Indicator 17: Students' Perceptions of Personal Safety at School and Away From School

In 2009, a higher percentage of students ages 12–18 reported that they were afraid of attack or harm at school (4 percent) than away from school (3 percent) during the school year.

School violence can make students fearful and affect their readiness and ability to learn, and concerns about vulnerability to attacks can detract from a positive school environment (Scheckner et al. 2002). In the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey, students ages 12–18 were asked how often⁵⁴ they had been afraid of attack or harm "at school or on the way to and from school" as well as "away from school."⁵⁵ In 2009, a higher percentage of students ages 12–18 reported that they were afraid of attack or harm at school (4 percent) than away from school (3 percent) during the school year (figure 17.1 and table 17.1).

Student reports on their fears about their safety varied by sex and race/ethnicity. Though there were no measurable differences between the percentages of male and female students who reported being afraid of attack or harm at school in 2009, a greater percentage of female (4 percent) than male students (3 percent) reported being afraid of attack or harm away from school. A lower percentage of White students (3 percent) than Black students (7 percent) reported being afraid of attack or harm at school, and a lower percentage of White students (2 percent) than both Black students (6 percent) and Hispanic students (4 percent) reported being afraid of attack or harm away from school.

Differences in students' reports on their safety were also detected by grade level in 2009. For example, higher percentages of 6th-graders and 7th-graders (6 percent each) reported being afraid of attack or harm at school than 8th-graders (4 percent) and 11th-graders (3 percent). Away from school, a higher percentage of 10th-graders (6 percent) reported being afraid of attack or harm than students in the 9th, 11th, and 12th grades (2 to 3 percent).

School urbanicity was also related to students' fear of attack or harm. Both at school and away from school, a higher percentage of students in urban schools reported being afraid of attack or harm than the corresponding percentages of students in suburban and rural schools. Specifically, 7 percent of students in urban schools reported being afraid of attack or harm at school, compared with 4 percent in rural schools and 3 percent in suburban schools. Six percent of students in urban schools, compared with 2 percent each of students in suburban and in rural schools, reported being afraid of attack or harm away from school.

Between 1995 and 2009, the percentage of students who reported being afraid of attack or harm at school decreased from 12 to 4 percent (figure 17.2). A downward trend was also observed away from school: between 1999 and 2009, the percentage of students who feared attack or harm declined from 6 to 3 percent. Between the two most recent survey years, 2007 and 2009, the percentage of students who feared attack or harm at school was lower in 2009 (4 percent) than in 2007 (5 percent). However, no measurable differences were found between 2007 and 2009 in the percentages of students who feared attack or harm away from school.

This indicator has been updated to include 2009 data. For more information: Table 17.1 and DeVoe and Bauer (2011), (http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2012314).

⁵⁴ Students were asked if they "never," "almost never," "sometimes," or "most of the time" feared attack or harm at school or away from school. Students responding "sometimes" or "most of the time" were considered fearful.
⁵⁵ "At school" includes the school building, on school property, on a school bus, and, from 2001 onward, going to and from school.