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Table 26.  Mean number of practices for monitoring access to campus used per public high school, and the percentage of public high schools that monitored access to campus in specified ways, by selected school characteristics: School year 2003–04


School characteristic   Percentage of schools that monitored access to campus in specified ways
Mean number of practices for monitoring access to campus used per school1 Require visitors to sign or check in Control access to school buildings during school hours2 Control access to school grounds during school hours3 Require students to pass through metal detectors each day Require visitors to pass through metal detectors Perform one or more random metal detector checks on students Close the campus for most students during lunch
All public schools  3.1 98 79 38 4 3 13 73
                 
Enrollment size  2.6 96 69 29 3 2 7 57
Less than 300  3.0 99 80 27 5 3 10 74
300–499  3.0 98 80 30 4 2 13 77
500–999  3.3 99 81 50 4 3 16 76
1,000 or more                 
                 
Urbanicity  3.6 100 80 53 14 9 29 74
City  3.1 99 83 43 # # 8 79
Urban fringe  2.8 95 76 27 1 1 12 63
Town  2.8 98 75 28 2 1 8 71
Rural                 
                 
Crime level where students live4                 
High  4.2 100 85 70 26 19 37 87
Moderate  3.5 98 86 49 8 4 23 77
Low  2.8 98 77 31 # # 6 71
Mixed  3.1 100 76 41 3 3 17 70
                 
Percent minority enrollment5                 
Less than 5 percent  2.8 97 80 22 1 1 5 73
5 to 20 percent  2.8 98 78 28 1 # 4 71
20 to 50 percent  3.0 99 75 41 # # 10 73
50 percent or more  3.7 99 83 61 12 9 30 76
                 
Percent of students
eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch 
               
0–20 percent  2.8 98 77 29 1 1 4 70
21–50 percent  3.0 98 79 37 1 1 10 75
More than 50 percent  3.6 99 80 53 12 8 32 75
                 
Percent of students below 15th
percentile on standardized tests 
               
0–5 percent  3.0 97 81 34 2 2 11 70
6–15 percent  3.0 98 78 36 3 2 12 75
More than 15 percent  3.3 100 78 47 7 5 17 73
                 
Percent of students likely
to attend college 
               
0–35 percent  3.3 99 82 45 6 5 19 71
36–60 percent  3.1 98 78 39 3 2 14 74
More than 60 percent  3.0 98 78 35 3 2 10 73
                 
Percent of students who consider
academic achievement important 
               
0–25 percent  3.0 99 77 36 2 2 14 69
26–50 percent  3.1 96 76 35 5 4 18 71
51–75 percent  3.1 99 80 39 2 1 11 75
More than 75 percent  3.1 98 79 40 5 3 12 74
                 
Percent male enrollment                 
0–44 percent  3.3 97 83 35 11 10 28 70
45–55 percent  3.0 98 78 38 3 2 12 73
More than 55 percent  3.3 100 86 45 2 2 11 82
                 
Student-to-teacher ratio6                 
Less than 12 students  2.9 97 78 30 4 3 11 67
12–16 students  3.2 99 80 39 4 2 14 77
More than 16 students  3.2 99 77 51 3 3 14 76
                 
Number of classroom changes7                 
0–3 changes  3.3 100 77 59 3 3 14 72
4–6 changes  3.1 99 80 42 3 2 14 73
More than 6 changes  3.0 97 78 32 5 3 12 74
                 
Regular use of law enforcement8                 
Regular use  3.2 99 80 43 5 3 17 76
No regular use  2.7 96 75 26 2 1 4 67
                 
Number of serious
discipline problems9 
               
No problems  3.0 98 78 37 3 2 12 70
1 problem  3.1 98 81 37 2 2 11 78
2 problems  3.3 100 78 45 9 5 17 74
3 or more problems  3.3 98 82 41 4 2 17 81
                 
Transfers as a percentage
of enrollment10 
               
0 to 6 percent  3.0 98 78 39 6 4 12 67
6 to 11 percent  3.0 100 83 30 1 1 11 75
11 to 21 percent  3.1 97 80 39 2 2 13 76
21 percent or more  3.2 100 75 43 6 3 16 74
                 
Prevalence of schoolwide
disruptions11 
               
No disruptions  3.0 98 79 37 3 2 12 73
Any disruptions  3.3 100 80 45 7 5 21 76
                 
Percent of students
absent on a daily basis 
               
0–2 percent  3.0 99 73 44 # # 6 75
3–5 percent  2.9 98 76 34 2 1 9 68
6–10 percent  3.1 98 80 38 1 2 13 77
More than 10 percent  3.8 100 89 50 19 12 32 74
                 
Prevalence of violent incidents12                 
No violent incidents  3.2 94 89 40 6 6 15 70
Any violent incidents  3.1 99 78 38 4 2 13 73
# Rounds to zero.
1 Data represent the mean number of "yes" responses to the practices listed.
2 Examples of controlled access to school buildings provided to respondents were locked or monitored doors.
3 Examples of controlled access to school grounds provided to respondents were locked or monitored gates.
4 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."
5 These estimates exclude data from Tennessee because schools in this state did not report estimates of student race.
6 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.
7 Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
8 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?"
9 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.
10 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.
11 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.
12 Violent incidents include 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: 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, National Center for Education Statistics, School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2004.