Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the 

United States: Results From the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey: 

2007-08.............................................................................. D-2

vi 
Introduction

This report presents selected findings from the school principal data files of the 2007-08 

Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). SASS is a nationally representative sample survey 

of public,1

 private, and Bureau of Indian Education-funded (BIE) K-12 schools, 

principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. School districts 

associated with public schools and library media centers in public and BIE schools are 

also part of SASS. Developed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of 

the Institute of Education Sciences within the U.S. Department of Education and 

conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, SASS was first conducted in school year 1987-88. 

Since then, SASS has been conducted five times: in school years 1990-91, 1993-94, 

1999-2000, 2003-04, and, most recently, 2007-08. 

The purpose of SASS is to collect information that can provide a detailed picture of U.S. 

elementary and secondary schools and their staff. This information is collected through 

the following surveys: district, school, principal, teacher, and library media center. 

Information from all the surveys can be linked. For more information about surveys and 

data files see appendix C. The SASS questionnaires can be found at 

http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/question0708.asp. 

The 2007-08 SASS sample is a school-based stratified probability-proportionate-to-size 

(PPS) sample. The 2005-06 Common Core of Data (CCD) served as a starting point for 

the public school sampling frame, and the 2005-06 Private School Universe Survey (PSS) 

served as a starting point for the private school sampling frame. The public school sample 

was designed so that national-, regional-, and state-level elementary, secondary, and 

combined2 public school estimates can be made. The private school sample was designed 

so that national-, regional-, and affiliation-level estimates can be produced. BIE schools 

on the 2005-06 CCD were sampled with certainty, and thus national estimates for BIE 

schools can be produced. Because SASS is a school-based sample, districts, principals, 

and library media centers associated with public schools were included, as were 

principals and library media centers associated with BIE schools and principals 

associated with private schools. Teachers associated with selected schools were sampled 

from a teacher list provided by each school. The selected samples include about 9,800 

public schools, 180 BIE schools, and 2,940 private schools; 5,250 public school districts; 

9,800 public school principals, 180 BIE school principals, and 2,940 private school 

principals; 47,440 public school teachers, 750 BIE teachers, and 8,180 private school 

teachers; and 9,800 public school library media centers and 180 BIE school library media 

centers. 

 

1

 Public schools include traditional public and charter schools. 

2

 A combined school or combined grade school has one or more of grades K-6 and one or more of grades 9-

12; for example, schools with grades K-12, 6-12, 6-9, or 1-12 were classified as having combined grades. 

Schools in which all students are ungraded (i.e., not classified by standard grade levels) are also classified 

as combined. 

1 
The data were collected via mailed questionnaires with telephone and field follow-up. 

The first questionnaires were mailed in September 2007, and data collection ended in 

June 2008. The unit response rates varied from 72 percent for private school principals to 

88 percent for public school districts (appendix table B-1 shows the unit and overall 

response rates for each survey). Nonresponse bias analyses were performed when survey 

response rates for major reporting groups were less than 85 percent. For information 

about bias analysis results, methodology, and design of the 2007-08 SASS, please see the 

technical notes of this report in appendix B and the Documentation for the 2007-08 

Schools and Staffing Survey (Tourkin et al. forthcoming). 

Because the purpose of First Look reports is to introduce new data, it is possible to only 

include a small selection of the information in the survey. This First Look report 

highlights findings from SASS’s public and private principal surveys. Findings from the 

district, school, teacher, and library media center data files will be presented in four 

companion First Look reports: 

• Characteristics of Public School Districts in the United States: Results From the 2007-08 

Schools and Staffing Survey (NCES 2009-320)

• Characteristics of Public, Private, and Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and 

Secondary Schools in the United States: Results From the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing 

Survey (NCES 2009-321)

• Characteristics of Public, Private, and Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and 

Secondary School Teachers in the United States: Results From the 2007-08 Schools and 

Staffing Survey (NCES 2009-324)

• Characteristics of Public and Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and Secondary 

School Library Media Centers in the United States: Results From the 2007-08 Schools and 

Staffing Survey (NCES 2009-322)

The tables in this report contain counts and percentages demonstrating bivariate 

relationships between variables. All of the results have been weighted to reflect the 

sample design and to account for nonresponse and other adjustments. Comparisons drawn 

in the selected findings have been tested for statistical significance at the .05 level using 

Student’s t statistics to ensure that the differences are larger than those that might be 

expected due to sampling variation. No adjustments were made for multiple comparisons. 

Many of the variables are related to one another, and complex interactions and 

relationships have not been explored. Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) (9.1) and 

SUDAAN (10.0) were used to compute the statistics for this report. 

More information about the SASS can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/. 

2 
Selected Findings 

• In 2007-08, there were an estimated 118,610 school principals in the United 

States; 90,470 were public school principals, 27,960 were private school 

principals, and 170 were BIE-funded school principals (table 1). 

• Among public school principals, 81 percent were non-Hispanic White, 11 percent 

were non-Hispanic Black, and 7 percent were Hispanic. Among private school 

principals, 87 percent were non-Hispanic White, 7 percent were non-Hispanic 

Black, and 4 percent were Hispanic (table 2). 

• About 50 percent of public school principals and 53 percent of private school 

principals were female (table 3). 

• Among public schools, more principals held a master’s degree (61 percent) as 

their highest degree than a bachelor's degree or less (1 percent) or an education 

specialist/professional diploma (29 percent) or a doctorate/first professional 

degree (8 percent). Among private schools, more principals held a master’s 

degree (50 percent) as their highest degree earned, compared to those with a 

bachelor's degree or less (33 percent) or an education specialist/professional 

diploma (10 percent) or a doctorate/first professional degree (7 percent) (table 4). 

• The average annual salary of public school principals was $85,700. Principals in 

public secondary schools earned more ($90,300) than principals in public 

elementary schools ($85,200) and in public combined schools ($75,800). Among 

private school principals, the average annual salary was $57,500. Principals in 

private secondary schools earned more ($75,100) than principals in private 

elementary schools ($55,500) and in private combined schools ($55,100) (table 

5). 

• On average, public school principals spent 58.4 hours per week on all schoolrelated activities, including 20.8 hours per week interacting with students. Private 

school principals, on average, spent 53.6 hours per week on all school-related 

activities, including 19.2 hours per week interacting with students (table 6). 

• Public school principals had, on average, 7.5 years of experience as a principal, of 

which 4.2 years were spent in their current school. Private school principals had, 

on average, 10.0 years of experience as a principal, of which 6.8 were spent in 

their current school (table 7). 

3 
• About 90 percent of public school principals reported having a major influence on 

hiring new full-time teachers at their school, while 94 percent of private school 

principals reported the same (table 8). 

4 
References 

Cochran, W.G. (1977). Sampling Techniques. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 

Tourkin, S., Thomas, T., Swaim, N., Cox, S., Parmer, R., Jackson, B., Cole, C., and 

Zhang, B. (forthcoming). Documentation for the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey

(NCES 2009-318). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education 

Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC. 

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2003). NCES 

Statistical Standards (NCES 2003-601). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing 

Office. 

5 
Estimate Tables 

6 
Table 1.

Total Public Private BIE1

 All schools 118,610 90,470 27,960 170Community type City 31,180 21,560 9,610 #

 Suburban 35,400 25,880 9,510 10

 Town 16,650 13,860 2,780 20 Rural 35,370 29,170 6,060 150

School level  Elementary 78,560 62,340 16,110 110

 Secondary 24,500 21,550 2,930 20

 Combined 15,550 6,580 8,920 40Student enrollment Less than 100 20,150 6,950 13,180 20

 100-199 14,590 8,520 6,010 60

 200-499 43,520 36,830 6,610 80

 500-749 21,690 20,290 1,390 20

 750-999 9,140 8,760 380 # 1,000 or more 9,520 9,120 400 #Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 39,170 33,980 5,180 20

 35-49 15,920 14,910 990 10

 50-74 20,770 19,970 780 30 75 or more 19,160 17,700 1,340 120

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 23,580 3,910 19,670 #

district.NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for EducPrincipal, and Private School Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

ation Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School 

Number of school principals, by school type and selected school characteristics: 2007-08

1 BIE refers to schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education that are operated by the BIE, a tribe, or a private contractor and not by a regular school 

Selected school characteristic# Rounds to zero.

School type

7 
8 

Table 2.

Hispanic, White, Black,

Total number of principals regardless of race non-Hispanic non-Hispanic Other

 All schools 118,610 5.9 82.3 9.6 2.1

All public schools 90,470 6.5 80.9 10.6 2.0 School classification Traditional public 86,920 6.4 81.5 10.2 2.0

 Charter school 3,550 9.3 ! 66.3 21.7 2.7 ! Community type City 21,560 13.4 62.9 21.1 2.6 Suburban 25,880 6.9 81.7 10.0 1.5 Town 13,860 4.2 ! 86.7 7.2 1.9 !

 Rural 29,170 2.1 ! 90.6 5.1 2.1 !

 School level  Elementary 62,340 7.6 79.5 10.9 2.1 Secondary 21,550 4.5 84.1 9.8 1.5 Combined 6,580 2.8 ! 83.6 10.6 3.0 ! Student enrollment Less than 100 6,950 4.8 ! 83.4 9.8 ! 2.1 ! 100-199 8,520 4.0 ! 87.0 7.0 2.0 ! 200-499 36,830 5.4 81.2 11.5 2.0

 500-749 20,290 8.5 78.3 11.2 2.0 !

 750-999 8,760 9.1 79.6 9.2 2.1 ! 1,000 or more 9,120 7.6 79.2 11.4 1.8 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free o

1

r

 reduced-price lunches 0-34 33,980 3.3 90.8 4.6 1.3

 35-49 14,910 2.2 ! 85.3 10.0 2.5 ! 50-74 19,970 7.3 79.0 11.2 2.6 75 or more 17,700 16.0 58.6 23.0 2.4

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 3,910 3.4 ! 88.2 6.8 1.5 !

All BIE schools 170 7.2 36.3 2.0 54.5

Number of school principals and percentage distribution of school principals, by race/ethnicity, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08

Race/ethnicity

School type and selected school characteristicSee notes at end of table. 
9 

Table 2.

Hispanic, White, Black,

Total number of principals regardless of race non-Hispanic non-Hispanic Other

All private schools 27,960 4.0 87.3 6.5 2.3  School classification Catholic 7,360 4.9 91.3 2.0 1.7 ! Other religious 13,840 3.2 86.6 8.5 1.8  Nonsectarian 6,760 4.5 ! 84.3 7.3 3.9 !

 Community type City 9,610 4.2 81.7 10.8 3.3  Suburban 9,510 6.0 84.6 7.1 2.3 ! Town 2,780 1.5 ! 96.2 1.4 ! 0.9 !

 Rural 6,060 1.5 ! 96.2 1.1 ! 1.2 !

 School level  Elementary 16,110 5.1 85.4 6.9 2.6  Secondary 2,930 0.9 ! 91.2 4.9 ! 3.0 !

 Combined 8,920 2.9 89.3 6.3 1.5  Student enrollment Less than 100 13,180 4.7 84.0 8.7 2.5  100-199 6,010 2.8 86.4 8.1 2.7 ! 200-499 6,610 3.8 92.3 2.2 1.7 ! 500-749 1,390 3.4 ! 93.5 1.9 ! 1.2 !

 750 or more 770 1.7 ! 94.9 1.1 ! 2.2 ! Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free o

1

r

 reduced-price lunches 0-34 5,180 3.1 ! 90.9 4.1 1.9 !

 35-49 990 7.8 ! 83.9 6.3 ! 2.0 !

 50-74 780 9.6 ! 74.8 14.2 1.4 ! 75 or more 1,340 17.7 67.9 10.3 ! 4.2 !

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 19,670 2.8 88.3 6.6 2.3 NOTE: Black includes African American and Hispanic includes Latino. BIE school refers to schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) that are operated by the BIE, a tribe, or a private contractor and not by a regular school district. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and Private School Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

Number of school principals and percentage distribution of school principals, by race/ethnicity, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08—Continued

Race/ethnicity

School type and selected school characteristic! Interpret data with caution. The standard error for this estimate is equal to 30 percent or more of the estimate's value.

1 Other includes American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic; Asian, non-Hispanic; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic; or Two or more races, non-Hispanic. 
10 

Table 3. Percentage distribution of school principals by age category, average and median age of principals, and percentage distribution of principals, by sex, school type, and selected school characteristics: 

2007-08

School type and selected Less than 55 years

school characteristic 45 years 45-54 years or more Average age of principals Median age of principals Male Female

 All schools 32.6 33.0 34.4 49 50 49.0 51.0 All public schools 33.9 34.5 31.6 49 49 49.7 50.3 

 School classification Traditional public 33.6 34.9 31.5 49 49 50.0 50.0

 Charter school 40.0 25.3 34.7 49 48 41.6 58.4

 Community type City 30.9 37.2 31.9 49 50 38.8 61.2

 Suburban 32.3 33.4 34.3 49 51 47.8 52.2

 Town 32.2 36.5 31.2 49 49 54.4 45.6

 Rural 38.1 32.7 29.1 48 48 57.2 42.8

 School level  Elementary 34.0 33.3 32.6 49 49 41.1 58.9

 Secondary 33.6 36.9 29.5 49 49 71.5 28.5

 Combined 32.8 38.5 28.6 49 49 60.0 40.0

 Student enrollment Less than 100 26.4 34.2 39.4 50 51 46.7 53.3 100-199 36.0 27.5 36.5 49 50 54.9 45.1

 200-499 35.2 36.2 28.6 48 49 47.2 52.8

 500-749 35.0 31.6 33.4 49 50 45.9 54.1

 750-999 34.7 36.0 29.3 49 49 51.5 48.5

 1,000 or more 28.5 40.0 31.5 49 50 63.8 36.2 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or

 reduced-price lunches 0-34 35.6 34.5 29.9 49 49 56.8 43.2

 35-49 34.6 35.5 29.9 48 49 50.8 49.2

 50-74 32.7 33.6 33.7 49 50 44.6 55.4

 75 or more 34.2 35.9 29.9 48 49 40.9 59.1

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 19.8 30.7 49.6 52 54 49.9 50.1

All BIE schools 21.8 47.4 51.2 50 50 51.5 48.5

See notes at end of table. 

Sex
11 

Table 3. Percentage distribution of school principals by age category, average and median age of principals, and percentage distribution of principals, by sex, school type, and selected school characteristics:

2007-08—Continued

School type and selected Less than 55 years

school characteristic 45 years 45-54 years or more Average age of principals Median age of principals Male Female

All private schools 28.6 27.9 43.5 51 52 46.7 53.3 School classification Catholic 16.4 26.6 57.0 54 55 26.2 73.8

 Other religious 33.3 30.9 35.8 49 50 61.1 38.9

 Nonsectarian 32.3 23.3 44.4 51 52 39.6 60.4

 Community type City 26.7 25.8 47.5 52 53 38.0 62.0

 Suburban 25.9 26.6 47.4 52 53 41.2 58.8

 Town 26.6 31.0 42.4 52 52 53.3 46.7

 Rural 36.7 31.9 31.4 48 49 66.3 33.7

 School level  Elementary 26.4 27.5 46.1 51 53 36.3 63.7

 Secondary 29.1 30.1 40.8 51 52 64.4 35.6

 Combined 32.5 28.0 39.6 50 51 59.8 40.2

 Student enrollment Less than 100 35.5 26.7 37.8 49 50 45.7 54.3 100-199 29.3 28.7 41.9 51 51 47.1 52.9 200-499 18.6 27.4 54.0 54 55 45.5 54.5 500-749 13.4 34.2 52.4 54 55 47.4 52.6 750 or more 18.6 35.9 45.6 52 53 70.9 29.1 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 23.0 28.1 49.0 52 54 42.7 57.3

 35-49 35.6 23.9 40.6 49 52 32.7 67.3 50-74 42.6 17.6 39.8 49 49 34.1 65.9 75 or more 28.6 25.4 46.0 51 53 42.1 57.9

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price

 50 3. 49 52 15 1. 42 .7 28 .2 29 program h unc l .7

NOTE: BIE school refers to schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) that are operated by the BIE, a tribe, or a private contractor and not by a regular school district. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and Private School Principal Data Files," 

2007-08.

Sex
12 

Table 4.

Education specialist or Doctorate or first

Bachelor's degree or less Master's degree professional diploma1 professional degree

 All schools 8.8 58.5 24.5 8.1 All public schools 1.5 61.1 29.0 8.4  School classification Traditional public 1.0 61.2 29.6 8.2  Charter school 11.7 57.3 16.5 14.5 

 Community type City 1.5 61.3 26.5 10.7 

 Suburban 0.9 ! 58.2 28.6 12.2 

 Town 1.2 ! 63.5 30.3 4.9  Rural 2.0 62.3 30.7 5.1  School level  Elementary 1.2 61.3 29.1 8.3 

 Secondary 1.3 ! 61.0 28.6 9.1  Combined 4.2 ! 58.8 29.5 7.5  Student enrollment Less than 100 5.9 ! 55.3 32.1 6.7  100-199 1.7 ! 68.1 22.9 7.3  200-499 1.6 61.7 29.8 6.9 

 500-749 0.5 ! 61.0 29.7 8.8  750-999 0.2 ! 60.1 29.5 10.2 

 1,000 or more 0.7 ! 57.3 27.4 14.5  Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 1.1 ! 60.9 28.8 9.2  35-49 0.5 ! 60.2 32.4 6.9 

 50-74 1.4 ! 61.3 30.1 7.1 

 75 or more 2.1 ! 62.9 26.0 9.0  School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 5.8 ! 55.9 26.6 11.7 

All BIE schools 4.8 72.8 16.0 6.4 

Percentage distribution of school principals, by highest degree earned, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08

School type and selected school characteristicSee notes at end of table.
13 

Table 4.

Education specialist or Doctorate or first

Bachelor's degree or less Master's degree professional diploma1 professional degree

All private schools 32.6 50.2 10.0 7.2

 School classification Catholic 9.7 67.0 15.0 8.3  Other religious 46.5 39.7 7.7 6.1 

 Nonsectarian 29.0 53.2 9.4 8.3 

 Community type City 23.2 55.8 12.2 8.7  Suburban 29.8 52.2 10.1 7.9 

 Town 30.7 49.2 13.0 7.1  Rural 52.8 38.5 5.0 3.6 

 School level  Elementary 32.2 52.0 10.5 5.2 

Secondary 18.0 59.5 11.8 10.7 

 Combined 38.1 43.8 8.5 9.6 

 Student enrollment Less than 100 50.9 36.0 7.3 5.9  100-199 25.1 58.9 9.7 6.3 

 200-499 11.9 65.0 14.5 8.6  500-749 5.2 ! 72.8 12.6 9.4  750 or more 6.1 ! 57.0 15.3 21.6 

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 21.0 60.1 13.4 5.6  35-49 16.5 ! 66.2 8.9 ! 8.4 ! 50-74 20.4 64.4 7.7 ! 7.5 ! 75 or more 19.6 62.9 12.6 ! 4.9 !

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 37.9 45.3 9.1 7.7 

1 At least 1 year beyond the master's level.

NOTE: BIE school refers to schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) that are operated by the BIE, a tribe, or a private contractor and not by a regular school district. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for EducPrivate School Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

ation Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and 

School type and selected school characteristic! Interpret data with caution. The standard error for this estimate is equal to 30 percent or more of the estimate's value.

Percentage distribution of school principals, by highest degree earned, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08—Continued
14 

Table 5.

Less than 3 years 3 to 9 years 10 years or more

 All schools $79,300 $73,500 $80,200 $82,700 

All public schools 85,700 80,700 85,700 90,300 School classification Traditional public 86,100 81,000 86,100 90,400

 Charter school 77,900 72,900 76,200 87,000 Community type City 91,200 84,500 92,600 95,300

 Suburban 96,900 92,300 96,200 101,800

 Town 77,500 73,300 77,500 80,800 Rural 75,700 71,700 74,900 80,800 School level  Elementary 85,200 80,200 85,400 89,200

 Secondary 90,300 85,600 89,500 95,900

 Combined 75,800 70,200 75,400 82,800

 Student enrollment Less than 100 72,600 65,900 71,200 80,400

 100-199 77,300 72,100 75,900 83,400

 200-499 82,800 77,400 83,200 86,900

 500-749 89,000 85,000 89,000 92,500

 750-999 93,200 84,900 95,100 97,600

 1,000 or more 101,300 100,300 99,600 104,700

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 91,000 85,300 90,400 96,100

 35-49 81,800 78,600 81,300 85,400 50-74 81,100 77,400 81,600 83,900 75 or more 84,800 79,400 85,800 88,600 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 83,600 72,700 86,600 87,800

All BIE schools 72,600 64,100 73,000 78,700See notes at end of table. 

Average annual salary for school principals, by years of experience as a principal, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08 

School type and selected 

Average annual salary

Average annual salary for principals by years of experience

school characteristic
15 

Table 5. Average annual salary for school principals, by years of experience as a principal, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08—Continued

Less than 3 years 3 to 9 years 10 years or more

All private schools $57,500 $48,000 $55,600 $64,500  School classification Catholic 58,100 55,400 57,600 59,600

 Other religious 47,800 37,900 48,000 54,600

 Nonsectarian 75,500 61,800 71,600 85,000

 Community type City 64,900 52,900 63,400 72,100

 Suburban 61,600 54,300 56,900 68,600 Town 44,300 35,900 46,600 48,400 Rural 42,900 39,800 42,600 46,000

 School level  Elementary 55,500 45,600 53,300 62,600 Secondary 75,100 67,500 75,300 79,300

 Combined 55,100 45,900 52,300 63,200 Student enrollment Less than 100 44,400 38,600 45,600 48,600

 100-199 58,700 55,500 53,700 64,900 200-499 70,000 59,100 68,100 74,200 500-749 83,600 77,000 80,800 87,100 750 or more 95,500 87,500 99,000 96,900

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 51,000 42,600 51,100 56,000

 35-49 70,100 60,000 69,400 76,500

 50-74 50,600 42,300 51,800 55,800

 75 or more 56,900 46,700 64,700 56,300 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 58,900 49,200 55,600 67,000

NOTE: BIE school refers to schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) that are operated by the BIE, a tribe, or a private contractor and not by a regular school School type and selected district. Private School Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

Average annual salary

Average annual salary for principals by years of experience

school characteristicSOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and
16 

Table 6.

All school-related activities Interacting with students

 All schools 57.3 20.5 All public schools 58.4 20.8  School classification Traditional public 58.4 20.8

 Charter school 58.2 21.4

 Community type City 60.0 21.4

 Suburban 58.3 19.2

 Town 57.9 21.2

 Rural 57.7 21.7

 School level  Elementary 58.4 19.9

 Secondary 59.1 22.8

 Combined 56.7 23.1

 Student enrollment Less than 100 50.1 20.4

 100-199 56.3 21.1

 200-499 58.6 21.3

 500-749 59.4 19.9

 750-999 59.8 20.7

 1,000 or more 62.8 21.6

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 58.5 19.3

 35-49 58.6 21.8

 50-74 58.9 21.5

 75 or more 58.9 23.0

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 53.2 17.6

All BIE schools 57.1 20.0 See notes at end of table. 

Average hours per week that school principals spent on all school-related activities and interacting with students, by school type and selected school 

characteristics: 2007-08

School type and selected Average hours per week

school characteristic
17 

Table 6. 

All school-related activities Interacting with students

All private schools 53.6 19.2  School classification Catholic 57.7 17.8  Other religious 50.3 19.5  Nonsectarian 55.9 20.4  Community type City 55.8 19.7  Suburban 56.4 18.9  Town 53.4 20.8  Rural 45.9 18.3  School level  Elementary 52.9 18.5  Secondary 57.3 20.0  Combined 53.6 20.3  Student enrollment Less than 100 49.6 21.7  100-199 56.1 18.3  200-499 57.3 16.4  500-749 59.1 15.4  750 or more 60.5 15.8  Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 55.0 17.9  35-49 53.6 18.6  50-74 54.6 19.9  75 or more 53.1 21.4  School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 53.2 19.5 NOTE: BIE school refers to schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) that are operated by the BIE, a tribe, or a private contractor and not by a regular school district. Private School Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

Average hours per week that school principals spent on all school-related activities and interacting with students, by school type and selected schoolcharacteristics: 2007-08—Continued

School type and selected Average hours per week

school characteristicSOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and 
18 

Table 7. Average total years of experience as a school principal, average years at current school as a principal, and percentage distribution of principals, by years of experience as a

Average total years Average years at Less than 10 years

of experience current school 2 years 2 years 3 years 4-9 years or more

 All schools 8.1 4.8 32.5 13.0 10.2 29.2 15.0 All public schools 7.5 4.2 34.1 13.4 10.8 29.9 11.9 

 School classification Traditional public 7.5 4.3 33.8 13.4 10.8 29.9 12.1 

 Charter school 6.6 3.5 40.8 12.3 ! 9.6 30.3 7.1 ! Community type City 7.0 3.7 36.3 14.7 10.7 29.6 8.7  Suburban 7.7 4.4 31.9 13.8 11.2 30.2 12.9  Town 7.8 4.6 32.3 12.7 10.1 29.8 15.1 

 Rural 7.5 4.3 35.2 12.3 10.7 30.0 11.7  School level  Elementary 7.7 4.3 33.3 13.9 10.6 30.1 12.2 

 Secondary 7.1 4.1 34.4 12.4 11.3 30.3 11.6  Combined 7.1 3.8 41.3 11.7 10.5 27.0 9.5 

 Student enrollment Less than 100 7.6 4.2 41.2 9.9 7.7 28.5 12.6 

 100-199 7.8 4.5 33.4 13.9 11.4 27.5 13.8 

 200-499 7.3 4.2 32.9 13.7 10.9 30.6 11.8 

 500-749 7.5 4.2 35.1 12.8 10.4 31.2 10.5 

 750-999 7.6 4.4 32.4 14.5 11.2 29.4 12.5 

 1,000 or more 7.4 4.1 33.5 14.5 12.1 28.1 11.8 

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or

 reduced-price lunches 0-34 8.1 4.6 31.1 13.2 9.5 32.9 13.4  35-49 7.2 4.2 34.4 12.4 12.4 29.7 11.1  50-74 7.1 4.0 36.3 13.0 12.3 27.5 10.9  75 or more 6.8 3.7 37.0 15.7 10.5 27.0 9.8 

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 8.4 4.7 35.5 9.6 8.9 ! 31.2 14.8 All BIE schools 8.5 4.1 37.8 14.1 9.3 28.6 10.2 

See notes at end of table.

principal at current school, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08

School type and selected school characteristic

Years of experience as a principal at current school
19 

Table 7.

Average total years Average years at Less than 10 years

of experience current school 2 years 2 years 3 years 4-9 years or more

All private schools 10.0 6.8 27.5 12.0 8.5 27.1 25.0 

 School classification Catholic 10.7 6.4 26.6 11.9 9.1 29.6 22.8 

 Other religious 9.1 6.1 29.4 12.9 9.5 27.3 21.0 

 Nonsectarian 11.0 8.8 24.4 10.2 5.8 23.9 35.6 

 Community type City 10.8 7.5 28.0 9.8 9.4 24.4 28.4  Suburban 10.5 7.1 22.5 12.8 7.8 30.6 26.3  Town 9.4 6.1 31.9 10.1 10.5 26.3 21.1 

 Rural 8.1 5.7 32.4 15.0 7.3 ! 26.1 19.2 

 School level  Elementary 9.9 6.4 29.8 12.2 9.4 25.1 23.6  Secondary 9.9 7.2 22.1 10.9 8.5 33.4 25.1  Combined 10.2 7.5 25.0 12.1 6.9 28.6 27.5 

 Student enrollment Less than 100 8.5 6.4 29.8 12.8 9.1 25.3 23.0  100-199 10.2 6.4 30.8 11.9 8.4 28.3 20.6 

 200-499 12.0 7.5 21.4 11.5 8.1 29.8 29.2 

 500-749 12.9 8.5 25.4 8.2 6.1 ! 22.6 37.6 

 750 or more 11.3 8.2 17.7 9.5 ! 7.4 ! 32.0 33.4 

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or

 reduced-price lunches 0-34 10.1 6.4 26.5 14.0 10.8 28.6 20.2 

 35-49 9.9 7.3 20.7 ! 14.3 ! 10.8 ! 28.4 25.8  50-74 10.3 6.7 26.9 15.2 ! 10.8 ! 22.1 25.0 

 75 or more 9.2 6.5 32.9 7.4 ! 1.9 ! 33.7 24.1 

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 10.0 6.9 27.7 11.5 8.1 26.3 26.3 

Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. School Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

principal at current school, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08—Continued

School type and selected school characteristicNOTE: BIE school refers to schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) that are operated by the BIE, a tribe, or a private contractor and not by a regular school district. 

Years of experience as a principal at current school

! Interpret data with caution. The standard error for this estimate is equal to 30 percent or more of the estimate's value.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and Private 

Average total years of experience as a school principal, average years at current school as a principal, and percentage distribution of principals, by years of experience as a 
20 

Table 8.

Evaluating teachers at their school Hiring new full-time teachers at their school

 All schools 94.3 91.3 All public schools 94.2 90.4  School classification Traditional public 94.1 90.3

 Charter school 95.2 94.4

 Community type City 90.9 87.2

 Suburban 95.1 92.5

 Town 95.0 91.1

 Rural 95.4 90.7

 School level  Elementary 94.0 90.2

 Secondary 94.7 91.2

 Combined 94.6 89.8

 Student enrollment Less than 100 89.8 84.6

 100-199 95.8 90.8

 200-499 94.5 89.8

 500-749 95.5 90.4

 750-999 92.1 93.6

 1,000 or more 94.0 94.1

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 94.4 93.8

 35-49 95.6 90.3

 50-74 93.9 87.8

 75 or more 93.5 87.4

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 91.7 89.1

All BIE schools 94.9 86.8 See notes at end of table. 

Percentage of school principals who thought they had a major influence on evaluating teachers at their school and hiring new full-time teachers at their school, by school type and selected school characteristics: 2007-08

School type and selected school characteristic
21 

Table 8. 

Evaluating teachers at their school Hiring new full-time teachers at their school

All private schools 94.6 94.2  School classification Catholic 99.1 99.5  Other religious 92.1 89.8  Nonsectarian 94.6 97.6  Community type City 96.8 95.7  Suburban 96.5 97.1  Town 94.5 91.5  Rural 88.0 88.5  School level  Elementary 94.9 93.3  Secondary 95.6 97.4  Combined 93.5 94.9  Student enrollment Less than 100 90.7 90.7  100-199 97.6 95.9  200-499 98.5 98.6  500-749 98.1 97.3  750 or more 96.8 99.2  Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 97.5 96.1  35-49 94.7 93.9  50-74 99.4 97.0  75 or more 97.2 96.7  School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 93.4 93.5 NOTE: BIE school refers to schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) that are operated by the BIE, a tribe, or a private contractor and not by a regular school school characteristicdistrict. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public SchPrivate School Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

ool Principal, BIE School Principal, and 

Percentage of school principals who thought they had a major influence on evaluating teachers at their school and hiring new full-time teachers at their school, by school type and selected school characteristics: 2007-08—Continued

School type and selected 
Appendix A: Standard Error Tables 

A-1
A-2

Table A-1.

Total Public Private BIE

 All schools 678 544 328 6Community type City 851 731 268 †

 Suburban 940 921 229 1

 Town 724 669 205 2

 Rural 1,063 1,012 296 6

School level  Elementary 721 584 297 5

 Secondary 480 460 168 4

 Combined 456 364 271 5

Student enrollment Less than 100 726 548 462 2 100-199 646 567 260 4

 200-499 1,290 1,210 274 5

 500-749 875 876 116 2

 750-999 576 573 47 †

 1,000 or more 429 426 53 †

Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 1,015 984 237 3

 35-49 794 770 138 2

 50-74 727 712 98 3

 75 or more 695 671 150 6 School did not participate in free or reduced-price

402 7 41 620 program h unc l †

† Not applicableSOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and Private School Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

Standard errors for Table 1: Number of school principals, by school type and selected school characteristics: 2007-08

Selected school characteristic

School type
A-3

Table A-2.

characteristics: 2007-08

Hispanic, White, Black,

Total number of principals regardless of race non-Hispanic non-Hispanic Other

 All schools 678 0.47 0.74 0.60 0.26

All public schools 544 0.60 0.92 0.73 0.33

 School classification Traditional public 519 0.62 0.98 0.74 0.34

 Charter school 153 2.82 4.99 4.37 2.03

 Community type City 731 1.54 2.03 1.83 0.63

 Suburban 921 1.39 1.60 1.41 0.35

 Town 669 1.40 1.83 1.29 0.67

 Rural 1,012 0.70 1.10 0.71 0.69

 School level  Elementary 584 0.83 1.24 0.93 0.41

 Secondary 460 1.04 1.25 0.78 0.44

 Combined 364 0.91 3.28 3.12 1.36

 Student enrollment Less than 100 548 2.19 3.42 3.03 1.13

 100-199 567 1.61 2.88 2.05 1.57

 200-499 1,210 1.03 1.52 1.20 0.46

 500-749 876 1.57 2.13 1.65 0.65

 750-999 573 2.25 2.83 2.14 0.86

 1,000 or more 426 2.12 2.53 1.43 0.53

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or

 reduced-price lunches 0-34 984 0.85 1.11 0.80 0.35

 35-49 770 0.89 2.01 1.39 1.13

 50-74 712 1.53 1.75 1.15 0.71

 75 or more 671 2.36 3.23 2.21 0.61

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 417 1.78 3.05 1.98 1.63

All BIE schools 6 1.27 2.06 0.45 2.19

Standard errors for Table 2: Number of school principals and percentage distribution of school principals, by race/ethnicity, school type, and selected school 

School type and selected school characteristicSee notes at end of table. 

Race/ethnicity
A-4

Table A-2.

characteristics: 2007-08—Continued

Hispanic, White, Black,

Total number of principals regardless of race non-Hispanic non-Hispanic Other

All private schools 328 0.52 0.91 0.67 0.41 School classification Catholic 39 0.89 1.09 0.51 0.55

 Other religious 287 0.67 1.19 0.93 0.47 Nonsectarian 120 1.37 2.12 1.65 1.36 Community type City 268 0.96 1.80 1.28 0.95 Suburban 229 1.21 1.60 1.17 0.74 Town 205 0.80 1.26 0.98 0.56 Rural 296 0.75 1.02 0.51 0.53 School level  Elementary 297 0.79 1.11 0.84 0.53 Secondary 168 0.54 2.38 1.75 1.85 Combined 271 0.78 1.44 1.24 0.40 Student enrollment Less than 100 462 1.00 1.65 1.19 0.71 100-199 260 0.79 1.90 1.51 0.82 200-499 274 0.76 1.09 0.60 0.60 500-749 116 1.53 1.90 1.04 0.80 750 or more 70 1.28 1.76 0.90 0.99

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or

 reduced-price lunches 0-34 237 1.16 1.74 1.06 0.81 35-49 138 4.03 5.00 2.65 1.36 50-74 98 3.36 5.10 4.17 1.48

 75 or more 150 4.60 6.20 3.71 3.45 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 402 0.54 0.99 0.81 0.49SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and Private School Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

Race/ethnicity

Standard errors for Table 2: Number of school principals and percentage distribution of school principals, by race/ethnicity, school type, and selected school 

School type and selected school characteristic
A-5

Table A-3. Standard errors for Table 3: Percentage distribution of school principals by age category, average and median age of principals, and percentage distribution of principals, by sex, school type, and 

selected school characteristics: 2007-08

School type and selected Less than 55 yearsschool characteristic 45 years 45-54 years or more Average age of principals Median age of principals Male Female

 All schools 0.88 0.89 0.88 0.2 0.3 0.97 0.97

All public schools 1.04 1.13 1.06 0.2 0.3 1.21 1.21

 School classification Traditional public 1.07 1.18 1.06 0.2 0.3 1.24 1.24

 Charter school 6.30 4.84 5.99 1.4 2.7 5.39 5.39

 Community type City 2.25 2.56 2.32 0.4 0.7 2.28 2.28

 Suburban 1.99 1.96 1.73 0.3 0.7 1.98 1.98

 Town 2.49 2.41 2.34 0.4 0.7 2.62 2.62

 Rural 2.07 1.70 1.97 0.4 0.7 2.04 2.04

 School level  Elementary 1.45 1.43 1.32 0.2 0.5 1.56 1.56

 Secondary 1.66 1.69 1.63 0.3 0.4 1.87 1.87 Combined 2.79 3.58 2.71 0.5 1.1 3.23 3.23 Student enrollment Less than 100 3.21 4.60 4.68 0.7 1.1 4.47 4.47

 100-199 4.07 3.28 3.60 0.7 1.5 4.22 4.22

 200-499 1.84 1.71 1.72 0.3 0.5 1.74 1.74 500-749 2.71 2.20 2.36 0.4 0.9 2.24 2.24 750-999 3.04 3.40 2.72 0.5 1.1 3.13 3.13 1,000 or more 2.40 3.12 2.50 0.4 0.7 2.52 2.52 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 1.78 1.80 1.50 0.3 0.6 1.78 1.78 35-49 2.19 2.14 2.56 0.5 0.7 2.95 2.95 50-74 2.14 2.14 2.32 0.4 0.7 2.32 2.32 75 or more 2.44 3.03 2.84 0.4 0.8 2.65 2.65

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 4.10 4.39 4.75 0.8 1.0 4.86 4.86

All BIE schools 1.90 1.80 2.17 0.4 0.6 2.18 2.18

See notes at end of table. 

Sex
A-6

Table A-3. Standard errors for Table 3: Percentage distribution of school principals by age category, average and median age of principals, and percentage distribution of principals, by sex, school type, and 

selected school characteristics: 2007-08—Continued

School type and selected Less than 55 yearsschool characteristic 45 years 45-54 years or more Average age of principals Median age of principals Male Female

All private schools 1.36 1.15 1.36 0.3 0.5 1.38 1.38

 School classification Catholic 1.56 1.62 1.92 0.4 0.4 1.78 1.78

 Other religious 2.09 2.00 2.02 0.5 0.6 1.99 1.99

 Nonsectarian 2.55 2.27 2.67 0.6 1.0 2.55 2.55

 Community type City 1.93 1.77 1.69 0.5 0.5 1.77 1.77

 Suburban 1.90 1.68 1.90 0.4 0.6 2.03 2.03

 Town 3.37 3.69 4.61 0.8 1.7 4.27 4.27

 Rural 3.47 3.14 3.12 0.8 0.6 3.46 3.46

 School level  Elementary 1.80 1.48 1.81 0.4 0.7 1.58 1.58

 Secondary 2.92 3.19 3.41 0.8 1.1 3.71 3.71 Combined 2.38 2.12 2.38 0.5 0.7 2.26 2.26 Student enrollment Less than 100 2.49 1.88 2.47 0.6 0.8 2.25 2.25

 100-199 2.31 2.13 2.45 0.6 0.8 2.45 2.45

 200-499 1.61 2.04 2.16 0.4 0.4 2.07 2.07 500-749 2.69 4.12 3.91 0.7 0.9 3.82 3.82 750 or more 4.12 5.19 4.82 0.9 1.0 5.11 5.11

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 2.11 2.15 2.58 0.6 0.7 2.78 2.78

 35-49 7.39 6.10 6.46 1.5 2.3 6.60 6.60 50-74 6.98 4.59 6.68 1.8 3.5 7.55 7.55 75 or more 6.25 4.57 5.82 1.6 1.8 6.79 6.79

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price

8 .5 1 8 .5 1 .5 0 .4 0 .64 1 .39 1 .62 1 program h unc l

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and Private School Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

Sex
A-7

Table A-4. Standard errors for Table 4: Percentage distribution of school principals, by highest degree earned, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08

Education specialist or Doctorate or first

Bachelor's degree or less Master's degree professional diploma professional degree

 All schools 0.37 0.81 0.75 0.46

All public schools 0.23 1.01 0.97 0.57

 School classification Traditional public 0.19 1.03 0.96 0.54

 Charter school 3.33 5.46 4.73 3.65

 Community type City 0.45 2.07 2.11 1.29

 Suburban 0.52 1.92 1.92 1.23

 Town 0.64 2.58 2.24 0.85

 Rural 0.55 1.70 1.74 0.65

 School level  Elementary 0.27 1.36 1.28 0.66

 Secondary 0.40 1.61 1.47 0.85

 Combined 1.71 3.38 3.00 1.47 Student enrollment Less than 100 1.80 4.83 4.34 1.37

 100-199 0.73 3.32 2.80 1.74

 200-499 0.40 1.70 1.60 0.81

 500-749 0.30 1.94 1.86 1.34

 750-999 0.19 2.62 2.66 1.89

 1,000 or more 0.51 2.48 2.22 1.75

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 0.40 1.79 1.59 0.94 35-49 0.32 2.72 2.53 0.93

 50-74 0.44 2.17 2.14 0.87

 75 or more 0.62 2.25 2.16 1.49

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 2.65 5.82 5.14 3.02

All BIE schools 1.04 2.07 1.66 1.07

School type and selected school characteristicSee notes at end of table.
A-8

Table A-4. Standard errors for Table 4: Percentage distribution of school principals, by highest degree earned, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08

Education specialist or Doctorate or first

Bachelor's degree or less Master's degree professional diploma professional degree

All private schools 1.37 1.20 0.75 0.63 School classification Catholic 1.17 1.74 1.36 0.94

 Other religious 2.14 2.09 1.10 0.89

 Nonsectarian 2.65 2.73 1.59 1.38

 Community type City 1.90 2.11 1.46 1.17

 Suburban 2.19 2.04 1.14 1.06

 Town 3.76 4.10 3.67 1.96

 Rural 3.49 3.22 1.04 1.03

 School level  Elementary 1.81 1.64 1.17 0.70

 Secondary 3.06 3.47 2.07 1.62

 Combined 2.20 2.18 1.11 1.18 Student enrollment Less than 100 2.01 1.93 1.34 0.91

 100-199 2.21 2.46 1.50 1.18

 200-499 1.25 1.64 1.22 1.15

 500-749 1.64 3.18 2.67 2.26

 750 or more 2.37 5.30 3.99 4.53

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 2.66 3.20 2.38 1.13 35-49 5.34 6.80 3.36 2.83

 50-74 4.93 5.81 2.83 3.38

 75 or more 5.49 5.58 4.29 2.11

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 1.67 1.57 0.81 0.78

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and Private School Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

—Continued

School type and selected school characteristic
A-9

Table A-5.

Less than 3 years 3 to 9 years 10 years or more

 All schools 360 850 630 780

All public schools 380 850 610 850 School classification Traditional public 390 870 600 870

 Charter school 2,460 3,630 3,880 4,730 Community type City 740 1,930 1,180 1,800

 Suburban 920 2,400 1,120 1,600

 Town 710 1,280 1,270 1,220

 Rural 660 920 980 1,110

 School level  Elementary 490 1,060 680 1,120 Secondary 700 1,350 1,220 1,570 Combined 1,240 2,150 1,950 2,280 Student enrollment Less than 100 1,720 2,660 2,890 4,080 100-199 1,790 2,270 2,660 3,360

 200-499 620 1,140 1,040 1,340

 500-749 910 1,800 1,220 2,000

 750-999 1,310 2,720 2,070 1,490

 1,000 or more 1,130 2,800 1,200 1,440 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 770 1,470 1,130 1,360 35-49 1,010 2,080 1,230 1,770

 50-74 710 1,360 1,220 1,200

 75 or more 950 2,350 1,450 2,220 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 2,230 4,350 3,120 4,000

All BIE schools 700 1,030 970 1,310

See notes at end of table. 

Standard errors for Table 5: Average annual salary for school principals, by years of experience as a principal, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08

School type and selected 

Average annual salary

Average annual salary for principals by years of experience

school characteristic
A-10

Table A-5.

Less than 3 years 3 to 9 years 10 years or more

All private schools 800 1,520 1,200 1,410

 School classification Catholic 770 1,900 1,190 1,340

 Other religious 1,000 1,680 1,330 1,920

 Nonsectarian 1,990 3,280 3,810 3,380

 Community type City 1,290 2,520 2,280 2,060

 Suburban 1,420 3,020 1,820 2,150

 Town 2,150 3,850 2,810 3,870 Rural 1,640 2,520 2,130 3,370

 School level  Elementary 970 1,840 1,500 1,600

 Secondary 2,370 4,380 3,990 4,860 Combined 1,480 3,020 2,140 3,120

 Student enrollment Less than 100 950 1,780 1,800 2,040

 100-199 1,480 3,440 1,680 2,760

 200-499 1,720 3,020 2,840 2,630

 500-749 2,740 5,660 4,920 4,050

 750 or more 3,700 6,320 9,460 5,420 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 1,350 2,790 1,710 1,830 35-49 5,630 7,660 10,320 11,210

 50-74 2,720 6,910 5,190 3,210

 75 or more 3,330 5,570 7,500 5,260

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 1,080 2,040 1,550 1,920

Private School Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

Average annual salary

Average annual salary for principals by years of experience

school characteristicSOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and

Standard errors for Table 5: Average annual salary for school principals, by years of experience as a principal, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08—Continued

School type and selected 
A-11

Table A-6.

All school-related activities Interacting with students

 All schools 0.20 0.23

All public schools 0.25 0.28

 School classification Traditional public 0.26 0.28

 Charter school 1.39 1.35

 Community type City 0.55 0.62

 Suburban 0.43 0.48

 Town 0.71 0.85

 Rural 0.51 0.55

 School level  Elementary 0.28 0.34

 Secondary 0.63 0.50

 Combined 0.65 0.80

 Student enrollment Less than 100 1.47 1.45

 100-199 1.03 0.92

 200-499 0.36 0.41

 500-749 0.42 0.52

 750-999 0.57 0.73

 1,000 or more 0.46 0.73

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 0.33 0.41

 35-49 0.70 0.69

 50-74 0.63 0.66

 75 or more 0.58 0.69

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 1.69 1.21

All BIE schools 0.54 0.48

See notes at end of table. 

Standard errors for Table 6: Average hours per week that school principals spent on all school-related activities and interacting with students, by school type and selected school characteristics: 2007-08

School type and selected Average hours per weekschool characteristic
A-12

Table A-6. 

All school-related activities Interacting with students

All private schools 0.41 0.35

 School classification Catholic 0.38 0.51

 Other religious 0.72 0.55

 Nonsectarian 0.77 0.75

 Community type City 0.50 0.67

 Suburban 0.58 0.61

 Town 1.16 1.08

 Rural 1.31 0.78

 School level  Elementary 0.56 0.48

 Secondary 1.28 0.89

 Combined 0.63 0.72

 Student enrollment Less than 100 0.74 0.66

 100-199 0.56 0.58

 200-499 0.46 0.54

 500-749 0.80 0.89

 750 or more 0.83 1.43

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 0.66 0.66

 35-49 2.07 1.55

 50-74 1.47 1.96

 75 or more 1.36 1.62

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 0.54 0.46

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and Private School Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

selected school characteristics: 2007-08—Continued

School type and selected Average hours per weekschool characteristic

Standard errors for Table 6: Average hours per week that school principals spent on all school-related activities and interacting with students, by school type and 
A-13

Table A-7.

Average total years Average years at Less than 10 years

of experience current school 2 years 2 years 3 years 4-9 years or more

 All schools 0.13 0.09 0.82 0.56 0.56 0.73 0.58

All public schools 0.14 0.10 0.96 0.66 0.63 0.87 0.66

 School classification Traditional public 0.14 0.11 0.98 0.66 0.64 0.85 0.68

 Charter school 0.70 0.47 6.23 6.13 2.71 6.36 2.79

 Community type City 0.25 0.17 2.22 1.64 1.26 2.16 1.26

 Suburban 0.28 0.18 1.72 1.46 1.21 1.77 1.37

 Town 0.34 0.28 2.80 1.86 1.48 2.72 2.01

 Rural 0.27 0.20 1.83 1.07 1.12 1.75 1.22

 School level  Elementary 0.17 0.13 1.31 0.89 0.86 1.13 0.85

 Secondary 0.19 0.15 1.77 1.02 1.06 1.62 1.15

 Combined 0.43 0.24 4.09 2.12 1.61 2.81 1.24 Student enrollment Less than 100 0.63 0.47 4.66 2.63 1.34 4.35 2.73

 100-199 0.54 0.43 3.62 2.43 2.74 3.84 2.65

 200-499 0.23 0.18 1.54 1.15 1.05 1.48 1.33

 500-749 0.33 0.23 2.37 1.50 1.63 1.98 1.35

 750-999 0.39 0.37 3.03 2.24 1.97 2.99 2.65

 1,000 or more 0.30 0.21 2.36 1.75 1.66 2.28 1.52 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 0.24 0.16 1.61 1.16 0.95 1.69 1.14

 35-49 0.34 0.26 2.39 1.57 1.67 2.48 1.74

 50-74 0.31 0.22 2.27 1.32 1.79 2.04 1.24

 75 or more 0.34 0.24 2.44 1.87 1.50 2.19 1.77

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 0.82 0.63 5.30 2.87 2.96 4.55 4.14

All BIE schools 0.30 0.19 2.05 1.63 1.24 2.07 1.10

See notes at end of table.

Standard errors for Table 7: Average total years of experience as a school principal, average years at current school as a principal, and percentage distribution of principals, by 

years of experience as a principal at current school, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08

School type and selected school characteristic

Years of experience as a principal at current school
A-14

Table A-7.

Average total years Average years at Less than 10 years

of experience current school 2 years 2 years 3 years 4-9 years or more

All private schools 0.22 0.18 1.21 0.97 0.86 1.12 0.97

 School classification Catholic 0.34 0.24 1.62 1.25 1.32 1.69 1.40

 Other religious 0.35 0.31 2.03 1.63 1.34 1.81 1.62

 Nonsectarian 0.55 0.52 2.37 1.50 1.16 2.40 2.80

 Community type City 0.38 0.33 1.75 1.26 1.23 1.77 1.86

 Suburban 0.36 0.30 1.84 1.60 1.07 1.83 1.69

 Town 0.80 0.65 4.55 2.28 2.33 3.64 3.31

 Rural 0.53 0.44 3.03 2.27 2.21 3.25 2.54

 School level  Elementary 0.30 0.24 1.76 1.23 1.24 1.60 1.36

 Secondary 0.58 0.52 3.12 2.71 1.90 3.52 2.87

 Combined 0.44 0.42 2.01 1.55 1.15 1.92 2.18 Student enrollment Less than 100 0.36 0.33 2.15 1.69 1.39 2.02 1.84

 100-199 0.48 0.37 2.17 1.56 1.38 2.28 1.86

 200-499 0.37 0.35 1.84 1.33 1.20 1.85 1.87

 500-749 0.82 0.72 3.32 2.17 1.90 2.89 4.25

 750 or more 0.99 0.70 3.97 3.27 2.76 4.45 4.25

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 0.52 0.46 2.71 1.77 1.81 2.56 2.24

 35-49 1.13 1.08 6.49 5.10 4.04 5.66 6.19

 50-74 1.39 1.17 5.31 5.80 4.33 6.22 6.17

 75 or more 0.98 0.83 5.00 3.17 1.71 4.92 5.38

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 0.26 0.23 1.55 1.18 1.03 1.48 1.36

Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

Standard errors for Table 7: Average total years of experience as a school principal, average years at current school as a principal, and percentage distribution of principals, by years of experience as a principal at current school, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2007-08—Continued

School type and selected school characteristicSOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and Private School 

Years of experience as a principal at current school
A-15

Table A-8.

Evaluating teachers at their school Hiring new full-time teachers at their school

 All schools 0.47 0.50

All public schools 0.54 0.60

 School classification Traditional public 0.55 0.62

 Charter school 2.25 2.50

 Community type City 1.49 1.65

 Suburban 0.85 1.30

 Town 1.25 1.45

 Rural 0.87 1.00

 School level  Elementary 0.73 0.79

 Secondary 1.00 1.11

 Combined 1.11 1.61

 Student enrollment Less than 100 3.15 3.62

 100-199 1.31 2.07

 200-499 0.88 1.01

 500-749 0.80 1.49

 750-999 1.94 1.59

 1,000 or more 1.01 1.28

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 0.86 0.97

 35-49 0.78 1.46

 50-74 1.02 1.38

 75 or more 1.25 1.57

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 4.14 3.71

All BIE schools 1.21 1.49

See notes at end of table. 

Standard errors for Table 8: Percentage of school principals who thought they had a major influence on evaluating teachers at their school and hiring new full-timeteachers at their school, by school type and selected school characteristics: 2007-08

School type and selected school characteristic
A-16

Table A-8. 

Evaluating teachers at their school Hiring new full-time teachers at their school

All private schools 0.81 0.63

 School classification Catholic 0.41 0.30

 Other religious 1.40 1.17

 Nonsectarian 1.21 0.66

 Community type City 0.69 0.95

 Suburban 0.88 0.63

 Town 2.55 2.50

 Rural 2.83 2.42

 School level  Elementary 1.08 0.81

 Secondary 1.65 1.20

 Combined 1.36 1.02

 Student enrollment Less than 100 1.57 1.27

 100-199 0.69 0.78

 200-499 0.42 0.43

 500-749 1.13 1.15

 750 or more 1.47 0.85

 Percent of K-12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches 0-34 1.42 1.04

 35-49 2.98 3.11

 50-74 0.51 2.09

 75 or more 2.21 2.17

 School did not participate in free or reduced-price lunch program 1.05 0.91

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for EducatPrivate School Principal Data Files," 2007-08.

ion Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and 

Standard errors for Table 8: Percentage of school principals who thought they had a major influence on evaluating teachers at their school and hiring new full-time

teachers at their school, by school type and selected school characteristics: 2007-08—Continued

School type and selected school characteristic
Appendix B: Methodology and Technical Notes 

B-1 
Overview of the Schools and Staffing Survey 

The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) is sponsored by the National Center for 

Education Statistics (NCES) of the Institute of Education Sciences within the U.S. 

Department of Education and is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. SASS is a 

nationally representative sample survey of public,1

 private, and Bureau of Indian 

Education-funded (BIE) K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the 

District of Columbia. School districts associated with public schools and library media 

centers in public and BIE schools are also part of SASS. SASS has been conducted six 

times: in school years 1987-88, 1990-91, 1993-94, 1999-2000, 2003-04, and 2007-08. 

The 2007-08 SASS consisted of questionnaires for five types of respondents: school 

districts (public), schools (public, private, BIE), principals (public, private, BIE), teachers 

(public, private, BIE), and school library media centers (public and BIE). Modified 

versions of the public principal, public school, and public teacher questionnaires that 

incorporated wording and questions appropriate for private school settings were sent to 

private schools. BIE and charter schools and schools in single-school districts received a 

modified public school questionnaire that included both district and school items. BIE 

principals, teachers, and library media centers received the same questionnaires as public 

principals, public teachers, and public school library media centers. The Private School 

Questionnaire also incorporated the Private School Universe Survey (PSS) items that 

were collected at the same time as SASS in 2007-08.2 Information from all the surveys 

can be linked. For the content of the questionnaires, please see 

http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/question0708.asp. Appendix C of this report provides 

information about how the SASS data files used to produce this report were created. 

SASS was designed to produce national, regional, and state estimates for public 

elementary and secondary schools, teachers, principals, school districts, and school 

library media centers; national and regional estimates for public charter and BIE schools, 

teachers, principals, and school library media centers; and national, regional, and 

affiliation estimates for private schools, teachers, and principals. Comparisons between 

public and private schools and their principals and teachers are possible only at the 

regional and national levels, because private schools were selected for sampling by 

affiliation strata and region rather than by state. 

The teacher survey was designed to support comparisons between new and experienced 

teachers (3 years or less of experience vs. more than 3 years of experience) at the state 

level for public school teachers and at the regional or affiliation level for private school 

teachers. 

This appendix includes information on all components of SASS. For additional 

information on the specific SASS-related topics discussed in this appendix, consult the 

 

1

 Public schools include traditional public and charter schools. 

2

 The 2007-08 school year was a survey year for both SASS and PSS. The PSS is administered by NCES 

every 2 years to all private K-12 schools in the United States. The SASS Private School Questionnaire 

includes all of the PSS questions so that private schools selected for SASS would not be asked to complete 

two separate questionnaires. 

B-2 
Documentation for the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey (Tourkin et al. forthcoming). 

To access additional general information on SASS or for electronic copies of the 

questionnaires, go to the SASS home page (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass). 

Sampling Frames and Sample Selection 

Public and BIE schools. The starting point for the 2007-08 SASS public school and BIE 

school sampling frame was the preliminary 2005-06 Common Core of Data (CCD) 

Nonfiscal School Universe data file. The CCD includes regular and nonregular schools 

(special education, alternative, vocational, or technical), public charter schools, and BIE 

schools. The sampling frame was adjusted from the CCD in order to fit the definition of a 

school eligible for SASS. To be eligible for SASS, a school was defined as an institution 

or part of an institution that provides classroom instruction to students; has one or more 

teachers to provide instruction; serves students in one or more of grades 1-12 or the 

ungraded equivalent; and is located in one or more buildings apart from a private home. It 

was possible for two or more schools to share the same building; in this case, they were 

treated as different schools if they had different administrators (i.e., principal or school 

head). 

The SASS definition of a school is generally similar to the CCD definition, with some 

exceptions. SASS is confined to the 50 states plus the District of Columbia and excludes 

the other jurisdictions and Department of Defense overseas schools. CCD includes some 

schools that do not offer teacher-provided classroom instruction in grades 1-12 or the 

ungraded equivalent. In some instances, schools in CCD are essentially administrative 

units that may oversee entities that provide classroom instruction or they may only 

provide funding and oversight. CCD schools with the same location, address, and phone 

number were collapsed during the SASS frame building on the assumption that the 

respondent would consider them to be one school. Because SASS allows schools to 

define themselves, Census Bureau staff observed that schools generally report as one 

entity in situations where the administration of two or more schools on CCD is the same. 

A set of rules was applied in certain states to determine in which instances school records 

should be collapsed together. When school records were collapsed together, the student 

and teacher counts, grade ranges, and names as reported to CCD were all modified to 

reflect the change. 

Finally, additional school records were added to the sampling frame. Most of these 

records were for Career Technical Centers or alternative, special education, or juvenile 

justice facilities in California, Pennsylvania, New York, and other states. For a detailed 

list of frame modifications, see the Documentation for the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing 

Survey (Tourkin et al. forthcoming). After adding, deleting, and collapsing school 

records, the SASS public school sampling frame consisted of 90,410 traditional public 

schools, 3,850 public charter schools, and 180 BIE schools. 

B-3 
The SASS sample is a stratified probability-proportionate-to-size (PPS) sample. With the 

exception of BIE schools, all schools underwent multiple levels of stratification.3

 The 

sample was allocated so that national-, regional-, and state-level elementary, secondary, 

and combined public school estimates could be made. The sample was allocated to each 

state by grade range (elementary, secondary, and combined) and school type (traditional 

public, public charter, BIE-funded, and schools with high American Indian enrollment). 

For a full description of the allocation procedure, see the Documentation for the 2007-08 

Schools and Staffing Survey (Tourkin et al. forthcoming). Within each stratum, all nonBIE schools were systematically selected using a PPS algorithm. The measure of size 

used for the schools was the square root of the number of full-time-equivalent teachers 

reported or imputed for each school during the sampling frame creation. Any school with 

a measure of size greater than the sampling interval (the inverse of the rate at which the 

sample is selected) was included in the sample with certainty and thus automatically 

excluded from the probability sampling operation. (For a more detailed explanation of 

PPS sampling, consult Sampling Techniques [Cochran 1977].) These sampling 

procedures resulted in a total public school sample of about 9,800 public schools 

(including both traditional public and public charter schools) and 180 BIE schools in the 

2007-08 SASS. 

Private schools. The 2007-08 SASS private school frame was based on the 2005-06 

Private School Universe Survey (PSS).4 The PSS is designed to generate biennial data on 

the total number of private schools, students, and teachers and to build a universe of 

private schools in the 50 states and the District of Columbia to serve as a sampling frame 

of private schools for NCES sample surveys, such as SASS. Prior to each PSS collection, 

NCES updates the list of schools to be included in the PSS by collecting membership lists 

from private school associations and religious denominations, as well as private school 

lists from state education departments. This list-frame update is intended to improve 

coverage of new private schools and private schools previously not included in the PSS. 

Since the list-frame update for the 2007-08 PSS preceded the SASS frame building, the 

SASS private school sample frame was augmented with the private schools discovered 

during the PSS list-frame update. The SASS private school frame also includes schools in 

the 2005-06 PSS area frame. This area frame includes schools that were overlooked in 

the list-building operation. In a sample of 124 geographical areas (out of 2,062), local 

field staff used such resources as local telephone directories, local resource guides, etc., 

to identify schools. The resultant lists of schools were matched to the PSS list frame, and 

any school that was not part of the list frame was added as an area frame school. 

During the creation of the SASS private school sampling frame, schools with 

kindergarten as the highest grade level were deleted from the frame. Also, private school 

records that were missing information necessary for the SASS school sample selection 

were amended. For example, the school grade range was needed to stratify SASS schools 

during the private school sampling process. If the data on school grade range were 

missing, values were assigned in one of four ways: taking information from earlier PSS 

data, using information from the school’s name (e.g., middle school) to assign a grade 

 

3

 BIE schools that fit the SASS definition of a school were included in the 2007-08 SASS public school 

sample with certainty. 

4

 For more information about the PSS, see http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss. 

B-4 
range, calling the school to assign a specific grade range, or, as a last resort, assigning a 

grade level of combined (both elementary and secondary levels). Missing information on 

school affiliation and student and teacher counts were assigned in a similar manner. After 

these changes, the private school sampling frame consisted of 28,490 private schools. 

Private schools were stratified by affiliation, grade level (elementary, secondary, and 

combined), and census region (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West). The number of 

private school affiliation strata was reduced from 17 in 2003-04 to 11 in 2007-08. The 

current affiliation strata include 

Catholic – parochial; 

Catholic – diocesan; 

Catholic – private; 

Baptist; 

Jewish; 

Lutheran; 

Seventh-Day Adventist; 

Other religious; 

Nonsectarian – regular; 

Nonsectarian – special emphasis; and 

Nonsectarian – special education. 

Within each stratum, private schools in the list frame were systematically selected using a 

PPS algorithm. The measure of size used was the square root of the number of full-timeequivalent teachers. Any school with a measure of size larger than the sampling interval 

was excluded from the probability sampling process and included in the sample with 

certainty. About 2,940 private schools were sampled, 2,760 from the list frame and 180 

from the 2005-06 PSS area frame. 

School districts. Since the SASS sample design calls for schools to be selected first, the 

school district sample consists of the districts that were associated with the schools in the 

public school sample. This provides the linkage between the district and the school. 

However, in Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, and West Virginia, a different 

sampling method was used because an earlier simulation study revealed that in these 

states standard errors were high relative to the sampling rate. To improve the reliability of 

SASS school district estimates, all districts in these states were included in the sample. 

Placing all districts in each of these five states in the sample reduced the overall state 

standard error to zero, if all districts responded. About 5,250 public school districts were 

pulled into the sample by being associated with sampled public schools. 

Teachers. Teachers are defined as staff who teach regularly scheduled classes to students 

in any of grades K-12. Teacher rosters (i.e., Teacher Listing Forms) were collected from 

sampled schools, primarily by mail, and compiled at the Census Bureau. This 

compilation was done on an ongoing basis throughout the roster collection period. Along 

with the names of teachers, sampled schools were asked to provide information about 

each teacher’s teaching experience (1-3 years, 4-19 years, and 20 or more years), 

teaching status (full or part time), and subject matter taught (special education, general 

B-5 
elementary, math, science, English/language arts, social studies, vocational/technical, or 

other), as well as whether the school felt the teacher would likely be teaching at the same 

school the following year. 

Sampling was also done on an ongoing basis throughout the roster collection period. The 

Census Bureau first stratified teachers into five teacher types: (1) new teachers expected 

to be teaching at the same school the next school year, (2) experienced teachers expected 

to be teaching at the same school the next school year, (3) new teachers expected to leave 

the next school year, (4) mid-career teachers expected to leave the next school year, and 

(5) highly experienced teachers expected to leave the next school year. Before teachers 

were allocated to these strata, schools were first allocated an overall number of teachers 

to be selected within each school stratum. Sampling rates for teachers varied between the 

strata listed above. Private school teachers in above category 2 and all teachers in above 

categories 3-5 were oversampled at different rates. So that a school would not be 

overburdened by sampling too large a proportion of its teachers, the maximum number of 

teachers per school was set at 20. About 14 percent of the eligible public schools, 15 

percent of the eligible private schools, and 13 percent of eligible BIE schools did not 

provide teacher lists. For these schools, no teachers were selected. Within each teacher 

stratum in each school, teachers were selected systematically with equal probability. 

About 56,360 teachers were sampled, 47,440 from public schools, 750 from BIE schools, 

and 8,180 from private schools (detail may not sum to totals because of rounding). 

Principals. The principal of each sampled school was selected. About 12,910 school 

principals were sampled (9,800 public, 180 BIE, and 2,940 private) (detail may not sum 

to totals because of rounding). 

Library media centers. A library media center in each sampled public and BIE school 

was also selected. Private schools were not included in the library media center survey 

because of NCES budget constraints. About 9,800 public school and 180 BIE school 

library media centers were sampled. 

Data Collection Procedures 

Before the administration of the 2007-08 SASS, several changes were made in the survey 

sample design, questionnaire content, procedures, and methodology. For details on these 

changes, see the Documentation for the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey (Tourkin et 

al. forthcoming). 

In 2007-08, SASS employed a mail-based survey approach, with subsequent telephone 

and field follow-up. In preparation for data collection, advance letters were mailed to the 

sampled schools in September 2007 to verify their addresses. School packages were 

B-6 
mailed at the beginning of the school year.5

 Next, schools were telephoned using a 

computer-assisted telephone-interviewing (CATI) instrument to verify school 

information, establish a survey coordinator (who became the main contact person at the 

school for subsequent communication), and follow up on the Teacher Listing Form. 

Teacher questionnaires were mailed to schools on a flow basis as teachers were sampled 

on an ongoing basis from the data provided on the Teacher Listing Form. The field 

follow-up period was preceded by phone calls from the telephone centers to remind the 

survey coordinator to have staff complete and return all forms. Individual survey 

respondents (principal, librarian, and teachers) were also called from the telephone 

centers and asked to complete the questionnaire by phone. Data collection ended in June 

2008. 

Data Processing and Imputation

The Census Bureau used both central processing and headquarters staff to check returned 

questionnaires, capture data, and implement quality control procedures. Questionnaires 

that had a preliminary classification of a complete interview were submitted to a series of 

computer edits consisting of a range check, a consistency edit, and a blanking edit.6 After 

these edits were run and reviewed by analysts, the records were put through another edit 

to make a final determination as to whether the case was eligible for the survey and 

whether sufficient data had been collected for the case to be classified as a complete 

interview. 

After the final edits were run, cases with “not-answered” values for items remained. 

Values were imputed using a two stage process. In the first stage, items were imputed 

with a valid response using data either from the sample frame, other items in the same 

SASS questionnaire, or another questionnaire associated with the same school or school 

district. In addition, data were ratio adjusted in some circumstances so that items were 

consistent with one another. In the second stage, donor-respondent methods, such as hotdeck imputation, were used. If no suitable donor case could be matched, the few 

remaining items were imputed with a mean or mode from groups of similar cases. After 

each stage of imputation, computer edits were run again to verify that the imputed data 

were consistent with the existing questionnaire data. If that was not the case, an imputed 

value was blanked out by one of these computer edits due to inconsistency with other 

data within the same questionnaire or because it was out of the range of acceptable 

values. In these situations, Census Bureau analysts looked at the items and tried to 

determine an appropriate value. Imputation flags, indicating which imputation method 

 

5

 The SASS school package contained a cover letter to the principal, a cover letter to the survey 

coordinator, the Teacher Listing Form, the Public School Principal Questionnaire/Private School Principal 

Questionnaire, the Public School Questionnaire/Public School Questionnaire (With District Items)/Private 

School Questionnaire, the School Library Media Center Questionnaire (for public and BIE-funded schools 

only), postage-paid return envelopes, an NCES pamphlet detailing general information about SASS, an 

NCES brochure detailing some of the findings from the 2003-04 SASS, and the Statistical Abstract of the 

United States: 2007 CD. 6

 Blanking edits delete answers to questions that should not have been filled in (e.g., if a respondent 

followed a wrong skip pattern). 

B-7 
was used, were assigned to each imputed survey variable. For further information, see the 

section on data processing and imputation in the Documentation for the 2007-08 Schools 

and Staffing Survey (Tourkin et al. forthcoming). 

Response Rates

Unit response rates. The unit response rate indicates the percentage of sampled cases 

that met the definition of a complete interview. The weighted SASS unit response rate 

was produced by dividing the base-weighted number of respondents who completed 

questionnaires by the base-weighted number of eligible sampled cases.7 Table B-1 

summarizes the base-weighted unit response rates for each survey type. Because response 

rates vary between surveys, it is possible not to have information for all the components 

related to a particular school. For example, it is possible that a district does not have a 

corresponding school record or there may not be a principal record for every school. 

Table B-1. Base-weighted unit and overall response rates, by survey: 2007-08 

Survey 

Unit response rate 

(percent) 

Overall response 

rate (percent) 

Public School Teacher Listing Form 86.2 † 

BIE School Teacher Listing Form 87.3 † 

Private School Teacher Listing Form 85.1 † 

Public School District 87.8 † 

Public School 80.4 † 

BIE School 77.1 † 

Private School 75.9 † 

Public School Principal 79.4 † 

BIE School Principal 79.2 † 

Private School Principal 72.2 † 

Public School Teacher 84.0 72.4 

BIE School Teacher 81.8 71.4 

Private School Teacher 77.5 65.9 

Public School Library Media Center 81.7 † 

BIE School Library Media Center 78.9 † 

† Not applicable. 

NOTE: Response rates were weighted using the inverse of the probability of selection (base weight). BIE 

refers to schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education that are operated by the BIE, a tribe, or a 

private contractor and not by a regular school district. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing 

Survey, “Public School Teacher, BIE School Teacher, and Private School Teacher Listing Forms, Public 

School District, Public School, BIE School, Private School, Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, 

Private School Principal, Public School Teacher, BIE School Teacher, Private School Teacher, Public 

School Library Media Center, and BIE School Library Media Center data files,” 2007-08. 

 

7

 For the formula used to calculate the unit response rate, see NCES Statistical Standards (U.S. Department 

of Education 2003). 

B-8 
Overall response rates. The overall response rate represents the response rate to the 

survey taking into consideration each stage of the survey. For teachers, the overall 

response rate is calculated as the product of the response rate to two stages: the Teacher 

Listing Form and the teacher questionnaire.8

 The base-weighted overall response rate for 

public school teachers was 72.4 percent; for BIE school teachers, 71.4 percent; and for 

private school teachers, 65.9 percent. For the other surveys, the overall and unit response 

rates are the same since they have only one data collection stage. 

Unit nonresponse bias analysis. Because the NCES Statistical Standards (4-4) require 

analysis of nonresponse bias for any survey stage with a base-weighted response rate less 

than 85 percent, all SASS files were evaluated for potential bias. First, the base-weighted 

unit response rate was calculated by state, region, or affiliation depending on the sector 

(public, BIE, and private respectively). If the base-weighted response rate for any state, 

region, or affiliation was below 85 percent, a detailed comparison of respondents to the 

frame population was conducted by examining the following characteristics: grade level, 

urbanicity, enrollment, and state/affiliation. A difference between the frame and 

respondent population was considered noteworthy if the difference was statistically 

significant and the following four conditions were met: 

• The relative difference between the frame and respondent population was greater 

than 10 percent; 

• The absolute difference was greater than one percentage point; 

• The coefficient of variation was less than 15 percent; and 

• The cell for each subpopulation contained at least 30 interviews. 

As shown in table B-1, the base-weighted response rate was 79.4 percent for public 

school principals, 79.2 percent for BIE school principals, and 72.2 percent for private 

school principals. When response rates were calculated further by state, affiliation, or 

region, 34 states, all 12 affiliations, and 3 regions had rates below 85 percent. Table B-2 

contains a list of the comparisons between the frame and the weighted distribution that 

were analyzed for potential bias, with an indication of the comparisons with evidence of 

potential bias. 

 

8

 For the formula used to calculate the overall response rate, see NCES Statistical Standards (U.S. 

Department of Education 2003). 

B-9 
Table B-2. Comparisons between frame distribution and base-weighted and final-weighted 

Exhibit B-1x respondent distributions for school principals with an indication of potential sources of 

Exhibit B-1x bias, by school type: 2007-08 

Potential source of bias

Base-weighted 

respondent 

distribution 

Final-weighted 

respondent 

distribution 

Public 

Minnesota, enrollment (200-500 students) x x 

National, enrollment (1-100 students) x 

National, locale (central city) x x 

National, locale (rural) x 

Nebraska, school level (secondary) x 

State (California) x 

Virginia, locale (suburban and rural) x 

Private 

Affiliation (Catholic – Diocesan) x 

Affiliation (Catholic – Parochial) x 

Affiliation (Nonsectarian – regular) x x 

Baptist, enrollment (1-100 and 200-499 students) x 

Baptist, school level (elementary and combined) x 

Jewish, locale (central city) x x 

Jewish, school level (elementary) x 

Other religious, locale (suburban) x 

NOTE: x denotes comparisons that are a potential source of bias. No potential bias was evident among 

the Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools due, to some extent, to small subpopulation cell sizes. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and 

Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and Private School Principal 

Data Files," 2007-08. 

Nonresponse adjustments were designed to reduce or eliminate nonresponse bias. The 

following variables were included in the nonresponse adjustments: grade level, 

urbanicity, enrollment, and state/affiliation. The final-weighted comparison to the frame 

reflects the nonresponse adjustment. Table B-2 shows those comparisons that have 

evidence of potential bias after the nonresponse adjustments were included. For further 

information on unit response rates and nonresponse bias analysis, see the Documentation 

for the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey (Tourkin et al. forthcoming). 

Item response rates. The item response rate indicates the percentage of respondents who 

answered a given survey question or item. The weighted SASS item response rate is 

calculated by dividing the base-weighted number of respondents who provided an answer 

to an item by the base-weighted number of respondents who were eligible to answer that 

item.9

 Table B-3 provides a brief summary of the base-weighted item response rates for 

each survey. The nonresponse bias analysis conducted at the item level revealed no 

substantial evidence of bias in the principal files. For further information on nonresponse 

 

9

 For the formula to calculate the item response rate, see NCES Statistical Standards (U.S. Department of 

Education 2003). 

B-10 
bias analysis and item response rates, see the Documentation for the 2007-08 Schools and 

Staffing Survey (Tourkin et al. forthcoming). 

Table B-3. Summary of base-weighted item response rates, by survey: 2007-08 

Survey 

Percent of items with a 

response rate of 85 percent or 

more 

Percent of items with a 

response rate of less than 

85 percent 

Public School Teacher Listing Form † † 

BIE School Teacher Listing Form † † 

Private School Teacher Listing Form † † 

Public School District 97.9 2.1 

Public School 95.2 4.8 

BIE School 85.8 14.2 

Private School 88.3 11.7 

Public School Principal 99.4 0.6 

BIE School Principal 98.2 1.8 

Private School Principal 98.0 2.0 

Public School Teacher 91.4 8.6 

BIE School Teacher 86.8 13.2 

Private School Teacher 90.0 10.0 

Public School Library Media Center 95.1 4.9 

BIE School Library Media Center 93.4 6.6 

† Not applicable. 

NOTE: Response rates were weighted using the inverse of the probability of selection (base weight). Detail 

may not sum to totals because of rounding. BIE refers to schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education 

that are operated by the BIE, a tribe, or a private contractor and not by a regular school district. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing 

Survey, “Public School, BIE School, and Private School Teacher Listing Forms, Public School District, 

Public School, BIE School, Private School, Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, Private School 

Principal, Public School Teacher, BIE School Teacher, Private School Teacher, Public School Library 

Media Center, and BIE School Library Media Center data files,” 2007-08. 

Weighting

The general purpose of weighting is to scale up the sample estimates to represent the 

target survey population. For SASS, a base weight (e.g., the inverse of the sampled 

teacher’s probability of selection) is used as the starting point. Next, a series of 

nonresponse adjustment factors are calculated and applied using information from the 

2003-04 SASS nonresponse bias analysis and information about the respondents known 

from the sampling frame data. Finally, for some files, a ratio adjustment factor is 

calculated and applied to the sample to adjust the sample totals to the frame totals. The 

product of these factors is the final weight for each SASS respondent, which appears as 

DFNLWT on the SASS Public School District data file, AFNLWGT on all SASS 

Principal data files, SFNLWGT on all SASS School data files, TFNLWGT on all SASS 

Teacher data files, and MFNLWGT on all SASS Library Media Center data files. 

B-11 
The counts in table 1 do not necessarily match the frame counts because some cases in 

the frame were found to be ineligible (i.e., out-of-scope) and because not all data files 

(e.g., principal or library media center) are post-stratified to match the frame counts. 

Variance Estimation 

In surveys with complex sample designs, such as SASS, direct estimates of sampling 

errors that assume a simple random sample typically underestimate the variability in the 

estimates. The SASS sample design and estimation include procedures that deviate from 

the assumption of simple random sampling, such as stratifying the school sample, 

oversampling new teachers, and sampling with differential probabilities. 

One method of calculating sampling errors of complex sample designs is replication. 

Replication methods involve constructing a number of subsamples (i.e., replicates) from 

the full sample and computing the statistic of interest for each replicate. The mean square 

error of the replicate estimates around the full sample estimate provides an estimate of the 

variance of the statistic. Each SASS data file includes a set of 88 replicate weights 

designed to produce variance estimates. The set of replicate weights for each file should 

be applied to the respondents in that file. The replicate weights for SASS respondents are 

DREPWT1-DREPWT88 for districts, AREPWT1-AREPWT88 for principals, 

SREPWT1-SREPWT88 for schools, TREPWT1-TREPWT88 for teachers, and 

MREPWT1-MREPWT88 for library media centers. 

Reliability of Data

SASS estimates are based on samples. The sample estimates may differ somewhat from 

the values that would be obtained from the universe of respondents using the same 

questionnaire, instructions, and field representatives. The difference occurs because a 

sample survey estimate is subject to two types of errors: nonsampling and sampling. 

Estimates of the magnitude of sampling error for SASS data can be derived or calculated. 

Nonsampling errors are attributed to many sources, including definitional difficulties, the 

inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, differences in 

the interpretation of questions, an inability to recall information, errors made in collection 

(e.g., in recording or coding the data), errors made in processing the data, and errors 

made in estimating values for missing data. Quality control and edit procedures were 

used to reduce errors made by respondents, coders, and interviewers. 

Caution Concerning Changes in Estimates 

Care must be taken in estimating change over time in a SASS data element, because some 

of the measured change may not be attributable to a change in the education system. 

Some of the change may be due to changes in the sampling frame, changes in 

questionnaire item wording, or other changes. For example, the definition of locale codes 

B-12 
has undergone major changes since the 2000 Decennial Census. The first major change 

was an improvement in geocoding technology, which improved the assignment of 

specific addresses to physical locations. In 2005, a new locale code for CCD was 

implemented based on the new urban-centric method of classifying locale. Changes in 

how areas and, thus, schools are categorized may account for at least some changes that 

are noted from previous administrations. 

To facilitate the transition from the older locale codes to the new ones, locale codes based 

on geographic concepts from both the 2000 Decennial Census and the new urban-centric 

method are included in the 2007-08 SASS data files. (SLOCP8, URBANS8, DLOCP8, 

and URBAND8 use the 2000 Census metropolitan areas, and SLOCP12, URBANS12, 

DLOCP12, and URBAND12 use the new urban-centric method.) The specific categories 

reported by the 2000 Census locale codes are based upon the 2000 Census definitions for 

central city, urban fringe of a large or medium-sized central city, large or small town, and 

rural areas either inside a metropolitan area or outside a metropolitan area. The new 

urban-centric locale codes are based on the more immediate proximity of a physical 

location to an urbanized area than are the older, county-based locale codes. This report 

uses the new urban-centric locale codes. 

B-13 
Appendix C: Description of Data Files 

C-1 
Description of Data Files 

The 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) data are being released in 12 data files. 

Those data files were created from nine survey questionnaires: the School District 

Questionnaire, School Questionnaire (public), Private School Questionnaire, Public 

School Questionnaire (With District Items),1 Principal Questionnaire, Private School 

Principal Questionnaire, Teacher Questionnaire, Private School Teacher Questionnaire, 

and Library Media Center Questionnaire. Table C-1 identifies each data file and the 

questionnaire data used to build the file. 

Table C-1. Names of data files and the questionnaires from which the data were drawn: 2007-08 

Data file Questionnaire source 

School district School District Questionnaire, Public School Questionnaire (With District 

Items) 

Public school School Questionnaire, Public School Questionnaire (With District Items) 

Private school Private School Questionnaire 

BIE school Public School Questionnaire (With District Items) 

Public school principal Principal Questionnaire 

Private school principal Private School Principal Questionnaire 

BIE school principal Principal Questionnaire 

Public school teacher Teacher Questionnaire 

Private school teacher Private School Teacher Questionnaire 

BIE school teacher Teacher Questionnaire 

Public school library media center Library Media Center Questionnaire 

BIE school library media center Library Media Center Questionnaire 

NOTE: BIE refers to schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education that are operated by the BIE, a tribe, or a private 

contractor and not by a regular school district. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey

(SASS), 2007-08.

For the most part, there is a separate data file for each type of respondent (district, school, 

principal, teacher, and library media center) for each school type or sector (public,2

private, and BIE-funded [BIE]). There are two exceptions: 1) there are no School District 

files for private and BIE schools as these sectors do not have districts, per se, and 2) there 

is no Library Media Center data file for private schools because library media centers in 

private schools were not included in the 2007-08 SASS (for budget reasons). 

The School District data file includes responses from school districts to the School 

District Questionnaire along with the “district items” taken from the Public School 

Questionnaire (With District Items) completed by the subset of public schools that were 

not associated with “traditional” school districts. These schools include state-run schools, 

traditional public schools in single-school districts, and independent charter schools. 

 

1

 The School Questionnaire (With District Items) is an expanded version of the public school questionnaire 

that includes items from the School District Questionnaire. 2

 Public includes traditional public and public charter. 

C-2 
Rather than ask these public schools to complete two questionnaires, School and School 

District, NCES created the Public School Questionnaire (With District Items) to capture 

district data from these schools. Table C-2 shows the different respondents and 

questionnaires used to create the School District data file. 

Table C-2. The number of cases in the School District data file, by respondent and source of data: 2007-08 

Respondent Source of data in the district file Number of cases 

 Total 4,600 

Regular districts School District Questionnaire 3,950 

State run schools1 Public School Questionnaire (With District Items) 40 

Schools in single-school districts Public School Questionnaire (With District Items) 470 

Independent charter schools Public School Questionnaire (With District Items) 140 

1

 These include schools for the blind, career and technical centers, and schools in detention centers run by a state. 

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), 

"Public School District and Public School Data Files," 2007-08. 

The “district items” gathered from the Public School Questionnaire (with District Items) 

were not placed on the Public School data file, but they were kept with the school items 

on the BIE School data file.

C-3 
Appendix D: Description of Variables 

D-1 
Description of Variables 

The variables that are included in this report are listed in table D-1. Those with variable 

names that begin with “A” and are followed by four digits are survey variables that come 

from items on the principal questionnaires. For survey variables, the numeric part of the 

variable name can be found in the questionnaires to the left of the corresponding 

question. The variables without the letter plus four digit names are “created variables,” 

meaning they were created using survey variables, frame variables (variables taken from 

the sampling frame), other created variables, or a combination of these. They are 

frequently used in the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) publications and 

have been added to the data files to facilitate data analysis. The definitions for the created 

variables follow table D-1. 

Table D-1. Variables used in the Characteristics of Public, Private, and Bureau of Indian Education 

xxxxxxxxxx Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results From the 2007-08 

Exhibit B-1 Schools and Staffing Survey report: 2007-08 

Variable 

Variable 

name in data 

file 

Annual salary A0249 

Charter school identifier CHARFLAG 

Highest degree earned A0032 

Hours spent per week interacting with students A0226 

Hours spent per week on school related activities A0225 

Influence evaluating teachers at their school A0068 

Influence hiring new full-time teachers at their school A0075 

Percentage of students in the school approved for National School Lunch Program NSLAPP_S 

Principal's age AGE_P 

Principal's race/ethnicity RACETH_P 

Principal’s sex A0240 

Student enrollment SCHSIZE 

Three-category private school typology RELIG 

Three-category school level SCHLEVEL 

Total years of experience as a school principal A0025 

Total years of experience as a school principal at current school A0026 

Urban-centric school locale code URBANS12 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing 

Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal, BIE School Principal, and Private School Principal Data Files," 

2007-08. 

D-2 
Charter school identifier (CHARFLAG): A flag variable that identifies charter schools. 

1 = School is a public charter school, 2 = School is a traditional public school. A charter 

school is a public school that, in accordance with an enabling state statute, has been 

granted a charter exempting it from selected state or local rules and regulation. 

CHARFLAG is based on S0230 from the public school and BIE school data files. 

Percentage of students in school approved for the National School Lunch Program 

(NSLAPP_S): Taken from the public, private, and BIE school data files, NSLAPP_S is a 

continuous variable created by dividing the number of students approved for free or 

reduced-price lunches (S0217) by the total number of K-12 grade students enrolled 

(S0047) among schools that participated in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) 

(S0215=1). Schools that did not participate in the NSLP have valid skip values. For this 

report, NSLAPP_S is recoded as a categorical variable describing the proportion of 

students approved for free or reduced price lunches. 

Principal’s age (AGE_P): A variable based on respondents’ reported year of birth. 

AGE_P is a continuous variable that was created by subtracting the principals’ reported 

years of birth (A0248) from the year of data collection (2007). 

Principal’s race/ethnicity (RACETH_P): A variable based on respondents’ reported 

race and ethnicity (A0241-A0246). The 2007-08 SASS allowed respondents to mark 

more than one racial category. Recoded into four categories for this report: Hispanic, 

regardless of race; White, non-Hispanic; Black, non-Hispanic; and Other. The category 

“Other” includes American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic; Asian, non-Hispanic; 

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic; or More than one race, nonHispanic. 

Student enrollment (SCHSIZE): Taken from the public, private, and BIE school data 

files, SCHSIZE is a continuous variable based on the number of K-12 and ungraded 

students enrolled in a respondent’s school (S0047). For this report, SCHSIZE was 

recoded into six categories for public schools and five categories for private schools. 

Three-category private school typology (RELIG): Taken from the private school data 

file, RELIG is a three-category variable based on the variables that identify the religious 

or nonreligious orientation of a private school (S0440-S0441): Catholic, Other religious, 

or Nonsectarian. 

Three-category school level (SCHLEVEL): Taken from the public, private, and BIE 

school data files, SCHLEVEL is a three-category variable based on grades reported by 

the school: Elementary, secondary, and combined. Elementary schools are those with 

any of grades K-6 and none of grades 9-12. Secondary schools have any of grades 7-12 

and none of grades K-6. Combined schools are those schools with grade levels in both 

elementary and secondary grade levels, or with all students in ungraded classrooms. 

Urban-centric school locale code (URBANS12): Taken from the public, private, and 

BIE school data files, URBANS12 is a created variable collapsed from the 12 category 

D-3 
urban-centric school locale code (SCLOP_07) which was assigned using the 2000 

Decennial Census data and recoded into four categories: city, suburban, town, and rural. 

D-4