5. Prevalence of students involved in physical fights on school property*

Schools where there are numerous physical fights may not be able to maintain a focused learning environment. Students who are constantly involved in fights on school property cannot be ready to learn.

• In 1997, about 15 percent of all students in grades 9 through 12 said that they had been in a physical fight on school property in the last 12 months (figure 5.1 and table 5.1). In that same year, 37 percent reported that they had been in a physical fight in any location (including on school property).
• The percentage of students who reported being in a fight anywhere declined slightly from 1993 to 1997-from 42 percent in 1993 to 37 percent in 1997 (figure 5.1 and table 5.1). However, the percentages of students who reported fighting on school prop-erty across these years were similar.
• Males were more likely than females to have been in a fight anywhere and on school property (figure 5.1 and table 5.1). In 1997, 46 percent of males said they had been in a fight in the last 12 months, and 20 percent said they had been in a fight on school property. In that same year, about 26 percent of females reported they had been in a fight, and 9 percent said they had been in a fight on school property.
• Of 9th through 12th graders, those students in lower grades reported being in more fights than students in higher grades anywhere and on school property (figure 5.2 and table 5.1). For example, in 1997, 21 percent of 9th graders reported that they were in a fight on school property in the last 12 months; in contrast, 10 percent of 12th graders were in fights on school property.

<< back    >> next