How do you describe yourself in the workplace?

Asking teachers about their sexual orientation and gender 

identity (SOGI) in a school survey

Maura Spiegelman, National Center for Education Statistics

Allison Zotti, U.S. Census Bureau

Shawna Cox, U.S. Census Bureau

2022 FCSM Research and Policy Conference

October 25, 2022
2

This presentation is intended to promote ideas. The views expressed are part of ongoing 

research and do not necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Education 

or U.S. Census Bureau.
3

Background
Sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) measurement

4

• Sexual orientation and gender identity items are increasingly included in federal survey 

demographic sections

• Research indicates that SOGI items can be included in household surveys without 

harming response rates or data quality

• Limited information on the impact of asking SOGI survey questions in establishment 

surveys exists

– Lower response in Farm Producer Study experiment (Young and Rater 2022)

– Findings may vary by type of establishment, respondent, or climate
Research questions

5

• Do public school staff understand questions about their sexual orientation and gender 

identity? How do they react?

• Will public school teachers complete a questionnaire that asks about their sexual 

orientation and gender identity?

• Will public school teachers answer questions about their sexual orientation and gender 

identity?
6

Do public school staff understand questions about their 

sexual orientation and gender identity?

How do they react?
Feedback from principals and teachers

7

• Cognitive testing with public school principals and teachers was done in 2018

– Respondents not screened by SOGI status

– Minor differences between cognitive testing and pilot questionnaire wordings

• Written responses on 2022 pilot test with public school teachers

• Respondent-initiated feedback on 2022 pilot test

• Cognitive testing with public and private school principals and teachers in 2022

– Respondents not screened by SOGI status
Feedback from principals and teachers (2)

8

• For both 2018 and 2022 cognitive interviews, respondents understood the questions

• Respondents were typically comfortable answering, but speculated that their colleagues 

might not (depending on where they worked and whether they were “out”)

• Some cognitive interview participants supported the addition of SOGI items since they 

may relate to experiences with discrimination, job dissatisfaction, or other challenges

• Private school staff were not favorable towards the addition of SOGI questions

– In 2017, representatives of private school associations stated they would be opposed to including questions about SOGI on 

NTPS questionnaires given to private school administrators or teachers

– In 2022 cognitive testing, one private school administrator and one private school teacher disagreed with the presence of 

these questions and the underlying constructs

• 2022 pilot study received little negative feedback from respondents

– 6 teachers used the write-in option to protest the presence or construct of the SOGI questions (out of about 2,860)

– One teacher reached out to the Census Bureau by e-mail
9

Will public school teachers complete a questionnaire that 

asks about their sexual orientation and gender identity?
2022 pilot study

10

• Modified version of the U.S. Department of Education’s National Teacher and 

Principal Survey (NTPS) teacher questionnaire 

• Teachers sampled from commercial vendor lists; 1 teacher sampled per school

– Excluded teachers for whom e-mail addresses were not available

– Excluded schools sampled in recent, similar NCES collections

• Data collection from January to April 2022

• Online and paper questionnaires

– Web-push survey, with mailed invitation to complete web survey in 1st and 2nd mailings

– Paper questionnaires in 3rd and 4th mailings

– Up to 8 e-mail reminders to complete web survey

• Public school teachers randomly assigned to receive either “standard” (about 2,850) or 

SOGI (about 2,860) questionnaire
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Standard questionnaire SOGI questionnaire
Data Processing

12

• Paper questionnaires scanned and combined with web survey data

• Interviews coded as complete, incomplete, or ineligible

– To be considered a complete interview, eligible respondents needed to answer key survey items, 

including at least one question in the demographic section of the questionnaire

• Sample design and data processing differ from typical NTPS procedures, and the pilot 

test cannot be used to produce national estimates
Unit response rates

13

There was no difference in overall 

response rates based on whether 

questionnaires include SOGI items 

with α = .05.

There was also no difference in 

response by school characteristics 

(e.g., school level, locale) or 

teachers’ subject area taught.

47.0% 47.4%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Standard

questionnare

SOGI questionnaire

Response rate
Web survey breakoffs

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• Few “breakoffs” at SOGI items

– About 21 percent of teachers who logged in to the questionnaire with SOGI questions did not complete the 

survey

– For these breakoff cases, less than 2 percent left the survey at SOGI questions

– Overall, about 0.4 percent of web survey users broke off at SOGI items

• Demographics asked at the end of the questionnaire

– SOGI questions asked at the end of the demographics section

– Demographics section followed by the collection of additional contact information for longitudinal follow-up 
15

Will public school teachers answer questions about their 

sexual orientation and gender identity?
Item response rates

16

School characteristic Standard

Sex assigned at 

birth Gender

All public schools 92.1% 91.8% 92.0%

Public charter 92.4% 89.9% 89.9%

Traditional public 92.0% 91.9% 92.1%

Primary 91.0% 91.3% 91.7%

Middle 94.6% 94.9% 94.5%

High 93.6% 91.6% 91.6%

Combined 90.0% 86.5% 86.5%

City 91.5% 89.9% 89.9%

Suburban 90.0% 92.4% 92.4%

Town 89.1% 95.0%* 94.5%*

Rural 95.5% 90.8%* 91.5%*

Enrollment less than 100 91.0% 92.7% 92.7%

Enrollment 100-199 94.7% 93.0% 93.0%

Enrollment 200-499 93.1% 91.2% 91.2%

Enrollment 500-749 89.4% 91.9% 92.3%

Enrollment 750-999 86.8% 92.4% 93.3%

Enrollment 1000 or more 100.0% 91.5%* 91.5%*

Free/reduced price lunch 0-34% 91.5% 93.3% 93.5%

Free/reduced price lunch 35-49% 92.1% 90.8% 90.4%

Free/reduced price lunch 50-74% 92.9% 91.5% 91.8%

Free/reduced price lunch 75-100% 91.0% 90.9% 91.3%

For teachers who completed the 

questionnaire, item response rates for 

the standard question were similar to 

those for the experimental sex and 

gender questions for most key school 

characteristics.

* Significantly different than the standard question with α = .05
Item response rates (2)

17

For teachers who completed the 

questionnaire, item response rates for 

the standard question were similar to 

those for the experimental sex and 

gender questions for teachers’ subject 

area.

Teacher subject Standard

Sex assigned 

at birth Gender

All 92.1% 91.8% 92.0%

Elementary 90.7% 91.3% 91.7%

Secondary 96.0% 94.4% 94.4%

English/Language arts 95.4% 96.1% 96.1%

Fine arts 88.6% 97.8% 95.7%

Mathematics 94.3% 82.4% 82.4%

Physical education/Health 87.0% 91.1% 91.1%

Science 92.9% 92.9% 92.9%

Social studies 97.4% 89.5% 89.5%

Special needs 92.3% 91.9% 91.9%

Other subject area 96.3% 92.5% 92.5%
Item response rates (3)

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In the standard questionnaire that 

uses typical NTPS demographic 

questions, the item response rate for 

the standard sex/gender question 

was statistically higher than for 

other demographic questions.

88.1%

92.1% 91.5% 91.0% 91.5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Income Standard

sex/gender

Hispanic

status

Race Birth year

Demographic question
Item response rates (4)

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In the experimental questionnaire, 

the new sex and gender questions 

also had statistically higher item 

response rates than income and 

race, but were not significantly 

different from Hispanic status or 

birth year.

The item response rate for sexual 

orientation was lower than for 

Hispanic status and birth year (but 

not significantly different from 

income or race).

88.3% 91.7% 90.4% 91.7% 91.8% 92.0% 89.7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Income Hispanic

status

Race Birth year Sex

assigned

at birth

Gender Sexual

orientation

Demographic question
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Summary and Discussion
Summary

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• Including SOGI questions did not impact unit response rates for public school teachers

• Public school teachers provided minimal negative feedback

• Item response rates for the experimental sex/gender questions were similar to or higher 

than rates for other demographic items; the item response rate for sexual orientation 

was similar to rates for demographic items typically considered to be more sensitive 
Discussion

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• Consider whether data can support estimates for small populations

• Continue to monitor potential concerns about climate or privacy
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Thank you!

maura.spiegelman@ed.gov
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Supplemental tables
Unit response rates (2)

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There was no difference in response 

rates for key school characteristics 

with α = .05.

School characteristic Standard questionnaire SOGI questionnaire

All public schools 47.0% 47.4%

Public charter 39.5% 44.8%

Traditional public 47.5% 47.6%

Primary 49.1% 47.2%

Middle 47.0% 49.0%

High 42.5% 47.0%

Combined 37.0% 48.1%

City 41.9% 43.7%

Suburban 43.9% 46.0%

Town 50.2% 50.1%

Rural 51.3% 49.8%

Enrollment less than 100 47.9% 50.5%

Enrollment 100-199 48.1% 48.3%

Enrollment 200-499 48.3% 47.5%

Enrollment 500-749 47.8% 46.1%

Enrollment 750-999 42.6% 49.4%

Enrollment 1000 or more 39.9% 45.9%

Free/reduced price lunch 0-34% 44.8% 47.9%

Free/reduced price lunch 35-49% 49.8% 47.5%

Free/reduced price lunch 50-74% 50.5% 48.5%

Free/reduced price lunch 75-100% 44.5% 46.1%

Did not participate in free/reduced 

price lunch 25.9% 40.8%
Unit response rates (3)

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There was no difference in 

response rates for teachers’ 

subject area with α = .05.

Teacher subject

Standard 

questionnaire

SOGI 

questionnaire

All 47.0% 47.4%

Elementary 48.6% 48.8%

Secondary 50.0% 49.2%

English/Language arts 49.6% 49.4%

Fine arts 38.9% 43.4%

Mathematics 51.0% 45.5%

Physical education/Health 34.9% 35.7%

Science 44.7% 45.7%

Social studies 46.3% 38.8%

Special needs 45.8% 49.3%

Other subject area 44.6% 47.7%