Table 5. Number and percentage of public schools reporting incidents of possession of a firearm or explosive device or possession of a knife or sharp object at school, the number of incidents, and the rate of incidents per 1,000 students, by selected school characteristics: School year 2009

School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS)

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Table 5. Number and percentage of public schools reporting incidents of possession of a firearm or explosive device or possession of a knife or sharp object at school, the number of incidents, and the rate of incidents per 1,000 students, by selected school characteristics: School year 2009–10


	Possession of a firearm or explosive device¹								Possession of a knife or sharp object
School characteristic	Number of schools		Percent of schools		Number of incidents		Rate per 1,000 students		Number of schools	Percent of schools	Number of incidents	Rate per 1,000 students
All public schools	3,900		4.7		5,000		0.1		32,900	39.7	72,300	1.5

Level²
Primary	1,700		3.5		1,900		0.1		16,400	33.5	28,600	1.3
Middle	900		5.8		1,400		0.1	!	7,900	51.5	18,100	1.9
High school	1,100		9.4		1,600		0.1		6,800	55.2	21,600	1.8
Combined	‡		‡		200	!	0.1	!	1,900	29.4	3,900	1.3

Enrollment size
Less than 300	500	!	2.5	!	500	!	‡		5,000	26.4	7,400	1.8
300–499	1,100		4.5		1,400		0.1	!	8,400	33.4	15,000	1.5
500–999	1,400		4.5		1,800		0.1		13,600	45.5	28,300	1.4
1,000 or more	900		10.5		1,200		0.1		5,900	66.3	21,600	1.6

Urbanicity
City	1,300		6.0		1,800		0.1		8,800	41.1	21,500	1.6
Suburb	1,200		4.9		1,600		0.1		9,200	38.7	21,800	1.3
Town	500	!	3.8	!	600	!	0.1	!	6,000	49.8	12,300	2.1
Rural	1,000		3.8		1,100		0.1		8,800	34.7	16,800	1.5

Crime level where students live³
High	600		9.5		900	!	0.2	!	2,600	43.4	9,300	2.4
Moderate	1,200		6.5		1,500		0.1	!	8,000	43.6	18,500	1.8
Low	1,700		3.6		2,100		0.1		17,000	35.6	32,500	1.2
Mixed	400		3.8		500		0.1		5,300	49.3	11,900	1.7

Percent of combined Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native students
Less than 5 percent	500	!	4.3	!	500	!	0.1	!	3,000	25.6	5,800	1.3
5 to less than 20 percent	400		2.1		500		#		7,200	34.6	13,700	1.2
20 to less than 50 percent	700		3.6		1,000		0.1		8,800	44.2	19,600	1.5
50 percent or more	2,200		7.4		3,000		0.2		13,800	45.8	33,100	1.8

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–20 percent	400		3.1		600		0.1		3,600	26.7	6,800	0.7
21–50 percent	900		3.3		1,000		0.1		10,000	38.0	21,800	1.4
More than 50 percent	2,600		6.0		3,400		0.2		19,200	44.8	43,700	2.0

Percent of students below 15th percentile on standardized tests
0–5 percent	700		2.1		900		#		12,100	36.4	22,500	1.2
6–15 percent	1,700		5.6		2,100		0.1		12,100	40.3	26,700	1.5
More than 15 percent	1,500		7.6		2,000		0.2		8,700	44.2	23,100	2.0

Percent of students likely to attend college
0–35 percent	900		5.1		1,300		0.1	!	7,700	42.2	18,000	2.0
36–60 percent	1,400		6.0		1,800		0.1	!	10,700	45.4	25,400	2.0
More than 60 percent	1,500		3.7		1,900		0.1		14,400	35.3	28,800	1.1

Percent of students who consider academic achievement important
0–25 percent	300	!	7.1	!	400	!	0.2	!	2,100	43.6	5,000	2.2
26–50 percent	600		5.3		1,000		0.1	!	5,500	44.9	15,400	2.3
51–75 percent	1,000		4.5		1,300		0.1		10,400	44.6	23,100	1.8
More than 75 percent	1,900		4.4		2,400		0.1		14,900	35.1	28,800	1.1

Percent male enrollment
0–44 percent	300	!	3.5		400	!	0.1	!	2,900	34.6	5,300	1.3
45–55 percent	3,300		5.0		4,200		0.1		26,500	40.2	60,900	1.5
More than 55 percent	300	!	3.1	!	400	!	0.1	!	3,500	40.9	6,100	1.6

Student-to-FTE ratio⁴
Less than 12 students	600	!	4.5	!	600	!	0.2		4,100	33.3	7,700	1.8
12–16 students	1,500		4.7		2,000		0.1		12,700	38.9	27,200	1.6
More than 16 students	1,800		4.7		2,300		0.1		16,100	42.4	37,400	1.5

Number of classroom changes ⁵
0–3 changes	900		4.5		1,000		0.1	!	5,800	30.6	11,400	1.3
4–6 changes	1,900		5.0		2,300		0.1		15,900	42.6	34,000	1.5
More than 6 changes	1,200		4.4		1,800		0.1		11,200	42.1	27,000	1.6

Regular use of law enforcement ⁶
Regular use	2,500		7.2		3,500		0.1		17,500	49.5	45,900	1.7
No regular use	1,300		2.8		1,500		0.1		15,300	32.4	26,400	1.3

Number of serious discipline problems⁷
No problems	2,100		3.6		2,600		0.1		20,300	34.0	37,700	1.2
1 problem	800		5.9		1,000		0.1		7,200	51.3	17,200	1.9
2 problems	400	!	9.8	!	500	!	0.2	!	2,500	60.2	7,700	2.6
3 or more problems	500		10.5		800	!	0.2	!	2,800	58.5	9,700	2.8

Transfers as a percentage of enrollment⁸
Less than 6 percent	400	!	2.2		600	!	0.1		6,000	29.9	10,900	1.0
6 to less than 11 percent	900		4.7		1,100		0.1	!	7,200	38.9	15,300	1.5
11 to less than 21 percent	1,100		5.0		1,400		0.1		9,900	43.9	22,900	1.7
21 percent or more	1,400		6.6		1,900		0.2		9,800	45.0	23,200	1.9

Prevalence of schoolwide disruptions⁹
No disruptions	3,500		4.4		4,500		0.1		30,200	38.4	65,800	1.5
Any disruptions	400		9.0		500	!	0.2		2,700	63.2	6,500	2.2

Percent of students absent on a daily basis
0–2 percent	‡		‡		200	!	0.1	!	1,700	30.9	3,100	1.1
3–5 percent	2,000		4.1		2,500		0.1		16,600	34.3	31,300	1.2
6–10 percent	1,500		6.0		1,900		0.1		12,700	51.4	31,800	2.1
More than 10 percent	300		6.6		400		0.2		2,000	44.7	6,100	2.2
#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 represents more than 50 percent of the estimate.
¹Firearm or explosive device was defined as "any weapon that is designed to (or may readily be converted to) expel a projectile by the action of an explosive. This includes guns, bombs, grenades, mines, rockets, missiles, pipe bombs, or similar devices designed to explode and capable of causing bodily harm or property damage."
²Primary 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.
³Respondents 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."
⁴Student-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.
⁵Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
⁶Respondents were asked, "During the 2009–10 school year, did you have any security guards, security personnel, or sworn law enforcement officers present at your school at least once a week?"
⁷Serious discipline problems include 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 other than verbal abuse, 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.
⁸Transfers 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.
⁹Schoolwide 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. Responses were provided by the principal or the person most knowledgeable about crime and safety issues at the school.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2009–10 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS).

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