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Digest of Education Statistics
2022 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 210.50. [CORRECTED] Percentage of public and private elementary and secondary schools hiring for at least one open teaching position, and among schools with at least one opening schoolwide, percentage hiring in various subject-matter fields, by selected school characteristics: School years 2011-12, 2015-16, and 2020-21
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected school characteristic Total, schools hiring for at least one open teaching position Among schools with at least one open teaching position, percent of schools hiring in offered subject-matter field1
General elementary Special education English or language arts Social studies Computer science Mathematics Biology or life sciences Physical sciences English as a second language or bilingual education Foreign languages Music or art Career or technical education Physical education or health Other
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Public schools                                                                                          
2011-12 66.2   (0.74) 78.8   (1.09) 50.6   (0.93) 42.1   (0.87) 31.7   (0.93) 14.2   (0.74) 40.4   (0.97) 29.0   (1.08) 25.7   (1.09) 21.5   (0.98) 27.6   (0.91) 29.2   (0.88) 19.7   (0.78) ---   (†) 25.1   (0.96)
2015-16 77.8   (0.62) 83.1   (0.75) 61.7   (0.78) 47.3   (0.77) 36.8   (0.87) 16.2   (0.76) 46.9   (0.85) 33.3   (0.78) 29.2   (0.74) 26.4   (0.78) 28.3   (0.89) 34.8   (0.82) 22.8   (0.83) ---   (†) 25.9   (0.80)

2020-21
                                                                                         
Total 79.7   (0.54) 79.2   (0.81) 63.6   (0.78) 46.1   (0.85) 35.3   (0.81) 19.5   (0.68) 43.9   (0.89) 31.2   (0.83) 28.7   (0.80) 26.5   (0.77) 25.6   (0.70) 31.6   (0.77) 23.9   (0.72) 26.5   (0.70) ---   (†)

School level
                                                                                         
Elementary 77.7   (0.86) 85.7   (0.81) 62.0   (1.16) 30.4   (1.35) 21.3   (1.26) 13.0   (0.98) 26.6   (1.23) 14.8   (1.26) 13.2   (1.12) 26.4   (1.12) 13.5   (1.04) 29.5   (1.16) 6.8   (0.88) 22.9   (0.95) ---   (†)
Middle 86.4   (1.00) 47.5   (2.96) 67.0   (1.56) 58.6   (1.64) 46.9   (1.72) 22.2   (1.48) 54.5   (1.77) 39.7   (1.58) 33.9   (1.65) 25.9   (1.56) 28.4   (1.71) 34.5   (1.66) 23.2   (1.50) 29.1   (1.40) ---   (†)
Secondary/high 80.0   (1.06) 30.7   (5.16) 64.1   (1.42) 59.7   (1.50) 46.9   (1.35) 26.1   (1.30) 60.4   (1.61) 44.3   (1.43) 42.5   (1.51) 28.6   (1.47) 39.0   (1.32) 32.4   (1.30) 42.2   (1.63) 31.4   (1.36) ---   (†)
Combined/other 79.4   (2.26) 69.5   (3.04) 65.6   (2.56) 50.8   (2.87) 37.2   (2.91) 25.0   (3.02) 49.2   (3.19) 36.5   (3.05) 36.4   (3.18) 22.1   (2.86) 27.6   (3.09) 37.8   (3.35) 28.6   (3.27) 31.9   (2.68) ---   (†)

School size
                                                                                         
Less than 150 58.4   (2.56) 56.3   (3.76) 58.1   (3.23) 37.3   (3.84) 26.3   (3.26) 17.1   (3.21) 33.6   (3.70) 23.4   (3.23) 20.2   (3.26) 23.0   (4.07) 16.9   (3.04) 29.3   (3.15) 19.5   (2.79) 26.6   (3.33) ---   (†)
150 to 349 76.6   (1.27) 77.5   (1.58) 53.4   (1.81) 32.8   (1.74) 21.2   (1.62) 10.6   (1.24) 28.7   (1.53) 18.3   (1.59) 16.8   (1.51) 17.6   (1.47) 15.2   (1.33) 25.4   (1.66) 14.3   (1.49) 20.2   (1.40) ---   (†)
350 to 499 80.6   (1.15) 81.8   (1.50) 61.3   (1.58) 35.5   (1.72) 25.5   (1.66) 15.1   (1.47) 33.2   (1.75) 22.3   (1.73) 21.3   (1.81) 24.8   (1.58) 16.5   (1.50) 29.4   (1.74) 16.3   (1.50) 23.0   (1.47) ---   (†)
500 to 749 84.2   (1.10) 84.9   (1.32) 66.6   (1.64) 50.0   (1.62) 38.4   (1.70) 20.6   (1.73) 45.8   (1.77) 28.9   (1.82) 27.9   (1.81) 28.0   (1.72) 25.4   (1.92) 31.1   (1.55) 22.9   (1.76) 27.9   (1.54) ---   (†)
750 or more 89.2   (0.86) 77.7   (1.94) 76.2   (1.27) 67.2   (1.44) 57.0   (1.54) 31.1   (1.47) 68.7   (1.40) 53.7   (1.51) 48.5   (1.51) 36.3   (1.50) 43.1   (1.33) 41.5   (1.34) 39.1   (1.49) 35.7   (1.38) ---   (†)

School locale
                                                                                         
City 79.8   (1.10) 81.9   (1.37) 67.4   (1.58) 49.7   (1.52) 37.7   (1.61) 22.9   (1.56) 49.2   (1.67) 35.8   (1.54) 33.3   (1.58) 35.2   (1.61) 29.4   (1.55) 36.0   (1.54) 25.7   (1.67) 29.2   (1.32) ---   (†)
Suburban 81.4   (0.97) 80.2   (1.25) 66.1   (1.38) 46.6   (1.53) 37.2   (1.54) 20.2   (1.23) 43.8   (1.51) 32.3   (1.43) 28.4   (1.29) 27.0   (1.29) 28.4   (1.30) 28.7   (1.28) 21.0   (1.13) 26.6   (1.18) ---   (†)
Town 79.4   (1.49) 80.8   (2.08) 61.3   (2.00) 44.1   (2.02) 32.2   (1.94) 15.1   (1.44) 41.2   (2.19) 29.3   (1.79) 26.0   (1.78) 19.0   (1.80) 19.9   (1.79) 26.9   (1.66) 26.2   (1.84) 23.3   (1.51) ---   (†)
Rural 77.9   (1.18) 74.4   (1.92) 57.3   (1.65) 42.6   (1.77) 32.3   (1.55) 17.7   (1.36) 39.7   (1.67) 26.5   (1.55) 26.0   (1.68) 19.6   (1.39) 20.9   (1.49) 32.8   (1.71) 24.4   (1.62) 25.1   (1.38) ---   (†)

Percent of students
   eligible for free or
   reduced-price lunch
                                                                                         
0 to 25 81.6   (1.59) 76.9   (2.07) 62.8   (1.67) 43.7   (2.01) 33.6   (2.00) 20.6   (1.82) 41.8   (1.90) 31.3   (2.01) 26.6   (1.78) 21.2   (1.82) 31.0   (1.93) 29.5   (1.83) 24.7   (1.88) 26.9   (1.79) ---   (†)
26 to 50 81.4   (1.19) 78.6   (1.76) 61.2   (1.66) 48.3   (1.72) 36.6   (1.77) 19.7   (1.38) 43.4   (1.69) 31.1   (1.72) 29.2   (1.54) 24.0   (1.34) 28.3   (1.55) 31.5   (1.53) 24.6   (1.35) 25.6   (1.32) ---   (†)
51 to 75 81.1   (1.36) 79.6   (2.15) 65.0   (1.74) 45.5   (2.22) 37.6   (2.06) 15.4   (1.41) 43.3   (2.09) 30.1   (1.68) 27.8   (1.64) 25.2   (1.83) 23.7   (1.84) 30.6   (1.65) 24.3   (1.75) 23.8   (1.63) ---   (†)
76 to 100 78.4   (0.93) 79.8   (1.27) 63.9   (1.20) 45.9   (1.34) 33.4   (1.19) 20.6   (1.10) 44.4   (1.47) 31.2   (1.46) 28.9   (1.46) 30.7   (1.25) 22.0   (1.21) 32.6   (1.30) 20.6   (1.15) 27.7   (1.16) ---   (†)
School does not
     participate
73.9   (2.70) 82.6   (3.86) 69.1   (3.57) 46.7   (4.10) 42.8   (4.33) 22.4   (4.43) 50.9   (4.62) 36.4   (4.28) 35.2   (4.49) 26.1   (3.98) 29.8   (4.09) 34.4   (4.18) 39.8   (4.54) 30.2   (3.97) ---   (†)

Private schools
                                                                                         
2011-12 57.8   (1.58) 76.5   (1.90) 32.2   (2.89) 43.2   (1.93) 31.8   (2.10) 20.4   (1.79) 41.3   (2.06) 30.8   (2.55) 29.5   (2.18) 13.0   (2.02) 37.9   (2.18) 36.0   (2.01) 8.1   (1.41) ---   (†) 32.7   (2.37)
2015-16 ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)

2020-21
                                                                                         
Total 68.2   (1.39) 80.4   (1.65) 37.9   (2.12) 43.0   (1.81) 33.3   (1.75) 24.5   (1.67) 41.3   (1.75) 33.7   (1.79) 32.4   (1.72) 15.4   (2.00) 36.3   (1.71) 35.3   (1.72) 15.6   (2.44) 30.4   (1.65) ---   (†)

School level
                                                                                         
Elementary/middle 66.1   (2.12) 81.4   (2.19) 28.6   (3.53) 34.6   (2.73) 24.0   (2.69) 20.0   (2.53) 32.1   (2.61) 24.8   (2.71) 19.8   (2.40) 11.1   (3.23) 29.0   (2.52) 32.1   (2.50) 9.3 ! (4.13) 29.5   (2.49) ---   (†)
Secondary/high 75.7   (2.36)   (†) 43.1   (4.09) 53.6   (2.77) 42.0   (2.81) 25.1   (3.11) 53.7   (3.20) 42.2   (3.03) 43.4   (2.99) 14.8   (3.15) 51.4   (2.69) 35.5   (2.96) 18.2   (3.59) 30.1   (2.82) ---   (†)
Combined/other 68.9   (2.14) 82.3   (2.24) 48.6   (4.07) 50.2   (3.18) 42.0   (3.04) 30.7   (3.14) 49.0   (2.92) 41.3   (3.06) 43.7   (2.97) 21.6   (3.37) 38.8   (3.05) 40.0   (2.78) 21.0   (3.37) 31.7   (2.58) ---   (†)

School size
                                                                                         
Less than 150 60.0   (2.07) 77.5   (2.84) 42.9   (3.26) 40.7   (2.97) 33.4   (2.97) 25.6   (2.98) 42.3   (3.04) 34.6   (3.17) 35.0   (3.06) 17.1   (3.52) 31.6   (2.78) 35.5   (2.90) 19.1   (4.36) 35.6   (2.94) ---   (†)
150 to 349 78.7   (2.09) 82.8   (2.17) 32.5   (3.93) 39.0   (2.80) 27.5   (2.72) 24.1   (2.70) 35.1   (2.61) 29.0   (2.39) 26.1   (2.39) 14.0   (2.69) 36.2   (2.80) 33.7   (2.62) 9.8   (2.22) 25.3   (2.43) ---   (†)
350 to 499 88.7   (2.33) 85.4   (3.61) 28.8   (5.73) 51.8   (4.46) 31.2   (4.11) 18.8   (3.86) 38.2   (3.92) 40.2   (4.34) 30.9   (3.54) 7.6 ! (3.52) 38.6   (4.22) 33.7   (3.97) 8.0 ! (3.13) 24.0   (3.81) ---   (†)
500 to 749 88.9   (2.91) 87.8   (4.19) 33.7   (5.82) 54.8   (5.16) 52.3   (4.88) 23.9   (4.43) 53.5   (4.52) 35.0   (4.64) 37.2   (4.52) 17.9 ! (5.74) 46.4   (5.30) 42.2   (5.07) 14.6 ! (5.27) 23.5   (4.12) ---   (†)
750 or more 81.1   (6.82) 89.6   (6.05) 41.3   (7.91) 66.5   (5.18) 57.2   (5.26) 31.6   (5.61) 72.1   (4.71) 44.7   (5.74) 49.0   (5.49) 20.0 ! (7.64) 66.0   (5.20) 40.3   (5.47) 29.2   (7.88) 27.1   (4.91) ---   (†)

School locale
                                                                                         
City 71.3   (2.23) 81.4   (2.63) 37.2   (3.31) 43.2   (2.89) 35.7   (2.74) 25.3   (2.95) 37.6   (2.81) 32.9   (2.82) 30.0   (2.71) 13.6   (2.68) 38.7   (2.87) 32.0   (2.80) 14.8   (2.68) 30.2   (2.70) ---   (†)
Suburban 72.0   (2.13) 82.0   (2.06) 41.5   (3.34) 43.4   (2.46) 30.7   (2.46) 22.3   (2.29) 41.5   (2.49) 34.5   (2.55) 33.7   (2.41) 10.9   (2.48) 35.4   (2.27) 35.6   (2.48) 15.6   (2.90) 28.2   (2.31) ---   (†)
Town 62.0   (4.30) 78.2   (4.29)   (†) 34.3   (5.69) 20.8   (4.45) 29.6   (6.61) 38.4   (5.65) 21.5   (5.07) 35.2   (6.13) 16.5 ! (5.85) 31.9   (6.02) 33.3   (5.47)   (†) 26.0   (4.77) ---   (†)
Rural 60.5   (3.93) 77.2   (4.77) 35.4   (5.96) 45.6   (4.88) 39.3   (4.87) 25.8   (5.54) 49.3   (4.87) 39.1   (5.49) 33.5   (5.10) 26.6   (7.03) 35.1   (5.12) 42.1   (5.26) 21.6 ! (9.41) 37.4   (5.46) ---   (†)
---Not available.
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1Data refer to the percentage of schools that were hiring for at least one open teaching position in a particular subject-matter field, among schools with at least one opening schoolwide and offering that particular subject. An open teaching position in a school may or may not have been filled before the start of the school year. Only schools that offer a subject can hire for an opening in that field.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Data File" and "Private School Data File," 2011-12; and National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), "Public School Data File," 2015-16 and 2020-21, and "Private School Data File," 2020-21. (This table was prepared December 2022. Corrections were made August 2023.)

2022 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest