Brochure

Why was my school selected?

What is the Schools and
Staffing Survey?
The School and Staffing Survey (SASS) is
a sample survey sponsored by the National
Center for Education Statistics, the Department
of Education, and collected by the U.S. Census
Bureau.
The Schools and Staffing Survey is designed to
provide policy makers, researchers, teachers,
and parents with facts about the Nation’s
schools, such as in 2003-04:
• 18% of public school teachers had 3
or fewer years of full-time teaching
experience;
• The average annual salary for public
school principals was $75,500; and
• 86% of private schools had vacancies for
general elementary teachers.

SASS has been administered five times –
1987-88, 1990-91, 1993-94, 1999-2000, and
2003-04. SASS is on a 4-year cycle with the
current data being collected during the 2007-08
school year.

Why is SASS important?
SASS is the largest, most extensive survey of
K-12 school districts, schools, teachers, and
administrators in the United States today.
Its data are used by a wide variety of people
interested in K–12 education, including teacher
professional organizations, private school
associations, education advocacy groups,
legislators, researchers, and journalists. SASS
provides a unique resource for information on
elementary and secondary education.

How are the data collected?
SASS mails questionnaires to a sample of
about 10,000 public schools representing all
50 States and the District of Columbia; about
3,000 private schools representing Catholic,
other religious and nonsectarian schools. The
questionnaires are sent to approximately:
13,000 principals, 5,000 school districts, 63,000
school teachers, in both the sampled public and
private schools, and about 7,500 school library
media centers in the sampled public schools.

SASS represents all types of schools and their
staff across the country – elementary, middle,
and secondary, small and large, urban and rural,
traditional public, public charter, and all types
of private schools. Because there are so many
schools in the United States, only a portion
can be surveyed at one time. Your school helps
represent facts about your state or your type of
school, as well as for the level and size of your
school. Your school’s participation is important
so that the results can represent the diversity of
schools across the country. Make your school’s
data count!

What types of questions are
asked?
• District policies and characteristics;
• Characteristics of schools and programs
offered;
• Principal characteristics and opinions;
• Teacher characteristics and background,
workload, and opinions; and
• School library staff characteristics,
collection, technology, and services.

U.S. Department of Education
ED Pubs
8242-B Sandy Court
Jessup, MD 20794-1398

Schools and Staffing
Survey

Schools and
Staffing Survey

Does my school’s name and
individual staff data remain
confidential?
Yes, those are protected by Public Law 107-279,
the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002,
Title I, Part E, Section 183. No respondent’s
name, address, or any other personallyidentifying information can be made public,
with a penalty of imprisonment and a $25,000
fine for offenders.

To see our publications and other information
on SASS, go to http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass
Recent reports and public-use data can be
ordered free of charge from ED Pubs online at
http://www.edpubs.org or by calling
1-877-4-ED-PUBS, while supplies last.

The National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) is the primary federal entity for
collecting and analyzing data related to
education in the United States and other
nations.

National Center for Education Statistics
Institute of Education Sciences
U.S. Department of Education
1990 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
Email: [email protected]
http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass

NCES 2007-###