Characteristics of American Superintendents

The American Superintendent 2020 Decennial serves as the sequel to AASA’s landmark 2010 Decennial Study, which examined historical and contemporary perspectives on our nation’s school system leaders. As with previous editions, this year’s study is an extension of national decennial studies of the American school superintendent that began in 1923.

Preliminary findings of the 2020 “AASA Decennial Study of the Superintendent” are being released at the AASA national conference in San Diego with the full study being published and distributed in the spring. 

The study provides statistical data and analysis about characteristics of superintendents and their employing districts; career pathways of superintendents; the current work of the superintendent; professional learning of the superintendent; and community relationships.

Some of the report’s key findings include:

• The average superintendent was a married white (91.38%) male, who had prior experience as a principal, with two to eight years of experience being a superintendent.  

• The percentage of female superintendents increased slightly from 2010, when it was 24.1%, to 26.68% in 2020. The percentage of women in the top leadership position in education is well above the 5.4% of S&P 500 companies led by a woman. Only 5% of the Russell 3,000 companies have a woman in the top position.

• In terms of political affiliation, superintendents remained a diverse group, with approximately 33% identifying as Republican, 32% independent and 31% Democrat.  

• Approximately 59% of the respondents said they planned on being a superintendent in the next five years. This represented an increase, compared to 51% of the respondents in 2010.

• Almost 34% of superintendents specified they would retire within the next five years, compared to 50% of superintendents in 2010.

• As in 2010, about 3% (2.71%) of the respondents in this study were employed in very large districts in 2020, whereas 11.76% were employed in districts with enrollments of 300 or less, representing a slight increase from 9% in 2010.

• The racial/ethnic diversity of districts in which superintendents worked increased since 2010. Only 34% of respondents worked in districts in which less than 5% of the students were non-white compared to almost 50% in 2010. The percentage of respondents employed in districts with high racial diversity (i.e., more than 50% non-white students) remained at 15%.