Principals' reports of crime, violence, and the general climate in their schools play an important role in providing a national picture of school crime and safety. By sending questionnaires to U.S. public school principals, NCES is able to obtain school-level data on school safety topics.
The School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) is The National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) primary source of school-level data on crime and safety. SSOCS is a national survey of approximately 2,500 principals in U.S. public elementary, middle, and high schools. Conducted in 1999-2000, 2003-2004, and 2005-06, the survey covers topics such as:
The Principal/School Disciplinarian Survey on School Violence was a one-time survey intended to collect data on school violence and other discipline issues for the 1996-97 school year. This national survey of about 1,200 principals in U.S. public elementary and secondary schools covered such topics as:
Principal Survey on Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-free Schools
The Principal Survey on Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-free Schools was a one-time national survey of about 755 public elementary and secondary school principals. It collected data on the principals' perspectives on issues related to safety, discipline, and drug-use prevention in their schools during the 1990-91 school year. It covered such topics as: