NTPS replaces the Schools and Staffing Survey program, which has provided data since 1987-88. The 2015-16 survey is a nationally representative repeated cross-sectional study of teachers, principals, and schools. It tracks trends on topics like out-of-field teaching, professional development, and educator career paths.
Use Cases
- Analyzing trends in out-of-field teaching based on repeated cross-sectional design.
- Studying school decision-making processes based on survey responses from principals.
- Evaluating professional development programs based on teacher survey data.
- Tracking career paths of educators and administrators over time.
- Comparing teacher and principal evaluation practices across schools.
Strengths
- Nationally representative sample of teachers, principals, and schools.
- Repeated cross-sectional design allows tracking of trends over time.
- Redesign of a long-running survey program with data available since 1987-88.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- License is closed, restricting redistribution and commercial use.
Provenance
- Collection Method
- Survey conducted through a combination of online and paper questionnaires.
- Time Range
- 2015-16
- Geography
- United States (nationally representative)