Characteristics of 2020-21 Public and Private K-12 School Teachers in the United States: Results from the National Teacher and Principal Survey. First Look. NCES 2022-113

The 2020-21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) is a nationally representative sample survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. NTPS collects data on core topics including teacher and principal preparation, classes taught, school characteristics, and demographics of the teacher and principal labor forces. This report presents basic estimates from the Public School Teacher and Private School Teacher Data Files of the 2020-21 NTPS, the third collection of NTPS. The purpose of NTPS is to collect data to provide a detailed picture of U.S. elementary and secondary schools and their staff. Data are collected through school, principal, and teacher surveys. The 2020-21 NTPS used a school-based sample of public and private schools. Items about how schools first adapted to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the spring of 2020 were included in the school, principal, and teacher questionnaires. In addition, an item was included at the beginning of each questionnaire asking about the current effect of COVID-19 on instruction at the school at the time the survey was completed during the 2020-21 school year. Other topics in the 2020-21 NTPS school teacher survey included: (1) General employment and background information; (2) Class organization; (3) Education and training; (4) Certification; (5) Early career experiences; (6) Working conditions; and (7) School climate and teacher attitudes. The purpose of this First Look is to provide summaries of the new data collected using tables of descriptive information. Selected findings presented in the tables and text show the range of information available in the 2020-21 NTPS Public School Teacher and Private School Teacher data files. This First Look highlights findings from the NTPS public school teacher and private school teacher surveys. [For the summary report, see ED624492.]