An Overview of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS)

July 1996

Highlights

In the mid 1980s, The (NCES) - a component of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement in the U.S. Department of Education - conducted a number of surveys concerning schools and school personnel. These surveys were designed to collect data on, among other issues, the demographics of the student population, the varying demand for teachers in all regions of the nation, the educational qualifications of school teachers and administrators, and the working conditions of teachers.

The surveys conducted during this time period included the Private School Surveys of 1983-84 and 1985-86, the Public School Survey of 1984-85, the Teacher Demand and Shortage Survey of 1983-84. Data from these surveys have been used by Congress, state education departments, federal agencies, private school associations, and educational research organizations.

In 1985, NCES undertook a critical review and redesign of its elementary and secondary school data system, identifying gaps in content and in design. As a result of this review, NCES working with the Rand Corporation redesigned that part of the elementary/secondary system concerned with teacher demand and shortage, teacher and administrator characteristics, school programs, and general conditions in schools.

This effort resulted in a unified set of surveys that facilitates comparison between public and private schools and allows linkages of teachers, schools, school districts, and administrator data. The integrated set of surveys is called the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). A Teacher Followup Survey (TFS) is conducted a year after the SASS survey to collect information on the teacher's employment and teaching status, educational activities and future plans, and opinions on school climate and job perception.

SASS has four core components: the Teacher Demand and Shortage Survey, the School Principal Survey, the School Survey, and the School Teacher Survey. These surveys were sent to public and private schools. During the 1990-91 cycle an Indian School Questionnaire was added. During the 1993-94 cycle, the following surveys were added: Indian School Teacher Questionnaire, Indian Principal Questionnaire, a Student Records Questionnaire (one version for all 3 school types: Public, Private and Indian), Library Media Center Questionnaire (Public, Private, and Indian), and Library Media Specialist/Librarian Questionnaire (Public, Private, and Indian).

The first cycle of the SASS was conducted during the 1987-88 school year followed by the 1988-89 TFS. The second cycle of the SASS was conducted during the 1990-91 school year followed by the 1991-92 TFS. The third cycle of the SASS was conducted during the school year 1993-94 followed by the 1994-95 TFS. The data tapes and CD Roms from these surveys are available through NCES. The next expected collection of the SASS will take place in 1998-99.

The U.S. Bureau of the Census was the data collection agent for the SASS. They conduct the SASS under NCES legislation "to collect, and analyze, and disseminate statistics and other data related to education in the United States and in other nations". The SASS was a mail-out/mail-back survey. Except for the questionnaires sent to school districts and to private schools, telephone followup was computer assisted in the 1993-94 cycle. The Student Records Questionnaire had a few personal visit interviews. A main feature of the SASS data collection was the ability to link the different components to examine the characteristics of the schools, principals, teachers, and students.

SASS and TFS data are available in two versions: the public-use data; and, for NCES-approved researchers, the restricted-use data. The public-use versions place individual data such as salaries into general categories and reduce the level of geography available. Researchers who meet a set qualifications described later may obtain restricted-use data containing individual-level data that permit linkage between all the SASS components for statistical research purposes.

NCES encourages educators, policy makers, and researchers to make further use of these data. On the pages that follow, readers will find descriptions of the contents of the four SASS components and the TFS, a discussion of the survey design, operational procedures used to collect these data, sample selection procedures, the imputation system for item nonresponse, and other technical information.

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For more information about the contents of this report, contact SASS staff at NCES.