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Digest of Education Statistics
2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 209.21. Number and percentage distribution of teachers in public traditional and charter elementary and secondary schools, by instructional level and selected teacher and school characteristics: 2015-16
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected teacher or school characteristic Number of teachers (in thousands) Percentage distribution of teachers
Total Elementary Secondary Total Elementary Secondary
Total Traditional public Public charter Traditional public Public charter Traditional public Public charter Total Traditional public Public charter Traditional public Public charter Traditional public Public charter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Total 3,349   (28.7) 3,162   (29.3) 187   (7.8) 1,596   (32.9) 95   (4.8) 1,566   (31.4) 92   (5.5) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†)
Sex                                                                                    
Male 776   (12.5) 731   (12.4) 45   (2.7) 169   (5.4) 11   (1.0) 562   (13.1) 34   (2.5) 23.2   (0.33) 23.1   (0.34) 24.2   (0.97) 10.6   (0.26) 11.8   (0.93) 35.9   (0.45) 37.0   (1.48)
Female 2,573   (25.2) 2,431   (25.5) 142   (6.2) 1,426   (29.7) 84   (4.4) 1,005   (21.5) 58   (3.7) 76.8   (0.33) 76.9   (0.34) 75.8   (0.97) 89.4   (0.26) 88.2   (0.93) 64.1   (0.45) 63.0   (1.48)

Race/ethnicity
                                                                                   
White 2,694   (25.9) 2,561   (26.1) 133   (6.4) 1,291   (29.0) 69   (3.9) 1,269   (26.7) 65   (4.3) 80.4   (0.33) 81.0   (0.34) 71.4   (1.42) 80.9   (0.54) 72.5   (1.69) 81.0   (0.48) 70.2   (2.03)
Black 224   (7.2) 206   (7.1) 18   (1.6) 101   (5.7) 9   (1.1) 106   (5.1) 9   (1.0) 6.7   (0.21) 6.5   (0.22) 9.6   (0.82) 6.3   (0.34) 9.2   (1.13) 6.8   (0.30) 9.9   (1.06)
Hispanic 289   (7.6) 264   (7.2) 26   (2.4) 142   (6.4) 12   (1.3) 121   (5.3) 14   (2.0) 8.6   (0.21) 8.3   (0.22) 13.8   (1.13) 8.9   (0.37) 12.6   (1.26) 7.7   (0.30) 15.0   (1.80)
Asian 72   (3.1) 68   (3.0) 5   (0.7) 36   (2.2) 2   (0.5) 32   (2.3) 2   (0.4) 2.2   (0.09) 2.1   (0.09) 2.5   (0.34) 2.2   (0.14) 2.6   (0.52) 2.0   (0.14) 2.4   (0.42)
Pacific Islander 7   (0.9) 7   (0.9)   (†)   (†)   (†) 4   (0.6)   (†) 0.2   (0.03) 0.2   (0.03) 0.3 ! (0.10) 0.2   (0.04) 0.3 ! (0.14) 0.3   (0.04) 0.2 ! (0.09)
American Indian/
    Alaska Native
15   (1.4) 15   (1.4)   (†) 6   (0.8)   (†) 9   (1.2)   (†) 0.5   (0.04) 0.5   (0.04) 0.2 ! (0.09) 0.4   (0.05) 0.3 ! (0.11) 0.6   (0.08)   (†)
Two or more races 46   (2.4) 42   (2.3) 4   (0.6) 17   (1.7) 2   (0.5) 25   (1.6) 2   (0.3) 1.4   (0.07) 1.3   (0.07) 2.3   (0.32) 1.0   (0.10) 2.5   (0.52) 1.6   (0.10) 2.1   (0.37)

Age
                                                                                   
Under 30 505   (8.7) 456   (8.6) 49   (2.6) 248   (8.1) 26   (1.6) 208   (5.9) 23   (1.9) 15.1   (0.23) 14.4   (0.24) 26.3   (1.03) 15.5   (0.38) 27.1   (1.49) 13.3   (0.29) 25.5   (1.43)
30 to 39 955   (12.9) 895   (13.1) 60   (3.1) 448   (11.4) 32   (2.1) 447   (11.4) 29   (2.0) 28.5   (0.29) 28.3   (0.31) 32.3   (0.93) 28.0   (0.41) 33.5   (1.30) 28.5   (0.43) 31.1   (1.25)
40 to 49 918   (12.2) 877   (12.5) 41   (2.6) 443   (11.3) 21   (1.7) 433   (10.2) 20   (1.7) 27.4   (0.28) 27.7   (0.30) 22.1   (0.80) 27.8   (0.44) 22.5   (1.16) 27.7   (0.36) 21.7   (1.19)
50 to 59 719   (10.8) 694   (10.6) 25   (1.5) 348   (9.7) 11   (0.9) 346   (9.0) 13   (1.2) 21.5   (0.24) 21.9   (0.25) 13.2   (0.62) 21.8   (0.39) 11.9   (0.75) 22.1   (0.33) 14.5   (0.99)
60 and over 252   (5.6) 241   (5.6) 11   (1.0) 109   (4.4) 5   (0.6) 132   (4.5) 7   (0.8) 7.5   (0.17) 7.6   (0.18) 6.1   (0.46) 6.8   (0.25) 5.0   (0.61) 8.4   (0.24) 7.2   (0.75)

Highest degree earned
                                                                                   
Less than bachelor's 82   (3.5) 77   (3.4) 5   (0.6) 26   (2.0) 3   (0.5) 51   (2.8) 3   (0.4) 2.5   (0.10) 2.4   (0.11) 2.9   (0.31) 1.6   (0.12) 2.7   (0.45) 3.3   (0.17) 3.1   (0.45)
Bachelor's 1,364   (16.0) 1,270   (16.2) 94   (4.1) 682   (17.4) 52   (2.7) 588   (13.0) 42   (2.9) 40.7   (0.35) 40.2   (0.37) 50.2   (1.21) 42.7   (0.58) 55.0   (1.72) 37.5   (0.49) 45.3   (1.74)
Postbaccalaureate 1,903   (20.8) 1,815   (20.9) 88   (4.7) 888   (20.1) 40   (2.9) 927   (21.2) 47   (3.4) 56.8   (0.35) 57.4   (0.37) 46.9   (1.23) 55.6   (0.60) 42.3   (1.73) 59.2   (0.49) 51.5   (1.72)
Master's 1,580   (18.1) 1,509   (18.1) 70   (3.9) 739   (17.2) 33   (2.4) 771   (18.4) 37   (2.7) 47.2   (0.35) 47.7   (0.36) 37.7   (1.11) 46.3   (0.56) 34.8   (1.55) 49.2   (0.50) 40.7   (1.54)
Education
    specialist1
280   (6.7) 266   (6.7) 14   (1.4) 136   (5.2) 7   (1.0) 130   (4.7) 8   (1.0) 8.4   (0.18) 8.4   (0.19) 7.7   (0.61) 8.5   (0.28) 7.1   (0.90) 8.3   (0.25) 8.4   (0.93)
Doctor's 42   (2.5) 40   (2.5) 3   (0.4) 12   (1.5)   (†) 27   (2.0) 2   (0.4) 1.3   (0.07) 1.3   (0.08) 1.4   (0.22) 0.8   (0.09) 0.5 ! (0.23) 1.7   (0.12) 2.4   (0.39)

Years of teaching
    experience
                                                                                   
Less than 3 333   (6.9) 299   (6.7) 34   (2.1) 154   (5.4) 17   (1.2) 145   (4.9) 17   (1.5) 9.9   (0.19) 9.5   (0.19) 18.3   (0.85) 9.7   (0.31) 17.7   (1.06) 9.2   (0.26) 18.9   (1.16)
3 to 9 948   (13.0) 870   (13.1) 78   (3.4) 437   (11.7) 42   (2.3) 433   (10.2) 36   (2.2) 28.3   (0.30) 27.5   (0.31) 41.5   (1.11) 27.4   (0.45) 43.9   (1.47) 27.6   (0.40) 39.1   (1.40)
10 to 20 1,314   (15.9) 1,257   (15.8) 57   (3.4) 635   (15.6) 28   (2.1) 622   (14.6) 29   (2.4) 39.2   (0.30) 39.8   (0.30) 30.3   (1.09) 39.8   (0.44) 29.1   (1.40) 39.7   (0.41) 31.6   (1.49)
Over 20 754   (10.3) 735   (10.2) 18   (1.5) 369   (9.5) 9   (1.0) 366   (9.6) 10   (1.1) 22.5   (0.26) 23.3   (0.28) 9.8   (0.63) 23.1   (0.39) 9.3   (0.84) 23.4   (0.38) 10.4   (0.98)

Certification type2
                                                                                   
Regular 3,026   (26.5) 2,880   (26.9) 145   (6.5) 1,466   (30.9) 75   (4.0) 1,415   (28.8) 70   (4.6) 90.3   (0.17) 91.1   (0.17) 77.8   (0.92) 91.8   (0.26) 79.5   (1.27) 90.3   (0.25) 76.0   (1.37)
Probationary 105   (3.1) 95   (3.1) 9   (0.8) 46   (2.4) 5   (0.6) 50   (2.3) 4   (0.6) 3.1   (0.09) 3.0   (0.09) 4.9   (0.39) 2.9   (0.15) 5.0   (0.58) 3.2   (0.13) 4.8   (0.53)
Provisional or
    temporary
143   (4.2) 130   (4.1) 13   (1.1) 59   (2.9) 6   (0.7) 72   (3.4) 7   (0.7) 4.3   (0.12) 4.1   (0.12) 6.9   (0.51) 3.7   (0.17) 6.6   (0.63) 4.6   (0.19) 7.2   (0.76)
Waiver or emergency 31   (2.0) 27   (2.0) 3   (0.5) 11   (1.4)   (†) 16   (1.4) 2   (0.3) 0.9   (0.06) 0.9   (0.06) 1.8   (0.27) 0.7   (0.08) 1.5   (0.39) 1.0   (0.09) 2.0   (0.35)
No certification 45   (2.4) 29   (2.0) 16   (1.3) 15   (1.5) 7   (0.8) 14   (1.4) 9   (0.9) 1.3   (0.07) 0.9   (0.06) 8.7   (0.61) 0.9   (0.09) 7.4   (0.73) 0.9   (0.09) 10.0   (0.92)

School locale
                                                                                   
City3 983   (24.5) 882   (23.9) 101   (5.4) 453   (17.2) 52   (3.7) 429   (20.8) 49   (3.9) 29.3   (0.68) 27.9   (0.70) 53.8   (2.24) 28.4   (0.96) 54.4   (2.92) 27.4   (1.17) 53.2   (3.23)
Suburban 1,286   (29.3) 1,231   (28.7) 54   (5.2) 631   (23.9) 27   (3.0) 600   (23.6) 27   (3.5) 38.4   (0.78) 38.9   (0.80) 29.1   (2.21) 39.5   (1.11) 28.8   (2.72) 38.3   (1.23) 29.3   (3.03)
Town 399   (14.7) 388   (14.4) 12   (1.9) 185   (10.7) 5   (1.0) 202   (11.7) 7   (1.4) 11.9   (0.43) 12.3   (0.45) 6.2   (1.03) 11.6   (0.63) 5.4   (1.08) 12.9   (0.72) 7.1   (1.49)
Rural 682   (17.9) 661   (17.3) 20   (2.7) 327   (12.8) 11   (1.8) 335   (14.2) 10   (1.8) 20.4   (0.53) 20.9   (0.54) 10.9   (1.40) 20.5   (0.76) 11.4   (1.81) 21.4   (0.87) 10.4   (1.86)

Percent of students
    eligible for free or
    reduced-price lunch
                                                                                   
0 to 25 752   (22.7) 727   (22.4) 25   (3.4) 340   (17.1) 13   (1.7) 387   (17.7) 12   (2.5) 22.5   (0.63) 23.0   (0.66) 13.4   (1.61) 21.3   (0.88) 13.3   (1.66) 24.7   (0.95) 13.6   (2.35)
26 to 50 809   (24.3) 780   (24.1) 28   (3.3) 331   (14.4) 16   (2.5) 450   (19.1) 12   (1.7) 24.1   (0.69) 24.7   (0.73) 15.1   (1.59) 20.7   (0.81) 17.4   (2.40) 28.7   (1.10) 12.7   (1.66)
51 to 75 737   (21.1) 702   (21.0) 36   (3.5) 357   (15.3) 21   (2.5) 344   (16.4) 15   (2.0) 22.0   (0.62) 22.2   (0.66) 19.0   (1.77) 22.4   (0.85) 22.2   (2.40) 22.0   (1.00) 15.8   (2.12)
76 to 100 945   (23.7) 880   (23.7) 65   (4.5) 543   (19.0) 31   (2.9) 337   (16.3) 33   (3.6) 28.2   (0.66) 27.8   (0.69) 34.6   (2.08) 34.0   (1.07) 33.2   (2.66) 21.5   (0.92) 36.0   (3.03)
School does not
    participate
107   (7.5) 73   (6.6) 34   (3.3) 25   (3.8) 13   (1.5) 48   (5.8) 20   (2.5) 3.2   (0.22) 2.3   (0.21) 17.9   (1.63) 1.5   (0.24) 14.0   (1.48) 3.1   (0.37) 22.0   (2.56)
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1Education specialist degrees or certificates are generally awarded for 1 year's work beyond the master's level. Includes certificate of advanced graduate studies.
2Refers to certification of teachers to teach in the state where they are currently teaching. A teaching certificate is probationary if all requirements have been satisfied except completion of a probationary period. It is provisional or temporary if additional coursework, student teaching, or passage of a test is required to obtain regular certification. It is a waiver or emergency certificate if a certification program must be completed to continue teaching.
3Interpret 2015-16 data on city teachers with caution. After nonresponse adjustments, the nonresponse bias for this category is greater than for other characteristics.
NOTE: Data are based on a head count of full-time and part-time teachers rather than on the number of full-time-equivalent teachers reported in other tables. Teachers were classified as elementary or secondary on the basis of the grades they taught, rather than on the level of the school in which they taught. In general, elementary teachers include those teaching prekindergarten through grade 6 and those teaching multiple grades, with a preponderance of grades taught being kindergarten through grade 6. In general, secondary teachers include those teaching any of grades 7 through 12 and those teaching multiple grades, with a preponderance of grades taught being grades 7 through 12 and usually with no grade taught being lower than grade 5. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), "Public School Teacher Data File," 2015–16. (This table was prepared January 2021.)

2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest