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Table 5. Number and percentage of public 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 2003–04
School characteristic | Possession of a firearm or explosive device1 |
Possession of a knife or sharp object | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of schools |
Percent of schools |
Number of incidents |
Rate per 1,000 students |
Number of schools |
Percent of schools |
Number of incidents |
Rate per 1,000 students |
|||||||||||||
All public schools | 4,875 | 6 | 7,478 | 0.2 | 12,830 | 16 | 30,193 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||
Level2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Primary | 1,777 | 4 | 2,220 | 0.1 | 5,412 | 11 | 8,606 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||
Middle | 1,147 | 8 | 2,009 | 0.2 | 3,617 | 25 | 9,168 | 0.9 | ||||||||||||
High school | 1,503 | 14 | 2,728 | 0.2 | 3,179 | 29 | 10,697 | 0.9 | ||||||||||||
Combined | 449 | 7 | 521 | 0.2 | 621 | 10 | 1,723 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||
Enrollment size | ||||||||||||||||||||
Less than 300 | 530 | 3 | 530 | 0.1 | 1,805 | 10 | 2,440 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||
300–499 | 762 | 3 | 937 | 0.1 | 2,422 | 10 | 3,729 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||
500–999 | 2,080 | 7 | 2,843 | 0.1 | 5,224 | 18 | 10,907 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||
1,000 or more | 1,504 | 17 | 3,169 | 0.2 | 3,378 | 38 | 13,117 | 1.0 | ||||||||||||
Urbanicity | ||||||||||||||||||||
City | 1,999 | 10 | 3,164 | 0.2 | 4,418 | 22 | 11,982 | 0.9 | ||||||||||||
Urban fringe | 1,491 | 6 | 2,550 | 0.1 | 4,178 | 16 | 10,331 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||
Town | 364 | 4 | 500 | 0.1 | 1,918 | 20 | 3,780 | 0.8 | ||||||||||||
Rural | 1,021 | 4 | 1,264 | 0.1 | 2,316 | 10 | 4,100 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||
Crime level where students live3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
High | 852 | 15 | 1,379 | 0.4 | 1,648 | 28 | 5,228 | 1.5 | ||||||||||||
Moderate | 1,573 | 10 | 2,296 | 0.2 | 3,585 | 23 | 9,502 | 0.9 | ||||||||||||
Low | 1,785 | 4 | 2,505 | 0.1 | 4,978 | 10 | 9,978 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||
Mixed | 665 | 6 | 1,298 | 0.2 | 2,619 | 25 | 5,486 | 0.8 | ||||||||||||
Percent minority enrollment4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Less than 5 percent | 248 | 1 | 369 | 0.1 | 1,911 | 11 | 2,727 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||
5 to 20 percent | 930 | 5 | 1,441 | 0.1 | 2,313 | 12 | 4,760 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||
20 to 50 percent | 1,211 | 7 | 1,808 | 0.2 | 3,084 | 17 | 7,780 | 0.7 | ||||||||||||
50 percent or more | 2,433 | 10 | 3,759 | 0.2 | 5,355 | 22 | 14,422 | 0.9 | ||||||||||||
Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch | ||||||||||||||||||||
0–20 percent | 744 | 4 | 1,227 | 0.1 | 2,195 | 12 | 5,341 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||
21–50 percent | 1,392 | 5 | 2,373 | 0.1 | 4,525 | 16 | 10,113 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||
More than 50 percent | 2,739 | 8 | 3,878 | 0.2 | 6,110 | 19 | 14,739 | 0.8 | ||||||||||||
Percent of students below 15th percentile on standardized tests | ||||||||||||||||||||
0–5 percent | 579 | 2 | 861 | 0.1 | 2,463 | 11 | 5,054 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||
6–15 percent | 2,173 | 6 | 3,112 | 0.2 | 4,871 | 14 | 10,783 | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
More than 15 percent | 2,124 | 9 | 3,506 | 0.3 | 5,496 | 24 | 14,356 | 1.0 | ||||||||||||
Percent of students likely to attend college | ||||||||||||||||||||
0–35 percent | 2,121 | 8 | 3,259 | 0.2 | 5,367 | 21 | 12,564 | 0.9 | ||||||||||||
36–60 percent | 1,512 | 7 | 2,225 | 0.2 | 3,721 | 17 | 8,137 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||
More than 60 percent | 1,243 | 4 | 1,994 | 0.1 | 3,741 | 12 | 9,493 | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
Percent of students who consider academic achievement important | ||||||||||||||||||||
0–25 percent | 784 | 10 | 1,275 | 0.3 | 1,637 | 20 | 3,826 | 1.0 | ||||||||||||
26–50 percent | 1,263 | 7 | 1,846 | 0.2 | 3,481 | 20 | 8,601 | 0.9 | ||||||||||||
51–75 percent | 1,407 | 6 | 2,085 | 0.1 | 3,781 | 16 | 9,339 | 0.7 | ||||||||||||
More than 75 percent | 1,421 | 5 | 2,272 | 0.1 | 3,931 | 12 | 8,428 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||
Percent male enrollment | ||||||||||||||||||||
0–44 percent | 447 | 8 | 786 | 0.3 | 1,051 | 19 | 2,348 | 0.9 | ||||||||||||
45–55 percent | 3,994 | 6 | 6,032 | 0.2 | 10,664 | 16 | 24,526 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||
More than 55 percent | 434 | 5 | 661 | 0.2 | 1,114 | 12 | 3,320 | 0.8 | ||||||||||||
Student-to-teacher ratio5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Less than 12 students | 1,325 | 4 | 1,730 | 0.1 | 5,121 | 14 | 10,439 | 0.7 | ||||||||||||
12–16 students | 2,093 | 7 | 3,280 | 0.2 | 5,116 | 17 | 12,022 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||
More than 16 students | 1,458 | 10 | 2,468 | 0.2 | 2,592 | 18 | 7,732 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||
Number of classroom changes6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
0–3 changes | 974 | 5 | 1,161 | 0.1 | 2,305 | 11 | 3,735 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||
4–6 changes | 2,264 | 6 | 3,588 | 0.2 | 6,134 | 16 | 15,105 | 0.7 | ||||||||||||
More than 6 changes | 1,637 | 7 | 2,729 | 0.2 | 4,390 | 20 | 11,354 | 0.8 | ||||||||||||
Regular use of law enforcement7 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Regular use | 3,311 | 9 | 5,509 | 0.2 | 8,499 | 24 | 23,199 | 0.8 | ||||||||||||
No regular use | 1,564 | 4 | 1,970 | 0.1 | 4,331 | 10 | 6,995 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||
Number of serious discipline problems8 | ||||||||||||||||||||
No problems | 1,972 | 4 | 3,079 | 0.1 | 5,684 | 11 | 11,267 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||
1 problem | 923 | 6 | 1,301 | 0.1 | 3,027 | 21 | 6,179 | 0.7 | ||||||||||||
2 problems | 874 | 11 | 1,285 | 0.3 | 1,520 | 20 | 4,618 | 0.9 | ||||||||||||
3 or more problems | 1,107 | 17 | 1,813 | 0.4 | 2,599 | 40 | 8,130 | 1.6 | ||||||||||||
Transfers as a percentage of enrollment9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
0 to 6 percent | 620 | 4 | 1,144 | 0.1 | 1,837 | 12 | 4,516 | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
6 to 11 percent | 780 | 4 | 1,142 | 0.1 | 2,037 | 12 | 4,521 | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
11 to 21 percent | 1,596 | 7 | 2,478 | 0.2 | 3,857 | 16 | 8,761 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||
21 percent or more | 1,879 | 8 | 2,714 | 0.2 | 5,099 | 22 | 12,395 | 0.9 | ||||||||||||
Prevalence of schoolwide disruptions10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
No disruptions | 4,090 | 5 | 6,356 | 0.2 | 11,083 | 15 | 23,942 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||
Any disruptions | 786 | 15 | 1,123 | 0.3 | 1,746 | 34 | 6,251 | 1.4 | ||||||||||||
Percent of students absent on a daily basis | ||||||||||||||||||||
0–2 percent | 140 | 2 | 274 | 0.1 | 701 | 9 | 1,143 | 0.3 | ||||||||||||
3–5 percent | 2,247 | 5 | 3,025 | 0.1 | 5,957 | 13 | 11,558 | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
6–10 percent | 2,097 | 9 | 3,535 | 0.2 | 5,319 | 23 | 14,384 | 0.9 | ||||||||||||
More than 10 percent | 392 | 9 | 645 | 0.2 | 852 | 20 | 3,109 | 1.0 | ||||||||||||
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 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. 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. 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. Combined schools include all other combinations of grades, including K–12 schools. | ||||||||||||||||||||
3 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." | ||||||||||||||||||||
4 These estimates exclude data from Tennessee because schools in this state did not report estimates of student race. | ||||||||||||||||||||
5 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||
6 Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure. | ||||||||||||||||||||
7 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?" | ||||||||||||||||||||
8 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||
9 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||
10 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 that happen 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. Reponses 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. |
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