Percentage distribution of K–12 public school teachers, by the type of teaching certificate they held in the state where they were teaching and selected school characteristics: School years 2015–16, 2017–18, and 2020–21

Selected school characteristics	Regular, standard, advanced, or probationary certificate¹	No teaching certificate or only provisional or emergency certificates²
2015–16
All public school teachers	93.9	6.1

School classification
Traditional public	94.5	5.5
Charter school	83.2	16.8

Community type
City	92.3	7.7
Suburban	94.8	5.2
Town	94.5	5.5
Rural	94.3	5.7

School level, based on CCD definition³
Elementary	—	—
Middle	—	—
Secondary/high	—	—
Combined/other	—	—

School level, based on low and high grades⁴
Primary	94.7	5.3
Middle	94.3	5.7
High	92.9	7.1
Combined	90.9	9.1

Student enrollment
Less than 100	93.9	6.1
100–199	91.7	8.3
200–499	93.9	6.1
500–749	94.2	5.8
750–999	93.6	6.4
1,000 or more	94.0	6.0

Percent of K−12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunch
0–34⁵	94.4	5.6
35–49	95.0	5.0
50–74	94.2	5.8
75 or more	92.6	7.4

2017–18
All public school teachers	93.8	6.2

School classification
Traditional public	94.6	5.4
Charter school	81.4	18.6

Community type
City	92.3	7.7
Suburban	94.5	5.5
Town	93.8	6.2
Rural	94.9	5.1

School level, based on CCD definition³
Elementary	—	—
Middle	—	—
Secondary/high	—	—
Combined/other	—	—

School level, based on low and high grades⁴
Primary	94.6	5.4
Middle	94.5	5.5
High	93.0	7.0
Combined	90.4	9.6

Student enrollment
Less than 100	89.0	11.0
100–199	91.9	8.1
200–499	94.1	5.9
500–749	94.3	5.7
750–999	93.6	6.4
1,000 or more	93.7	6.3

Percent of K−12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunch
0–34⁵	94.9	5.1
35–49	95.0	5.0
50–74	94.3	5.7
75 or more	91.8	8.2

2020–21
All public school teachers	93.1	6.9

School classification
Traditional public	94.0	6.0
Charter school	79.6	20.4

Community type
City	91.3	8.7
Suburban	94.0	6.0
Town	93.9	6.1
Rural	93.1	6.9

School level, based on CCD definition³
Elementary	93.7	6.3
Middle	93.8	6.2
Secondary/high	92.1	7.9
Combined/other	90.9	9.1

School level, based on low and high grades⁴
Primary	93.8	6.2
Middle	93.7	6.3
High	92.3	7.7
Combined	89.6	10.4

Student enrollment
Less than 100	89.2	10.8
100–199	91.9	8.1
200–499	92.9	7.1
500–749	93.4	6.6
750–999	93.1	6.9
1,000 or more	93.5	6.5

Percent of K−12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunch
0–34⁵	94.2	5.8
35–49	94.3	5.7
50–74	93.5	6.5
75 or more	91.1	8.9

— Not available.

¹Held a regular or standard state certificate or advanced professional certificate or certificate issued after satisfying all requirements except the completion of a probationary period (in some states this is called a probationary certificate).

²Includes public school teachers who did not hold a teaching certificate or held only provisional or emergency teaching certificates in the state where they were teaching. A provisional certificate is a certificate that requires some additional coursework, student teaching, or passage of a test before regular certification can be obtained (in some states this is called a temporary certificate). An emergency certificate is a certificate issued to persons who must complete a certification program in order to continue teaching (in some states this is called a waiver certificate).

³School level based on the definitions set by Common Core of Data (CCD). Elementary schools offer at least one grade of K through 4, and the number of elementary grades is at least as high as the number of middle grades. Middle schools offer at least one of grades 5 through 8, and the number of middle grades is greater than the number of elementary or secondary grades. Secondary/high schools are defined as schools that offer at least as many of grades 9 through 12 as in lower grades. Combined/other schools include all other combinations of grades, including K–12 schools. These categories differ from past NTPS collections, so caution should be exercised when comparing estimates by level over time.

⁴School level based on low and high grades offered by the school. Primary schools offer at least one grade lower than 5 and no grade higher than 8. Middle schools offer no grade lower than 5 and no grade higher than 8. High schools offer no grade lower than 7 and at least one grade higher than 8. Combined schools offer at least one grade lower than 7 and at least one grade higher than 8. Schools with only ungraded classes were included with combined schools. These categories are provided because they are comparable to those used in previous NTPS publications.

⁵This category also includes schools that did not participate in the National School Lunch Program.

NOTE: Data are weighted estimates of the population. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Teachers could report up to two current teaching certificates in the state where they were teaching. Teachers who reported two certificates are only counted once in the analysis.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Teacher Data File,” 2015–16, 2017–18, and 2020–21.