Chart: Teachers’ influence over school policy and in the classroom: Shares of teachers reporting that they do and do not have a ‘great deal’ of influence/control over the factors presented, in all schools and in low- and high-poverty schools

Table 4

Teachers' influence over school policy and in the classroom: Shares of teachers reporting that they do and do not have a 'great deal' of influence/control over the factors presented, in all schools and in low- and high-poverty schools

	All	Low-poverty	High-poverty	Gap (high- minus low-poverty)
School policy at this school
Establishing curriculum
A great deal of influence	20.4%	21.4%	18.6%	-2.8 ppt.
Not a great deal of influence	79.6%	78.6%	81.4%	2.8 ppt.
Setting performance standards for students
A great deal of influence	17.6%	17.8%	17.5%	-0.3 ppt.
Not a great deal of influence	82.4%	82.2%	82.5%	0.3 ppt.
Determining the content of in-service professional development programs
A great deal of influence	11.1%	11.6%	10.9%	-0.7 ppt.
Not a great deal of influence	88.9%	88.4%	89.1%	0.7 ppt.
Setting discipline policy
A great deal of influence	8.9%	8.5%	9.7%	1.2 ppt.
Not a great deal of influence	91.1%	91.5%	90.3%	-1.2 ppt.
Hiring new full-time teachers
A great deal of influence	5.3%	6.2%	5.1%	-1.1 ppt.
Not a great deal of influence	94.7%	93.8%	94.9%	1.1 ppt.
Evaluating teachers
A great deal of influence	3.2%	2.9%	3.4%	0.5 ppt.
Not a great deal of influence	96.8%	97.1%	96.6%	-0.5 ppt.
Classroom planning and teaching
Determining the amount of homework to be assigned
A great deal of control	68.3%	67.6%	67.8%	0.2 ppt.
Not a great deal of control	31.7%	32.4%	32.2%	-0.2 ppt.
Evaluating and grading students
A great deal of control	61.2%	62.0%	59.8%	-2.2 ppt.
Not a great deal of control	38.8%	38.0%	40.2%	2.2 ppt.
Disciplining students
A great deal of control	42.3%	45.0%	41.0%	-4.0 ppt.
Not a great deal of control	57.7%	55.0%	59.0%	4.0 ppt.
Selecting contents, topics, and skills to be taught
A great deal of control	28.7%	29.2%	27.0%	-2.2 ppt.
Not a great deal of control	71.3%	70.8%	73.0%	2.2 ppt.
Selecting textbooks and other instructional materials
A great deal of control	25.5%	27.3%	23.0%	-4.3 ppt.
Not a great deal of control	74.5%	72.7%	77.0%	4.3 ppt.

Notes: Data are for teachers in public noncharter schools. The table shows the shares of teachers who answered “A great deal of [influence/control]” on the survey instrument versus “moderate,” “minor,” or “no [influence/control]” when asked “How much actual influence do you think teachers have over school policy at this school in each of the following areas?” or “How much actual control do you have in your classroom at this school over the following areas?” A teacher is considered to be in a low-poverty school if less than 25 percent of the students in his/her classroom are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch programs; a teacher is considered to be in a high-poverty school if 50 percent or more of the students in his/her classroom are eligible for those programs.

Source: 2015–2016 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) microdata from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

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