FIGURE 1. Percentage of students ages 12 through 18 who reported being called a hate-related word or seeing hate-related graffiti at school, by year: Selected school years 2000–01 through 2012–13
NOTE: Beginning in 2007, the time frame that students were asked to consider in answering the survey questions was the
school year, whereas in prior survey years the time frame was the previous 6 months. Qualitative testing showed that
estimates from 2007 onward are comparable to previous years. Tabular data for percentages are available in table 10.1 at
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015072.pdf.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime
Victimization Survey (NCVS), various years, 2001–2013.
Data from the School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey, a nationally representative sample survey of students ages 12 through 18, were used to analyze trends in hate-related words. The SCS study is completed every other year. Data from seven consecutive surveys are included in this report: school years 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010–11, and 2012–13. Analysis is restricted to the SCS respondents in each year who were enrolled in grades 6 through 12, and did not receive any part of their education through homeschooling during the school year. In the study, students were asked if they had been called a hate-related word in the school building, on school property, on the school bus, or going to or from school, or if they had seen hate-related graffiti in school. Specifically, students were asked if during the school year anyone called them an insulting or bad name at school having to do with their race, religion, ethnic background or national origin, disability, gender, or sexual orientation (hate-related words). Students were also asked if they had seen any hate-related words or symbols (graffiti) written in school classrooms, school hallways, or outside of the school building.
Among students between the ages of 12 and 18, the percentages who reported being called a hate-related word or seeing hate-related graffiti at school were lower in 2013 than they were in 2001.
- The percentage of students ages 12–18 who reported seeing hate-related graffiti at school fell from 36 percent in 2001 to 25 percent in 2013.
- Seven percent of students ages 12–18 reported being called a hate-related word at school in 2013. This was the lowest percentage reporting such an experience across the 2001–13 time period.
FIGURE 2. Among students ages 12 through 18 who reported being called hate-related words at school, percentage reporting various types of hate-related words, by year: School years 2000–01 and 2012–13
NOTE: Categories do not sum to 100 percent because students can report being called more than one type of hate-related word. Beginning in
2007, the time frame that students were asked to consider in answering the survey questions was the school year, whereas in prior survey
years the time frame was the previous 6 months. Qualitative testing showed that estimates from 2007 onward are comparable to previous
years. Tabular data for percentages and their standard errors are available at https://nces.ed.gov/programs/crime/crime_tables.asp.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey
(NCVS), various years, 2001–2013.
Among students ages 12 through 18 who reported being called a hate-related word at school, the percentage of students called a gender-based hate word decreased from 2001 to 2013, while the percentages of those students called race-, ethnically-, and sexual orientation-based hate words increased.
While the percentage of students who reported being called any hate-related word at school was lower in 2013 than in 2001 (figure 1), among those reporting they were called hate-related words the distribution among the types of words heard has changed (figure 2).
- The percentage of students who were called hate words associated with race was greater in 2013 (50 percent), as compared to 2001 (34 percent).
- The percentage of students who reported being called ethnically based hate words was greater in 2013 (29 percent), as compared to 2001 (22 percent).
- The percentage of students who were called genderbased hate words was lower in 2013 (15 percent), as compared to 2001 (23 percent).
- The percentage of students who reported being called a hate word associated with sexual orientation was greater in 2013 (16 percent), as compared to 2001 (10 percent).
Data in this report are from the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey, a nationally representative sample survey of students ages 12 through 18. To learn more about the survey, visit: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/crime. For questions about content or to view this report online, go to: https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2016166.
This NCES Data Point presents information on education topics of current interest. It was authored by Melissa Cidade and Deborah Lessne of Synergy Enterprises, Inc. All estimates shown are based on samples and are subject to sampling variability. All differences discussed in this report are statistically significant at the .05 level. In the design, conduct, and data processing of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) surveys, efforts are made to minimize the effects of nonsampling errors, such as item nonresponse, measurement error, data processing error, or other systematic error.
