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Table 6.  Number and percentage of public primary schools reporting distribution of illegal drugs, possession or use of alcohol or illegal drugs, and incidents of vandalism at school, the number of incidents reported, and the rate of incidents per 1,000 students, by selected school characteristics: School year 2003–04


School characteristic Distribution of illegal drugs   Possession or use of alcohol or illegal drugs   Vandalism1
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   Number of schools Percent of schools Number of incidents Rate per 1,000 students
All public schools 712 1 1,040 #   3,058 6 5,801 0   20,556 42 60,609 3
                             
Enrollment size                             
Less than 300  106 1 106 #   845 7 1,163 1   4,114 33 8,462 3
300–499  254 1 254 #   980 6 1,899 0   7,684 44 18,619 3
500–999  285 2 343 #   1,081 6 2,258 0   7,819 44 27,420 2
1,000 or more  67 5 337 0   152 11 480 0   939 69 6,108 4
                             
Urbanicity                             
City  128 1 128 #   761 6 1,262 0   6,488 48 24,867 4
Urban fringe  190 1 248 #   535 3 2,064 0   7,847 46 21,221 2
Town  110 2 110 0   449 9 560 0   1,968 38 4,484 2
Rural  284 2 554 0   1,313 10 1,915 0   4,252 32 10,036 2
                             
Crime level where students live2                             
High  128 3 128 0   289 7 578 0   2,170 54 11,350 6
Moderate  147 2 147 #   513 6 680 0   4,327 48 15,271 3
Low  437 1 765 0   1,773 6 4,060 0   11,311 39 27,868 2
Mixed  # # # #   483 7 483 0   2,748 42 6,120 2
                             
Percent minority enrollment3                             
Less than 5 percent  297 3 355 0   765 8 2,119 1   3,705 40 8,541 3
5 to 20 percent  113 1 113 #   533 4 762 0   5,050 43 10,781 2
20 to 50 percent  # # # #   532 5 1,100 0   4,119 38 12,688 3
50 percent or more  234 1 234 #   946 6 1,278 0   7,185 46 26,731 3
                             
Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch                             
0–20 percent  132 1 132 #   525 5 1,508 0   5,040 46 10,839 2
21–50 percent  238 2 296 #   836 5 1,451 0   6,060 38 18,717 3
More than 50 percent  342 2 612 0   1,698 8 2,842 0   9,456 43 31,053 3
                             
Percent of students below 15th percentile on standardized tests                             
0–5 percent  242 2 242 #   981 6 2,282 0   6,170 40 15,592 2
6–15 percent  195 1 523 0   1,248 6 2,011 0   8,778 43 25,614 3
More than 15 percent  275 2 275 #   829 6 1,508 0   5,607 43 19,403 3
                             
Percent of students likely to attend college                             
0–35 percent  180 1 450 0   841 5 1,638 0   6,831 42 24,521 3
36–60 percent  220 2 278 #   1,152 8 1,742 0   5,853 43 16,279 3
More than 60 percent  312 2 312 #   1,065 6 2,421 0   7,871 42 19,810 2
                             
Percent of students who consider academic achievement important                             
0–25 percent  140 3 409 0   140 3 631 0   1,968 48 8,227 5
26–50 percent  155 1 213 #   758 7 1,445 0   3,854 37 13,214 3
51–75 percent  176 1 176 #   473 4 528 0   6,358 47 17,708 3
More than 75 percent  242 1 242 #   1,687 8 3,197 0   8,375 40 21,460 2
                             
Percent male enrollment                             
0–44 percent  41 1 41 #   221 7 474 0   917 29 1,975 2
45–55 percent  672 2 999 0   2,507 6 4,860 0   16,667 42 50,600 3
More than 55 percent  # # # #   330 5 467 0   2,971 47 8,035 3
                             
Student-to-teacher ratio4                              
Less than 12 students  429 2 757 0   1,608 8 2,938 0   8,530 40 22,938 3
12–16 students  283 2 283 #   1,088 6 2,332 0   7,566 40 22,452 2
More than 16 students  # # # #   362 4 531 0   4,460 50 15,219 3
  . . .                      
Number of classroom changes5                             
0–3 changes  113 1 113 #   622 3 852 0   8,186 42 25,655 3
4–6 changes  430 2 700 0   2,011 9 3,937 0   10,082 43 28,409 3
More than 6 changes  169 3 227 0   426 8 1,012 0   2,288 41 6,545 3
                             
Regular use of law enforcement6                             
Regular use  433 3 761 0   1,435 9 3,739 0   7,344 45 24,182 3
No regular use  279 1 279 #   1,623 5 2,061 0   13,211 41 36,427 3
                             
Number of serious discipline problems7                             
No problems  492 1 762 #   2,063 6 4,118 0   13,292 39 34,437 2
1 problem  220 3 278 0   860 10 1,492 0   4,482 51 16,611 3
2 problems  # # # #   55 2 110 0   1,633 45 5,809 4
3 or more problems  # # # #   80 4 80 0   1,148 51 3,753 4
                             
Transfers as a percentage of enrollment8                             
0 to 6 percent  70 1 70 #   275 3 275 0   3,569 42 9,758 3
6 to 11 percent  242 2 242 #   603 6 1,986 0   4,189 40 11,683 2
11 to 21 percent  56 # 56 #   582 4 722 0   6,097 42 17,122 2
21 percent or more  344 2 672 0   1,598 11 2,818 0   6,701 44 22,045 3
                             
Prevalence of schoolwide disruptions9                             
No disruptions  640 1 968 #   2,885 6 5,339 0   19,547 41 56,298 3
Any disruptions  72 5 72 0   173 11 462 1   1,009 66 4,311 3
                             
Percent of students absent on a daily basis                             
0–2 percent  55 1 55 #   182 3 182 0   2,035 38 6,331 3
3–5 percent  361 1 361 #   1,762 6 2,765 0   13,112 44 32,481 2
6–10 percent  255 2 583 0   1,016 9 2,715 1   4,620 40 19,168 4
More than 10 percent  41 2 41 #   98 5 139 0   789 39 2,630 3
# Rounds to zero.
1 Vandalism was defined for respondents as "the willful damage or destruction of school property including bombing, arson, graffiti, and other acts that cause property damage. Includes damage caused by computer hacking."
2 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."
3 These estimates exclude data from Tennessee because schools in this state did not report estimates of student race.
4 Student-to-teacher 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.
5 Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
6 Respondents were asked, "During the 2003–2004 school year, did you have any sworn law enforcement officers, security guards, or security personnel present at your school on a regular basis?"
7 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.
8 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.
9 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 that happen 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 school.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2004.