Number and percentage distribution of school principals, by school level, school type, and selected professional characteristics: School years 1993–94, 1999–2000, and 2003

Contexts of Elementary and Secondary Education: Tables

School Characteristics and Climate

Table 34-2. Number and percentage distribution of school principals, by school level, school type, and selected professional characteristics: School years 1993–94, 1999–2000, and 2003–04

		Elementary²			Secondary²
Professional characteristic	All principals¹	All	Public	Private	All	Public	Private

1993–94
Total, number	104,600	67,000	53,700	13,400	20,600	18,300	2,300
Total, percentage	100.0	69.0	80.1	19.9	21.2	88.8	11.2
Years as a principal
3 or fewer	31.3	30.5	30.3	31.2	31.8	31.0	38.2
4–9	32.2	31.7	33.1	26.0	34.3	34.6	31.4
10–19	25.5	25.3	24.2	30.0	25.6	26.1	21.7
20 or more	11.0	12.6	12.5	12.8	8.3	8.2	8.8
Years of teaching experience prior to becoming principal
3 or fewer	11.5	10.0	6.8	22.6	9.0	7.4	22.1
4–9	34.8	33.8	36.2	24.4	38.6	40.2	25.9
10–19	43.9	45.6	47.0	40.0	43.5	43.8	40.7
20 or more	9.8	10.6	10.0	12.9	8.8	8.5	11.2
Years of teaching experience since becoming principal
3 or fewer	81.7	83.4	87.5	67.1	86.5	88.9	67.6
4–9	9.0	7.7	6.0	14.5	7.1	5.7	18.7
10–19	6.4	5.8	4.5	11.1	4.6	3.9	10.0
20 or more	2.9	3.1	2.0	7.3	1.8	1.5	3.6
Average annual salary, number³	$62,200	$62,100	$68,900	$34,600	$70,000	$72,000	$53,400
Average annual salary, percentage³
Less than $30,000	9.5	8.5	0.4	41.0	2.1	0.1	17.5
$30,000–44,999	9.9	9.4	3.5	33.5	6.3	4.1	23.7
$45,000–59,999	22.9	23.9	25.4	17.7	22.5	22.0	26.7
$60,000–74,999	29.1	30.9	37.4	4.8	31.1	33.0	15.6
$75,000–99,999	24.8	24.4	29.9	2.1	31.5	34.3	9.1
$100,000 or more	3.9	2.9	3.4	0.9	6.5	6.4	7.3

1999–2000
Total, number	110,000	75,900	60,100	15,800	23,100	20,500	2,600
Total, percentage	100.0	69.0	79.2	20.8	21.0	88.6	11.4
Years as a principal
3 or fewer	29.7	29.6	29.5	29.9	29.6	30.3	23.5
4–9	29.9	28.9	30.0	24.8	33.5	33.7	32.0
10–19	27.8	28.5	28.5	28.5	26.2	25.9	28.8
20 or more	12.7	13.0	12.0	16.8	10.8	10.1	15.8
Years of teaching experience prior to becoming principal
3 or fewer	9.9	7.8	4.9	18.8	7.4	6.4	15.5
4–9	29.7	29.1	29.5	27.4	31.1	31.6	27.3
10–19	43.1	44.8	47.1	36.0	44.0	44.8	37.7
20 or more	17.3	18.4	18.5	17.8	17.5	17.2	19.6
Years of teaching experience since becoming principal
3 or fewer	84.2	85.9	89.6	71.8	86.0	88.7	64.5
4–9	8.1	7.5	6.0	13.1	8.1	6.6	19.8
10–19	5.6	4.7	3.5	9.4	4.5	3.6	12.0
20 or more	2.1	1.9	0.9	5.8	1.4	1.2	3.7
Average annual salary, number³	$66,600	$66,400	$72,500	$43,000	$73,700	$75,400	$60,600
Average annual salary, percentage³
Less than $30,000	6.2	5.1	0.4	22.9	1.9	0.2	15.7
$30,000–44,999	9.6	9.8	2.1	38.7	4.0	2.6	14.8
$45,000–59,999	19.9	20.3	19.1	24.8	18.2	17.2	25.5
$60,000–74,999	29.1	30.5	36.7	6.9	30.4	31.9	18.5
$75,000–99,999	29.8	29.8	36.5	4.3	37.1	39.9	15.3
$100,000 or more	5.4	4.5	5.1	2.3	8.4	8.2	10.1

2003–04
Total, number	115,000	78,200	61,500	16,700	22,200	19,700	2,500
Total, percentage	100.0	67.8	78.6	21.4	19.3	88.7	11.3
Years as a principal
3 or fewer	34.2	34.1	34.2	33.8	33.9	34.2	31.1
4–9	31.2	30.9	32.9	23.5	34.7	35.2	30.2
10–19	24.8	25.3	24.9	26.7	23.9	23.9	24.5
20 or more	9.8	9.7	7.9	16.0	7.5	6.7	14.3
Years of teaching experience prior to becoming principal
3 or fewer	10.6	8.6	4.6	23.5	7.2	6.1	15.4
4–9	28.6	27.9	29.3	22.7	31.0	31.8	24.9
10–19	42.4	44.4	46.6	36.6	42.6	43.6	34.7
20 or more	18.5	19.0	19.5	17.2	19.2	18.4	25.0
Years of teaching experience since becoming principal
3 or fewer	89.7	91.4	95.6	75.8	93.1	95.5	74.4
4–9	5.4	4.4	2.8	10.5	4.7	3.2	16.3
10–19	3.5	3.2	1.4	9.9	1.8	1.1	7.2
20 or more	1.3	0.9	0.2	3.8	0.4	0.2	2.0
Average annual salary, number³	$68,900	$69,000	$75,400	$45,700	$77,600	$79,400	$63,700
Average annual salary, percentage³
Less than $30,000	5.9	4.7	0.3	20.7	1.0	0.1	8.4
$30,000–44,999	8.4	8.3	1.8	31.9	3.9	2.1	17.9
$45,000–59,999	15.4	15.4	13.2	23.6	11.1	9.2	26.1
$60,000–74,999	29.4	30.3	34.5	15.0	31.1	32.5	20.2
$75,000–99,999	32.1	33.7	41.6	4.8	39.0	41.9	16.4
$100,000 or more	8.7	7.6	8.6	3.9	13.9	14.2	11.2

! Interpret data with caution (estimates are unstable).
¹ Included in totals but not shown separately are principals of combined elementary and secondary schools.
² Roughly 900 cases were missing data for the school level variable in 1993–94; these cases were excluded from the school-level analyses.
³ Annual salaries may include compensation for duties other than those related to principal position, such as teaching a class. Average annual salary estimates were calculated in 2003–04 constant dollars.
NOTE: Data are only for principals, not assistant principals. Principals from Bureau of Indian Affairs schools were excluded from the analysis. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. See supplemental note 3 for more information on the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). Some estimates have been revised from previous publications.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), “Public School Principal Data File” and “Private School Principal Data File,” 1993–94, 1999–2000, and 2003–04 and “Charter School Principal Data File,” 1999–2000.

NCES Headlines