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Table 3.  Number and percentage of public schools reporting sexual and physical assaults that occurred at school, the number of sexual and physical assaults, and the rate of sexual and physical assaults per 1,000 students, by selected school characteristics: School year 2005–06 (Return to Table 3)

  Physical attack or fight with a weapon3,4   Physical attack or fight without a weapon3,4
School characteristic  Num-
ber of schools
  Per-
cent of schools
  Num-
ber of incidents
  Rate per 1000 students   Num-
of schools
  Per-
cent of schools
  Num-
ber of incidents
  Rate per 1000 students
All public schools  2,470   3   7,020   #   61,810   74   897,750   19
                               
Level5                               
Primary  590 ! 1 ! 690 ! #   30,730   63   356,240   16
Middle  750   5   4,140 ! #   14,290   92   314,540   31
High school  760   7   1,600   #   10,930   93   172,170   14
Combined          5,860   79   54,790   17
                               
Enrollment size                               
Less than 300          11,910   57   92,080   21
300–499  410 ! 2 ! 470 ! #   17,540   74   207,330   22
500–999  1,110   4   4,080 ! #   23,440   80   361,190   18
1,000 or more  730   8   2,100   #   8,920   96   237,150   17
                               
Urbanicity                               
City  1,090   5   2,760   #   16,610   79   328,720   23
Urban fringe  680   2   3,090 ! #   20,640   75   317,590   16
Town  210 ! 3 ! 380 ! #   6,480   79   78,070   19
Rural  480 ! 2 ! 790 ! #   18,080   68   173,360   17
                               
Crime level where
    students live6
                             
High  670   10   2,420 ! 1 ! 5,640   87   147,710   37
Moderate  540   3   1,470 ! #   12,920   81   238,190   24
Low  850   2   1,340   #   34,650   69   377,130   14
Mixed  400 ! 4       8,610   82   134,710   20
                               
Percent minority
    enrollment7
                             
Less than 5 percent          11,190   68   107,490   17
5 to 20 percent  450 ! 2 ! 810   #   14,530   71   163,130   14
20 to 50 percent  460   2   810 ! #   13,940   75   192,710   17
50 percent or more  1,260   5   5,010 ! #   20,640   81   409,800   24
                               
Percent of students
    eligible for free
    or reduced-price
    lunch
                             
0–20 percent  250 ! 1 ! 500 ! #   12,550   65   128,870   10
21–50 percent  760   3   1,400   #   20,960   76   301,100   18
More than 50 percent  1,450   4   5,120 ! #   28,300   78   467,770   25
                               
Percent of students
    below 15th per-
    centile on stan-
    dardized tests
                             
0–5 percent  630   2   1,390 ! #   19,230   65   216,790   14
6–15 percent  730   2   1,140   #   24,700   75   336,960   17
More than 15 percent  1,110   5   4,490 ! #   17,890   86   343,990   26
                               
Percent of students
    likely to attend
    college
                             
0–35 percent  920   4   3,680 ! #   18,660   82   302,310   26
36–60 percent  700   3   1,620   #   18,410   74   274,900   20
More than 60 percent  840   2   1,720   #   24,740   69   320,540   14
                               
Percent of students
    who consider
    academic achieve-
    ment important
                             
0–25 percent  550   10       4,600   80   91,630   31
26–50 percent  480   3   740 ! #   13,030   82   194,380   23
51–75 percent  730   3   1,340   #   19,530   80   293,660   21
More than 75 percent  710   2   1,880   #   24,660   66   318,080   14
                               
Percent male enrollment                               
0–44 percent  180 ! 3 ! 1,080 ! #   3,950   70   58,140   20
45–55 percent  1,950   3   4,220   #   51,840   76   763,960   19
More than 55 percent  340 ! 4 !     6,020   65   75,640   20
                               
Student-to-FTE ratio8                               
Less than 12 students  870   2   3,960 ! #   29,040   69   360,800   20
12–16 students  790   3   1,340   #   21,450   80   336,690   19
More than 16 students  800   6   1,720   #   11,330   81   200,250   17
                               
Number of class-
    room changes9
                             
0–3 changes  350 ! 2 ! 720 ! #   12,960   58   139,900   13
4–6 changes  1,380   4   2,510   #   27,820   77   433,680   19
More than 6 changes  740   3   3,790 ! #   21,030   85   324,160   22
                               
Regular use of law
    enforcement10
                             
Regular use  1,880   5   5,990   #   29,680   86   555,960   21
No regular use  590   1   1,020 ! #   32,130   66   341,780   17
                               
Number of serious
    discipline pro-
    blems11
                             
No problems  850   #   1,480   #   37,400   70   410,310   10
1 problem  560   #   1,450 ! #   11,320   90   161,330   20
2 problems  430 ! 10       6,850   100   136,670   30
3 or more problems  630   10       6,240   90   189,430   40
                               
Transfers as a per-
    centage of enroll-
    ment12
                             
0 to 6 percent  60 ! #       9,560   60   100,700   10
6 to 11 percent  540 ! #     #   12,670   70   147,730   10
11 to 21 percent  850   #   1,710   #   17,450   80   246,860   20
21 percent or more  1,010   #   3,190 ! #   22,120   80   402,460   30
                               
Prevalence of school-
    wide disruptions13
                             
No disruptions  2,060   #   3,780   #   56,800   70   791,150   20
Any disruptions  400   10   3,240 ! #   5,020   90   106,600   20
                               
Percent of students
    absent on a
    daily basis
                             
0–2 percent          5,100   60   59,050   10
3–5 percent  580   #   1,270   #   31,460   70   374,200   20
6–10 percent  1,100   #   4,390 ! #   20,620   80   362,500   20
More than 10 percent  610   10   1,160   #   4,630   70   102,000   30
#Rounds to zero.
! Interpret data with caution. The standard error for this estimate is from 30 percent to 50 percent of the estimate’s value.
‡ Reporting standards not met. The standard error for this estimate is equal to 50 percent or more of the estimate's value.
1 Rape was defined for respondents as "forced sexual intercourse (vaginal, anal, or oral penetration). Includes penetration from a foreign object."
2 Sexual battery was defined for respondents as an "incident that includes threatened rape, fondling, indecent liberties, child molestation, or sodomy. Classification of these incidents should take into consideration the age and developmentally appropriate behavior of the offender(s)."
3 Physical attack or fight was defined for respondents as an "actual and intentional touching or striking of another person against his or her will, or the intentional causing of bodily harm to an individual."
4 Weapon was defined for respondents as "any instrument or object used with the intent to threaten, injure, or kill. This includes look-alikes if they are used to threaten others."
5 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 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 12. Combined schools include all other combinations of grades, including K–12 schools.
6 Respondents were asked, "How would you describe the crime level in the area(s) in which your students live?" Response options included "high level of crime," "moderate level of crime," "low level of crime," and "students come from areas with very different levels of crime."
7 Responding schools that did not have race/ethnicity on the sampling frame (2 percent of schools) are excluded from the base.
8 Student-to-FTE ratio was calculated by dividing the total number of students enrolled in the school by the total number of full-time-equivalent teachers and aides. The total number of full-time-equivalent 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 to compensate for the part-time status.
9 Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
10 Respondents were asked, "During the 2005–2006 school year, did you have any sworn law enforcement officers, security guards, or security personnel present at your school at least once a week?"
11 Serious discipline problems include student racial tensions, student bullying, student sexual harassment of other students, student verbal abuse of teachers, widespread disorder in classrooms, student acts of disrespect for teachers, gang activities, and cult or extremist group activities. If a respondent reported that any of these problems occurred daily or weekly in their school, each was counted once in the total number of serious discipline problems.
12 Transfers as a percentage of enrollment combines the number of students who were transferred to a school and the number of students who were transferred from a school divided by the total number of students enrolled in the school.
13 Schoolwide disruptions include actions that disrupted school activities such as death threats, bomb threats, and chemical, biological, or radiological threats. Respondents were instructed to exclude all fire alarms, including false alarms.
NOTE: "At school" was defined for respondents to include activities happening in school buildings, on school grounds, on school buses, and at places that hold school-sponsored events or activities. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
Reponses were provided by the principal or the person most knowledgeable about crime and safety issues at the school.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2005–06 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2006.