The most recent survey was conducted in the spring of 1996. A nationally representative sample of 1,325 public school teachers responded to a questionnaire mailed in March 1996. Results based on the entire sample have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points at a 90 percent confidence level. The major results of the survey are summarized here, along with notable historical trends where data are available. The results of the survey provide a comprehensive picture of the characteristics of American public school teachers, and the trend data allow for an assessment of how they have changed since 1960.
Teachers are highly educated.
An additional 1.7 percent have doctoral degrees. Teachers have an average of 16 years of full-time experience, making the current teaching force the most experienced of all survey years. Some 46.1 percent entered teaching more than 20 years ago, compared with 16.8 percent who entered within the last five years. Whereas 68.6 percent reported teaching in the grades and subjects that matched their major field of college preparation in 1961, that figure had grown to 82.6 percent in 1996. The average number of classroom teachers grew from 39 in 1966 to 49 in 1996, and other professional staff went from 7 in 1971 to 11 in 1996.