Table 5. Number and percentage of public high 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

Crime and Safety Surveys

Publications & Products|SSOCS & SCS Table Library|Staff

Back

Download Excel

(64 KB)

Download SE Excel

(56 KB)

Table 5. Number and percentage of public high 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	1,680		14		2,770		#	7,610	65	27,580		2

Enrollment size
Less than 300	‡		‡		‡		‡	800	37	1,810		4
300–499	130	!	8	!	130	!	#	800	50	1,720		3
500–999	370		13		540		#	1,790	62	5,040		2
1,000 or more	1,090		21		2,000		#	4,210	83	19,010		2

Urbanicity
City	520		21		1,220		#	1,870	75	9,210		2
Urban fringe	540		14		810		#	2,630	69	9,010		2
Town	170		11		190		#	1,000	67	3,210		3
Rural	450		12		550		#	2,110	54	6,150		3

Crime level where students live²
High	230		36		520	!	1	540	84	3,480		4
Moderate	470		21		780	!	#	1,590	70	6,680		3
Low	730		10		1,080		#	4,290	60	13,030		2
Mixed	250		15		380		#	1,190	72	4,390		2

Percent minority enrollment³
Less than 5 percent	200		8		250	!	#	1,310	52	3,050		2
5 to less than 20 percent	380		11		510		#	2,230	65	6,570		2
20 to less than 50 percent	350		13		670	!	#	1,800	69	6,960		2
50 percent or more	680		24		1,250		#	2,020	71	10,230		3

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–20 percent	390		10		520		#	2,290	62	6,390		2
21–50 percent	760		16		1,300		#	3,170	66	12,240		2
More than 50 percent	530		17		950		#	2,150	68	8,950		3

Percent of students below 15th percentile on standardized tests
0–5 percent	250		7		370		#	2,030	54	6,260		2
6–15 percent	710		14		960		#	3,210	65	10,710		2
More than 15 percent	720		24		1,430		#	2,370	79	10,600		3

Percent of students likely to attend college
0–35 percent	370		18		760	!	#	1,590	75	6,210		3
36–60 percent	620		18		1,000		#	2,370	67	9,050		3
More than 60 percent	680		11		1,000		#	3,650	60	12,320		2

Percent of students who consider academic achievement important
0–25 percent	210		22		310		#	690	72	2,810		3
26–50 percent	260		12		630	!	#	1,490	67	5,210		3
51–75 percent	620		16		980		#	2,680	70	10,900		3
More than 75 percent	580		12		840		#	2,750	59	8,660		2

Percent male enrollment
0–44 percent	170		23		250	!	#	390	53	1,660		2
45–55 percent	1,360		14		2,170		#	6,670	67	23,590		2
More than 55 percent	150		15		340	!	#	550	54	2,320		3

Student-to-FTE ratio⁴
Less than 12 students	460		9		610		#	2,570	51	7,420		2
12–16 students	690		17		1,110		#	2,970	73	11,410		2
More than 16 students	520		20		1,040		#	2,070	80	8,740		2

Number of classroom changes⁵
0–3 changes	60	!	9	!	‡		‡	440	65	1,480		2
4–6 changes	980		17		1,630		#	3,990	69	15,910		2
More than 6 changes	640		12		960		#	3,190	61	10,180		2

Regular use of law enforcement⁶
Regular use	1,430		16		2,480		#	6,360	72	24,580		2
No regular use	250		9		280		#	1,250	43	2,990		2

Number of serious discipline problems⁷
No problems	860		12		1,350		#	3,950	57	11,780		2
1 problem	200		10		420		#	1,390	72	5,640		3
2 problems	250		19		450	!	#	950	74	4,660		3
3 or more problems	370		24		550		#	1,320	85	5,490		3

Transfers as a percentage of enrollment⁸
Less than 6 percent	210		8		570	!	#	1,240	49	3,640		2
6 to less than 11 percent	300		12		400		#	1,530	62	4,980		2
11 to less than 21 percent	510		17		800		#	2,180	71	7,960		2
21 percent or more	660		18		990		#	2,650	74	10,990		3

Prevalence of schoolwide disruptions⁹
No disruptions	1,230		12		2,060		#	6,320	62	22,210		2
Any disruptions	440		28		700		#	1,290	82	5,360		2

Percent of students absent on a daily basis
0–2 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡	260	59	550	!	2
3–5 percent	540		12		760		#	2,580	56	7,960		2
6–10 percent	830		16		1,390		#	3,830	72	13,570		2
More than 10 percent	290		23		590		#	940	73	5,500		4
# 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. 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.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2005–06 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2006.

Back

Download Excel

(64 KB)

Download SE Excel

(56 KB)