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Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2007
NCES 2008-021
December 2007

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Table 7.2.

Percentage of public schools reporting selected discipline problems that occurred at school, by frequency and school characteristics: School year 2005-06


School characteristic Happens at least once a week1 Happens at all2
Student
racial/ethnic
tensions
Student
bullying
Student sexual
harassment of
other students
Student
verbal abuse
of teachers
Widespread
disorder
in classrooms
Student acts of
disrespect
for teachers
Undesirable
gang
activities
Undesirable cult
or extremist
group activities
                 
Total 2.8 24.5 3.5 9.5 2.3 18.3 16.8 3.6
                 
School level3
Primary 1.5 20.6 1.6 6.1 0.8! 12.1 7.6 1.1!
Middle 6.0 43.0 8.6 16.0 5.2 30.5 31.5 5.0
High school 5.0 22.3 6.2 17.3 4.8 30.4 38.7 11.0
Combined 14.5 5.6! 14.3 12.4 5.8!
                 
Enrollment size
Less than 300 19.4 2.3! 5.9 1.5! 12.1 7.5 2.4!
300–499 2.5 21.9 2.4 8.3 1.6! 14.2 9.4 2.3!
500–999 3.2 28.5 4.1 9.5 2.7 20.7 18.9 2.9
1,000 or more 6.4 29.9 7.4 20.4 4.9 34.8 50.9 12.1
                 
Urbanicity
City 3.5 29.5 4.0 16.2 3.6 25.5 29.2 5.0
Urban fringe 3.3 22.9 3.7 7.9 2.2 17.8 16.5 2.9
Town 4.2 28.3 4.1 10.0 1.8! 17.9 14.9 6.1!
Rural 1.2 21.0 2.7 5.5 1.6 13.2 8.1 2.6
                 
Percent minority enrollment4
Less than 5 percent 0.6! 20.5 2.2 2.7 0.8! 11.0 2.5 1.1!
5 to 20 percent 1.9 23.4 4.3 6.1 0.8 12.9 7.8 2.9
20 to 50 percent 5.1 23.3 3.1 12.0 2.1 21.4 19.6 5.9
50 percent or more 3.4 28.9 3.6 15.3 4.8 25.2 31.6 3.8
                 
Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–20 percent 1.7 21.2 3.0 3.1 0.9! 9.2 7.9 2.5
21–50 percent 2.9 24.2 4.5 8.4 1.3 18.6 15.5 4.1
More than 50 percent 3.3 26.4 3.0 13.7 3.9 22.8 22.6 3.9
                 
Student/teacher ratio5
Less than 12 2.0 22.9 2.3 9.2 1.6 16.4 12.6 2.6
12–16 3.9 24.2 4.1 9.4 3.2 19.4 18.6 3.6
More than 16 2.7 29.7 5.9 10.4 2.9 21.5 26.4 6.8
                 
Prevalence of violent incidents6
No violent incidents # 10.0 # 3.5! 3.6!
Any violent incidents 3.6 28.6 4.3 11.6 3.0 22.5 20.6 4.6
# Rounds to zero.
! Interpret data with caution.
‡ Reporting standards not met.
1 Includes schools that reported the activity happens either at least once a week or daily.
2 Includes schools that reported the activity has happened at all at their school during the school year.
3 Primary schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not higher than grade 3 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 8. Middle schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not lower than grade 4 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 9. High schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not lower than grade 9. Combined schools include all other combinations of grades, including K–12 schools.
4 These estimates exclude data from the 73 schools that did not report estimates of student race/ethnicity.
5 Student/teacher ratio was calculated by dividing the total number of students enrolled in the school by the total number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) teachers and aides. The total number of FTE teachers and aides is a combination of the full-time and part-time teachers and aides, including special education teachers and aides, with an adjustment for part-time status.
6 Violent incidents include rape, sexual battery other than rape, physical attack or fight with or without a weapon, threat of physical attack or fight with or without a weapon, and robbery with or without a weapon.
NOTE: Responses were provided by the principal or the person most knowledgeable about crime and safety issues at the school. "At school" was defined for respondents to include activities that happen in school buildings, on school grounds, on school buses, and at places that hold school-sponsored events or activities. Respondents were instructed to respond only for those times that were during normal school hours or when school activities or events were in session, unless the survey specified otherwise. Population size is 83,200 public schools.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2005–06 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2006.