Percentage distribution of school teachers, by highest degree earned, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2017

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National Teacher and Principal Survey

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Percentage distribution of school teachers, by highest degree earned, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2017–18


School type and selected school characteristic	Less than a bachelor's degree	Bachelor's degree	Master's degree	Higher than a master's degree¹
All schools	3.6	39.7	48.0	8.6

All public schools	2.7	39.3	49.2	8.8

School classification
Traditional public	2.7	38.6	49.8	8.8
Charter school	3.2	50.3	38.6	7.8

Community type
City	2.3	38.7	49.4	9.6
Suburban	2.5	35.8	52.0	9.7
Town	3.6	43.7	45.7	7.1
Rural	3.2	44.3	45.7	6.8

School level
Primary	2.0	42.2	47.3	8.5
Middle	2.3	38.4	50.3	9.1
High	4.1	33.5	52.7	9.6
Combined	3.0	44.6	45.6	6.8

Student enrollment
Less than 100	4.6	40.7	45.0	9.8
100–199	2.7	49.1	41.9	6.3
200–499	2.5	40.7	48.3	8.5
500–749	2.3	39.6	49.5	8.7
750–999	3.0	40.4	48.4	8.2
1,000 or more	3.1	35.3	51.7	9.9

Percent of K–12 students who were approved for free or reduced‑price lunches
0–34	2.8	33.8	54.1	9.3
35–49	3.1	38.9	49.8	8.2
50–74	2.8	42.2	46.5	8.5
75 or more	2.4	42.6	46.2	8.9

All private schools	10.0	42.4	40.0	7.7

School Classification
Catholic	7.9	46.0	39.8	6.3
Other religious	‡	‡	‡	‡
Nonsectarian	‡	‡	‡	‡

Community type
City	8.4	42.1	41.9	7.5
Suburban	9.1	40.5	42.0	8.4
Town	12.5	53.3	28.1	6.1
Rural	16.8	43.8	32.8	6.6

School level
Elementary	11.2	47.3	34.8	6.7
Secondary	7.5	36.0	47.3	9.2
Combined	‡	‡	‡	‡

Student enrollment
Less than 100	‡	‡	‡	‡
100–199	11.8	47.9	32.6	7.6
200–499	7.1	45.3	40.4	7.1
500–749	5.1	39.8	47.2	7.9
750 or more	‡	‡	‡	‡
‡ Reporting standards not met. The response rate is below 50 percent.
¹ Higher than a master's degree is defined as a teacher who completed any of the following: an educational specialist or professional diploma, a certificate of advanced graduate studies, or a doctorate or first professional degree.
NOTE: Teachers include both full-time and part-time teachers. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Teacher and Private School Teacher Data Files,” 2017–18.

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