Table 212.20.

Percentage distribution of public elementary and secondary school principals, by mobility or attrition and selected principal and school characteristics: 2007–08 to 2008-09, 2011–12 to 2012-13, and 2015–16 to 2016-17

[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected principal or school characteristic	2007-08 to 2008-09												2011-12 to 2012-13												2015-16 to 2016-17
	Continued working as a principal						Stopped working as a principal			No longer at same school; status unknown2			Continued working as a principal						Stopped working as a principal			No longer at same school; status unknown2			Continued working as a principal						Stopped working as a principal			No longer at same school; status unknown2
	Stayed at same school1			Moved to a different school									Stayed at same school1			Moved to a different school									Stayed at same school1			Moved to a different school
1	2			3			4			5			6			7			8			9			10			11			12			13
Total	79.5		(0.88)	6.9		(0.60)	11.9		(0.64)	1.8		(0.31)	77.4		(0.59)	7.0		(0.44)	11.5		(0.48)	4.1		(0.34)	82.2		(0.62)	6.0		(0.39)	9.8		(0.47)	2.0		(0.21)
Sex
Male	77.6		(1.22)	7.5		(0.81)	13.0		(1.02)	1.9		(0.39)	77.1		(0.82)	7.0		(0.55)	11.6		(0.75)	4.3		(0.39)	82.7		(0.83)	6.4		(0.55)	8.9		(0.63)	1.9		(0.29)
Female	81.3		(1.22)	6.4		(0.82)	10.8		(1.00)	1.6		(0.46)	77.8		(0.96)	6.9		(0.64)	11.4		(0.70)	4.0		(0.51)	81.7		(0.87)	5.7		(0.52)	10.5		(0.66)	2.1		(0.30)
Race/ethnicity
White	80.1		(1.02)	6.8		(0.65)	11.9		(0.76)	1.3		(0.26)	78.6		(0.55)	6.4		(0.44)	11.7		(0.50)	3.3		(0.32)	82.5		(0.67)	5.6		(0.42)	10.0		(0.51)	1.9		(0.24)
Black	77.4		(2.66)	7.2		(1.78)	11.3		(2.06)	4.1	!	(1.62)	72.2		(2.42)	9.7		(1.53)	10.4		(1.57)	7.7		(1.48)	81.9		(2.00)	7.9		(1.49)	8.9		(1.37)	1.3	!	(0.50)
Hispanic	79.1		(3.94)	6.6	!	(2.86)	11.7		(3.20)	‡		(†)	73.6		(3.90)	7.9		(2.07)	10.7		(2.94)	7.7	!	(2.34)	79.1		(2.18)	7.5		(1.37)	10.1		(1.49)	3.3	!	(1.14)
Asian/Pacific Islander	61.7		(12.55)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	81.3		(4.69)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	85.4		(4.02)	5.8	!	(2.75)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
Asian	63.8		(14.87)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	82.1		(4.58)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	84.9		(4.77)	6.7	!	(3.14)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
Pacific Islander	53.0	!	(20.29)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
American Indian/Alaska     Native	74.3		(9.10)	‡		(†)	18.0	!	(7.96)	‡		(†)	66.4		(9.23)	5.7	!	(2.54)	17.8	!	(8.09)	‡		(†)	82.4		(7.51)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
Two or more races	66.1		(13.73)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	70.1		(10.93)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	80.0		(6.26)	‡		(†)	10.3	!	(4.48)	‡		(†)
Age
Under 40	81.6		(2.10)	9.5		(1.56)	7.1		(1.33)	1.7	!	(0.67)	81.1		(1.64)	7.5		(0.96)	7.9		(1.29)	3.5		(0.76)	83.8		(1.32)	8.9		(0.95)	6.1		(0.93)	1.2		(0.32)
40 to 44	83.7		(2.04)	7.5		(1.23)	6.9		(1.36)	‡		(†)	77.3		(1.79)	9.6		(1.24)	8.0		(1.09)	5.0		(1.09)	85.2		(1.15)	6.7		(0.85)	6.2		(0.78)	1.9		(0.45)
45 to 49	83.0		(2.21)	6.8		(1.54)	8.3		(1.64)	1.9	!	(0.73)	82.8		(1.39)	7.4		(0.96)	6.9		(0.86)	2.9		(0.73)	83.9		(1.16)	5.4		(0.81)	8.1		(0.83)	2.7		(0.55)
50 to 54	80.7		(1.61)	6.6		(1.19)	10.5		(1.35)	2.2	!	(0.73)	80.4		(1.43)	6.8		(1.08)	9.8		(0.98)	3.0		(0.63)	85.2		(1.43)	5.4		(0.86)	8.2		(1.10)	1.2	!	(0.39)
55 or over	73.7		(1.88)	5.3		(1.11)	19.7		(1.60)	1.3	!	(0.44)	69.7		(1.46)	4.5		(0.62)	20.5		(1.24)	5.4		(0.71)	74.4		(1.32)	4.1		(0.66)	18.8		(1.17)	2.7		(0.51)
Years of experience as a principal at any school
Less than 3	80.5		(2.06)	9.5		(1.56)	8.0		(1.35)	2.0	!	(0.71)	81.3		(1.33)	6.5		(0.79)	7.7		(0.96)	4.5		(0.83)	83.4		(1.09)	6.6		(0.69)	7.7		(0.80)	2.2		(0.45)
3 to 5	82.2		(1.76)	6.8		(1.27)	9.1		(1.21)	1.8		(0.55)	77.8		(1.44)	8.2		(1.01)	10.1		(1.05)	3.9		(0.72)	84.5		(1.10)	6.2		(0.74)	7.8		(0.82)	1.5		(0.36)
6 to 9	82.1		(1.85)	5.7		(0.90)	10.8		(1.44)	1.4	!	(0.59)	77.1		(1.34)	7.5		(0.93)	11.4		(0.88)	4.0		(0.63)	83.6		(1.22)	5.8		(0.78)	8.8		(0.88)	1.9		(0.39)
10 or more	74.5		(1.76)	5.6		(0.93)	18.2		(1.48)	1.7		(0.52)	74.0		(1.28)	5.8		(0.77)	16.1		(1.16)	4.2		(0.69)	77.6		(1.24)	5.4		(0.73)	14.7		(1.13)	2.2		(0.44)
Salary, in current dollars
Less than $60,000	79.0		(3.52)	6.2		(1.60)	12.6		(3.23)	‡		(†)	69.2		(3.21)	9.6		(1.86)	14.8		(2.28)	6.4		(1.89)	76.5		(3.82)	3.0	!	(1.42)	15.7		(3.48)	4.8	!	(1.91)
$60,000 to $79,999	79.5		(1.61)	8.3		(1.22)	10.9		(1.12)	1.2	!	(0.42)	79.2		(0.92)	7.5		(0.70)	9.6		(0.78)	3.7		(0.53)	81.0		(1.33)	6.3		(0.74)	10.4		(0.96)	2.2		(0.49)
$80,000 to $99,999	78.7		(1.65)	7.1		(1.01)	12.3		(1.22)	1.9		(0.52)	76.8		(1.19)	7.2		(0.74)	11.5		(0.90)	4.6		(0.65)	82.9		(0.92)	6.4		(0.61)	9.3		(0.74)	1.4		(0.28)
$100,000 or more	80.6		(1.72)	4.9		(1.02)	12.3		(1.46)	2.2		(0.60)	78.0		(1.25)	5.8		(0.88)	12.5		(1.00)	3.6		(0.59)	82.7		(0.94)	5.9		(0.59)	9.3		(0.69)	2.2		(0.40)
Highest degree earned
Bachelor’s degree or less	77.6		(7.43)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	6.1	!	(2.84)	77.2		(5.31)	3.6	!	(1.60)	11.1	!	(3.47)	8.1	!	(3.31)	72.4		(5.93)	6.5	!	(2.70)	10.9	!	(3.47)	10.2	!	(4.51)
Master’s degree	80.1		(1.13)	7.1		(0.89)	11.2		(0.87)	1.5		(0.41)	77.6		(0.74)	7.1		(0.56)	11.3		(0.69)	4.0		(0.47)	82.7		(0.74)	6.2		(0.47)	9.2		(0.57)	1.8		(0.27)
Education specialist3	79.6		(1.58)	6.3		(0.94)	12.2		(1.31)	1.9		(0.55)	77.4		(1.23)	6.9		(0.72)	12.6		(0.95)	3.0		(0.54)	83.7		(1.11)	5.8		(0.73)	9.0		(0.82)	1.5		(0.37)
Doctor’s or first    professional	74.2		(3.06)	7.2		(1.89)	16.5		(2.51)	2.1	!	(0.74)	76.4		(2.37)	7.1		(1.23)	9.5		(1.65)	7.1		(1.42)	76.7		(2.12)	5.6		(1.12)	15.0		(1.76)	2.7		(0.74)
School level
Elementary	80.4		(1.23)	7.0		(0.79)	11.0		(0.90)	1.5		(0.34)	77.9		(0.78)	7.1		(0.58)	10.9		(0.62)	4.1		(0.49)	81.9		(0.73)	6.9		(0.51)	9.4		(0.55)	1.9		(0.27)
Secondary	78.6		(1.25)	6.3		(0.94)	13.1		(1.34)	1.9		(0.50)	77.1		(1.10)	6.3		(0.64)	12.8		(0.84)	3.8		(0.49)	84.7		(1.12)	4.3		(0.66)	9.1		(0.86)	1.9		(0.39)
Combined	73.4		(2.74)	7.5		(1.49)	15.9		(2.46)	‡		(†)	74.7		(1.86)	7.2		(1.15)	12.8		(1.30)	5.2		(0.89)	78.4		(2.05)	3.8		(0.72)	14.6		(1.79)	3.2		(0.89)
School size
Less than 150	75.8		(3.05)	8.4		(2.31)	12.6		(2.22)	3.2	!	(1.26)	76.1		(2.11)	6.5		(0.91)	11.9		(1.70)	5.5		(1.11)	77.7		(2.42)	4.2		(1.10)	13.7		(1.89)	4.4		(1.28)
150 to 349	80.2		(2.03)	7.0		(1.24)	11.0		(1.50)	1.8	!	(0.70)	74.8		(1.58)	8.6		(1.05)	11.3		(1.17)	5.3		(0.94)	81.2		(1.25)	6.4		(0.82)	10.7		(0.99)	1.7		(0.37)
350 to 499	77.0		(2.28)	7.6		(1.54)	13.4		(1.71)	2.0	!	(0.68)	78.0		(1.54)	6.6		(0.89)	11.4		(1.05)	4.1		(0.84)	83.0		(1.24)	7.6		(0.89)	8.1		(0.91)	1.4		(0.40)
500 to 749	82.2		(2.09)	5.8		(1.17)	10.9		(1.54)	1.1	!	(0.41)	78.1		(1.55)	7.4		(1.01)	10.7		(1.05)	3.8		(0.73)	83.7		(1.06)	6.1		(0.72)	8.8		(0.82)	1.4		(0.31)
750 or more	80.5		(1.56)	6.3		(1.00)	12.0		(1.21)	1.2	!	(0.54)	79.6		(1.15)	5.3		(0.74)	12.4		(0.89)	2.6		(0.44)	83.0		(1.03)	5.0		(0.64)	9.5		(0.83)	2.5		(0.43)
Percent minority enrollment4
Less than 10 percent	80.0		(1.88)	6.5		(1.22)	12.7		(1.26)	0.9	!	(0.35)	80.9		(1.11)	5.1		(0.56)	11.3		(0.95)	2.7		(0.57)	85.3		(1.39)	4.4		(0.78)	8.1		(1.07)	2.2	!	(0.77)
10 to less than 25 percent	83.4		(2.08)	5.8		(1.33)	9.6		(1.38)	‡		(†)	79.1		(1.39)	5.8		(0.83)	11.5		(1.10)	3.6		(0.70)	84.6		(1.15)	4.8		(0.78)	9.6		(0.93)	1.0		(0.29)
25 to less than 50 percent	81.9		(1.97)	5.9		(1.05)	11.0		(1.46)	1.2	!	(0.55)	78.6		(1.40)	7.3		(0.88)	11.4		(1.08)	2.7		(0.55)	82.8		(1.30)	6.2		(0.83)	10.1		(1.03)	1.0		(0.29)
50 to less than 75 percent	76.6		(2.95)	7.4		(1.61)	14.7		(2.74)	‡		(†)	77.5		(2.05)	5.0		(0.89)	12.6		(1.54)	4.9		(1.05)	79.9		(1.61)	7.0		(1.01)	11.0		(1.27)	2.1		(0.57)
75 to less than 90 percent	74.3		(3.50)	8.9		(2.16)	12.6		(2.37)	4.2	!	(1.73)	79.6		(2.23)	8.6		(1.61)	8.7		(1.35)	3.2	!	(1.03)	79.8		(2.22)	7.7		(1.62)	9.5		(1.46)	3.0	!	(0.94)
90 percent or more	76.0		(2.38)	8.7		(1.73)	11.7		(1.97)	3.6		(1.07)	68.7		(2.06)	11.2		(1.64)	12.2		(1.65)	8.0		(1.33)	79.5		(1.69)	7.5		(1.02)	10.0		(1.26)	2.9		(0.63)
Percent of students    approved for free or    reduced-price lunch
0 to 25.0 percent	81.9		(1.59)	6.1		(0.97)	11.1		(1.35)	1.0	!	(0.45)	79.2		(1.32)	6.4		(0.99)	11.4		(1.09)	3.0		(0.76)	85.8		(1.25)	5.2		(0.85)	7.4		(0.87)	1.7		(0.46)
25.1 to 50.0 percent	81.8		(1.55)	6.8		(1.11)	10.3		(1.02)	1.2	!	(0.35)	79.8		(1.12)	5.4		(0.74)	11.7		(0.89)	3.1		(0.54)	83.7		(1.14)	5.0		(0.65)	10.0		(0.89)	1.3		(0.37)
50.1 to 75.0 percent	80.4		(1.87)	6.1		(0.92)	12.2		(1.68)	1.3	!	(0.47)	78.4		(1.34)	7.1		(0.77)	10.4		(0.96)	4.0		(0.73)	82.5		(1.23)	7.3		(0.88)	8.6		(0.88)	1.5		(0.36)
More than 75.0 percent	74.0		(2.18)	9.1		(1.57)	13.4		(1.86)	3.6	!	(1.12)	72.5		(1.38)	9.3		(1.09)	11.9		(1.20)	6.3		(0.97)	79.4		(1.15)	7.1		(0.66)	10.9		(0.87)	2.5		(0.46)
Locale
City	78.3		(2.03)	7.6		(1.29)	11.4		(1.42)	2.7		(0.70)	74.4		(1.60)	8.5		(1.19)	11.8		(1.30)	5.3		(0.72)	81.0		(1.19)	7.5		(0.84)	10.0		(0.81)	1.5		(0.34)
Suburban	82.0		(1.53)	5.5		(0.85)	10.8		(1.25)	1.8	!	(0.65)	78.3		(1.14)	7.0		(0.84)	10.9		(0.90)	3.8		(0.75)	83.2		(1.06)	6.2		(0.71)	8.6		(0.75)	1.9		(0.40)
Town	77.9		(2.33)	6.5		(1.29)	14.0		(2.19)	‡		(†)	79.5		(1.74)	6.3		(0.99)	10.3		(1.05)	3.8		(0.86)	85.1		(1.38)	4.7		(0.83)	8.1		(0.96)	2.1		(0.58)
Rural	78.8		(1.51)	7.9		(1.17)	12.3		(1.10)	1.0	!	(0.37)	78.3		(0.84)	5.9		(0.53)	12.2		(0.69)	3.6		(0.56)	80.7		(1.29)	5.0		(0.58)	11.8		(0.99)	2.5		(0.52)

†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.

1 Includes those who were on leave (e.g., maternity/paternity, military, disability, or sabbatical).

2 The school reported that the principal had left, but it was unable to report on the current occupational status of the principal.

3 Education specialist degrees or certificates are generally awarded for 1 year’s work beyond the master’s level. Includes certificate of advanced graduate studies.

4 The combined percentage of students in the school who are Black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, or of Two or more races.

NOTE: Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal Data File," 2007-08 and 2011-12; SASS Principal Follow-up Survey (PFS), "Public School Principal Status Data File," 2008–09 and 2012-13; National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), "Public School Principal Data File," 2015-16; and NTPS Principal Follow-up Survey (PFS), "Public School Principal Status Data File," 2016–17. (This table was prepared November 2018.)