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Table 20.  Percentage distribution of public middle schools reporting selected percentages of students with a parent or guardian who attended an open house or back-to-school night or regularly scheduled parent-teacher conferences, by selected school characteristics: School year 2005–06
  Percent of students with a parent or guardian who attended an open house or back-to-school night   Percent of students with a parent or guardian who attended regularly scheduled parent-teacher conferences
School characteristic  0–25 percent   26–50 percent   51–75 percent   76–100 percent   School does not offer     0–25 percent   26–50 percent   51–75 percent   76–100 percent   School does not offer  
All public schools  4   22   37   36   1 !   10   22   30   33   5  
                                           
Enrollment size                                           
Less than 300  10 ! 16   40   32       10   20   23   44    
300–499  3 ! 22   33   41       8   19   35   35   4 !
500–999  3   24   38   35   #     9   24   30   32   5  
1,000 or more  3 ! 21   37   38       11   26   31   24   8  
                                           
Urbanicity                                           
City  7 ! 27   37   30   #     14   26   29   27   4 !
Urban fringe  3   18   37   41       8   20   30   36   6  
Town  #   22   41   36         24   31   37   4 !
Rural  6 ! 22   37   35       11   21   29   34   4 !
                                           
Crime level where
students live1 
                                         
High  10 ! 37   38   15   #     22   33   33   12   #  
Moderate  6 ! 28   43   22       12   23   38   23   5 !
Low  3 ! 16   36   45       6   19   28   42   6  
Mixed  4 ! 25   36   34       13   28   26   28   4 !
                                           
Percent minority
enrollment2 
                                         
Less than 5 percent    20   32   45       6 ! 21   24   44   5 !
5 to less than 20 percent  3 ! 10   38   48   #     4 ! 14   31   46   5  
20 to less than 50 percent    21   40   38       10   22   32   31   5 !
50 percent or more  9   32   39   20   #     14   30   31   20   4 !
                                           
Percent of student
eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch 
                                         
0–20 percent    6   32   59       5   15   24   50   7  
21–50 percent  3 ! 20   39   37       7   21   32   34   6  
More than 50 percent  7   32   39   21       15   29   32   22   3 !
                                           
Percent of students
below 15th percentile on
standardized tests 
                                         
0–5 percent    16   34   49       6   20   27   42   5  
6–15 percent  5 ! 21   40   34       9   21   32   34   5  
More than 15 percent  7   28   39   26       15   26   30   24   5  
                                           
Percent of students likely
to attend college 
                                         
0–35 percent  7   32   36   24       17   27   31   23   3 !
36–60 percent  5   24   42   29   #     9   28   32   27   4  
More than 60 percent    13   34   50       5   14   27   46   7  
                                           
Percent of students who consider
academic achievement important 
                                         
0–25 percent  12 ! 41   29   18   #     27   20   36   14 !  
26–50 percent  7 ! 27   41   24       12   31   27   27   4 !
51–75 percent  2 ! 23   42   33   #     9   24   31   31   5  
More than 75 percent  2 ! 12   33   52       4   15   29   45   6  
                                           
Percent male enrollment                                           
0–44 percent    27   40   22   #     17 ! 29   26   26    
45–55 percent  4   22   36   37   1 !   9   22   29   35   5  
More than 55 percent    17   47   35   #       21   44   26    
                                           
Student-to-FTE ratio3                                           
Less than 12 students  5   24   36   35       11   22   28   34   5  
12–16 students  4 ! 20   37   39       9   23   32   32   4  
More than 16 students  4 ! 19   44   33   #     8   19   29   36   7 !
                                           
Number of classroom changes4                                           
0–3 changes      34   47   #         27   60   #  
4–6 changes  3 ! 23   38   36   #     11   22   34   30   4  
More than 6 changes  5   22   37   35   1 !   10   23   28   34   6  
                                           
Regular use of law enforcement5                                           
Regular use  4   22   38   34   1 !   11   24   32   28   6  
No regular use  4 ! 20   36   39       8   20   26   43   4  
                                           
Number of serious
discipline problems6 
                                         
No problems  3 ! 16   36   44       9   19   27   40   5  
1 problem  4 ! 19   40   37       7   21   34   34   4  
2 problems    30   38   29   #     11   29   28   28   5 !
3 or more problems  10   35   37   18       16   27   34   20   4 !
                                           
Transfers as a percentage
of enrollment7 
                                         
Less than 6 percent    13   31   53   #     7   15   27   44   7  
6 to less than 11 percent  5 ! 17   36   41       9   18   25   42   6 !
11 to less than 21 percent  3   20   42   34       9   23   31   33   4  
21 percent or more  5 ! 32   38   25       13   28   34   21   4  
                                           
Prevalence of schoolwide
disruptions8 
                                         
No disruptions  4   21   37   37   1 !   9   22   29   35   5  
Any disruptions  4 ! 30   39   27   #     15   29   35   21    
                                           
Percent of students
absent on a daily basis 
                                         
0–2 percent    20   21 ! 53         11 ! 34   48    
3–5 percent  3   17   39   41   1 !   8   22   28   35   6  
6–10 percent  7   27   39   27   #     13   24   30   30   3  
More than 10 percent    41   33   25   #     12 ! 26   42   20 ! #  
                                           
Prevalence of violent incidents9                                           
No violent incidents    9 ! 17   70   #       16 ! 18 ! 61   #  
Any violent incidents  4   22   39   34   1 !   10   23   31   32   5  
# 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 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."
2 Responding schools that did not have race/ethnicity on the sampling frame (2 percent of schools) are excluded from the base.
3 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.
4 Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
5 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?"
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 Violent incidents include rape or attempted rape, sexual battery other than rape, physical attack or fight with or without a weapon, threat of physical attack with or without a weapon, and robbery with or without a weapon.
NOTE: 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. 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.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2005–06 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2006.