Table 5. Number and percentage of public primary 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 2005

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Table 5. Number and percentage of public primary 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 2005–06

	Possession of a firearm or explosive device¹								Possession of a knife or sharp object
School characteristic	Num- ber of schools		Per- cent of schools		Num- ber of incidents		Rate per 1,000 students		Num- of schools		Per- cent of schools		Num- ber of incidents		Rate per 1,000 students
All public schools	2,400		5		5,960	!	#		16,010		33		30,220		1

Enrollment size
Less than 300	‡		‡		‡		‡		2,410		19		3,980		2
300–499	760	!	4	!	760	!	#		5,690		33		9,490		1
500–999	1,350		8		2,970	!	#		7,320		42		15,340		1
1,000 or more	‡		‡		‡		‡		600		48		1,420		1

Urbanicity
City	1,090		8		4,030	!	1	!	5,210		37		10,430		1
Urban fringe	920		5		1,480	!	#		5,410		31		10,320		1
Town	‡		‡		‡		‡		1,730		40		3,030		2
Rural	270	!	2	!	270	!	#		3,660		29		6,430		2

Crime level where students live²
High	720		17		‡		‡		1,940		45		5,290		2
Moderate	890		9		2,020	!	#		4,320		43		8,690		2
Low	470	!	2	!	550	!	#		7,790		27		13,010		1
Mixed	330	!	6	!	‡		‡		1,960		36		3,230		1

Percent minority enrollment³
Less than 5 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		2,260		26				1
5 to less than 20 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		2,930		26		3,910		1
20 to less than 50 percent	220	!	2	!	260	!	#		4,010		38		5,490		1
50 percent or more	1,730		10		5,200	!	1	!	6,210		37		6,080		1
													13,160
Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–20 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		2,280		21		3,380		1
21–50 percent	400	!	3	!	520	!	#		4,580		32		8,010		1
More than 50 percent	1,790		8		5,150	!	#		9,150		39		18,830		2

Percent of students below 15th percentile on standardized tests
0–5 percent	340	!	2	!	420	!	#		4,840		26		7,840		1
6–15 percent	690		4		‡		‡		6,240		33		11,570		1
More than 15 percent	1,370		12		3,470	!	1	!	4,930		44		10,820		2

Percent of students likely to attend college
0–35 percent	1,480		10		4,420	!	1	!	6,570		46		15,220		2
36–60 percent	540	!	4	!	1,070	!	#		4,840		33		8,430		1
More than 60 percent	380	!	2	!	470	!	#		4,600		24		6,570		1

Percent of students who consider academic achievement important
0–25 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		1,270		50		2,770		3
26–50 percent	770		9		‡		‡		3,220		38		7,070		2
51–75 percent	540	!	4	!	700	!	#		5,270		40		8,910		2
More than 75 percent	950		4		2,020	!	#		6,250		26		11,470		1

Percent male enrollment
0–44 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		1,080		35		1,850		1
45–55 percent	1,900		5		3,280		#		13,230		34		24,340		1
More than 55 percent	340	!	5	!	‡		‡		1,700		27		4,030		2

Student-to-FTE ratio⁴
Less than 12 students	1,010		4		‡		‡		7,220		29		13,080		1
12–16 students	640	!	4	!	800	!	#		5,460		35		10,060		1
More than 16 students	740		9		2,630	!	1	!	3,330		39		7,090		1

Number of classroom changes⁵
0–3 changes	920		4		2,990	!	#		6,280		31		11,350		1
4–6 changes	1,230		6		2,670	!	#		7,510		34		13,880		1
More than 6 changes	250	!	‡		300	!	‡		2,220		38		4,990		2

Regular use of law enforcement⁶
Regular use	1,040		8		3,970	!	1	!	5,540		44		11,960		2
No regular use	1,360		4		1,990		#		10,470		29		18,260		1

Number of serious discipline problems⁷
No problems	1,260		3		2,780	!	#		9,350		26		16,290		1
1 problem	690	!	11		1,720	!	1	!	3,210		51		6,780		2
2 problems	270	!	8	!	410	!	#		2,080		61		4,360		3
3 or more problems	‡		‡		‡		‡		1,380		61		2,790		3

Transfers as a percentage of enrollment⁸
Less than 6 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		1,590		21		2,200		1
6 to less than 11 percent	410	!	4	!	‡		‡		3,730		35		7,020		1
11 to less than 21 percent	650	!	5		920	!	#		4,110		31		6,830		1
21 percent or more	1,150		7		3,520	!	#		6,580		38		14,170		2

Prevalence of schoolwide disruptions⁹
No disruptions	2,240		5		5,200	!	#		15,280		33		28,340		1
Any disruptions	‡		‡		‡		‡		730	!	38	!	1,880	!	2

Percent of students absent on a daily basis
0–2 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		1,810		29		3,400		1
3–5 percent	1,090		4		1,300		#		9,060		33		16,500		1
6–10 percent	740	!	6	!	2,410	!	#		4,120		35		9,060		2
More than 10 percent	300	!	9	!	370	!	#		1,020		29		1,260		1
# 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 Firearm 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."
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 Responding schools that did not have race/ethnicity on the sampling frame (2 percent of schools) are excluded from the base.
⁴ 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.
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 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?"
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 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. 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.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2005–06 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2006.

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