Characteristics of Public and Private Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results from the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey. First Look. NCES 2013-313
Author: Bitterman, Amy
Date: 2013-08-00
Type: Information Analyses
Subjects: Public Schools,Private Schools,Elementary Schools,Middle Schools,High Schools,Principals,Administrator Characteristics,Racial Differences,Ethnic Groups,Institutional Characteristics,Age Differences,Gender Differences,Educational Attainment,Salaries,Employment Experience,Academic Degrees,Administrator Role,Questionnaires,Hispanic Americans,Whites,African Americans,Charter Schools,Suburban Schools,Urban Schools,Rural Schools,Enrollment,Low Income Groups,Surveys,Minority Groups

This report presents selected findings from the Public School Principal and Private School Principal Data Files of the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). SASS is a nationally representative sample survey of public and private 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 schools are also part of SASS. 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. The 2011-12 SASS uses a school-based sample of public and private schools. Because SASS uses a school-based sample design, districts, principals, and library media centers associated with public schools were included, as were principals associated with private schools. Teachers associated with a selected school were sampled from a teacher list provided by the school or district. The selected samples include about 11,000 traditional and charter public schools, public school principals, and public school library media centers; 5,800 public school districts; 51,100 public school teachers; 3,000 private schools and their principals; and 7,100 private school teachers. The samples were drawn to support estimates by geography, grade span, and charter school status for public schools, and by geography, grade span, and affiliation group for private schools for a wide range of topics. The data were collected via mailed questionnaires with telephone and in-person field follow-up. The purpose of this First Look is to introduce new data through the presentation of tables containing descriptive information. Selected findings chosen for this report demonstrate the range of information available on the 2011-12 SASS Public School Principal and Private School Principal Data Files. The selected findings do not represent a complete review of all observed differences in the data and are not meant to emphasize any particular issue. This First Look report highlights findings from the SASS public and private principal surveys. The tables in this report contain counts and percentages demonstrating bivariate relationships. All of the results have been weighted to reflect the sample design and to account for nonresponse and other adjustments. The following are appended: (1) Standard Error Tables; (2) Methodology and Technical Notes; (3) Description of Data Files; and (4) Description of Variables. (Contains 21 tables and 17 footnotes.)