Table 18. Number and percentage distribution of students in public schools involved in physical attacks or fights at school receiving various disciplinary actions, by selected school characteristics: School year 2005

School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS)

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Table 18. Number and percentage distribution of students in public schools involved in physical attacks or fights at school receiving various disciplinary actions, by selected school characteristics: School year 2005–06

	Disciplinary actions taken for students involved in physical attacks or fights at school
	Removals with no continuing services for at least the remainder of the school year				Transfers to specialized schools¹				Out-of-school suspensions lasting 5 or more days but less than the remainder of the school year				Other disciplinary action²
School characteristic	Number		Percent		Number		Percent		Number		Percent		Number	Percent
All public schools	13,520		1		49,690		5		265,670		27		649,150	66

Level³
Primary	‡		‡		‡		‡		49,600		16		256,810	81
Middle	4,230		1		16,090		4		98,850		25		271,730	70
High school	5,670		3		22,960		11		102,690		47		87,260	40
Combined	1,670	!	3	!	1,310	!	3	!	14,520		29		33,340	66

Enrollment size
Less than 300	‡		‡		2,460		3	!	14,300	!	17	!	65,140	79
300–499	1,410	!	1	!	10,010	!	5	!	42,590		21		146,780	73
500–999	4,710		1		15,020		4		101,130		24		293,220	71
1,000 or more	7,160		3		22,200		8		107,640		38		144,010	51

Urbanicity
City	5,020		1		23,820		6		123,230		32		228,080	60
Urban fringe	6,330		2		14,160		4		82,630		25		229,840	69
Town	610	!	1	!	2,930		3		20,700		25		59,560	71
Rural	1,570	!	1	!	8,770		5		39,120		22		131,660	73

Crime level where students live⁴
High	2,920	!	2	!	7,250		4		64,990		38		97,910	57
Moderate	5,480		2		13,370		5		75,420		27		183,630	66
Low	3,240		1		19,590		5		86,400		23		258,870	70
Mixed	1,890		1		9,480		6		38,860		24		108,740	68

Percent minority enrollment⁵
Less than 5 percent	820	!	1	!	2,900	!	3	!	18,210		18		80,790	79
5 to 20 percent	2,060	!	1	!	4,050		3		32,090		20		121,280	76
20 to 50 percent	2,590		1		9,790		5		50,890		24		146,500	70
50 percent or more	7,920		2		30,510		6		155,590		33		282,170	59

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–20 percent	1,470		1		4,160		4		32,430		28		79,190	68
21–50 percent	3,730		1		16,810		5		71,140		22		236,430	72
More than 50 percent	8,330		2		28,720		5		162,090		30		333,530	63

Percent of students below 15^th per- centile on stan- dardized tests
0–5 percent	1,690	!	1		8,790		4		46,380		21		160,440	74
6–15 percent	3,270		1		16,760		5		85,340		24		255,400	71
More than 15 percent	8,570		2		24,130		6		133,950		33		233,310	58

Percent of students likely to attend college
0–35 percent	5,570		2	!	15,170		5		97,330		29		218,600	65
36–60 percent	4,840		2		17,890		6		81,150		25		216,830	68
More than 60 percent	3,120		1		16,630	!	5		87,180		27		213,720	67

Percent of students who consider academic achieve- ment important
0–25 percent	950	!	1	!	7,130		7		40,330		41		50,220	51
26–50 percent	2,750	!	1	!	11,740		5		50,630		23		151,190	70
51–75 percent	7,020		2		18,440		5		88,990		26		230,730	67
More than 75 percent	2,800		1		12,370		4		85,720		27		217,010	68

Percent male enrollment
0–44 percent	420	!	1	!	3,870	!	6		26,550		39		38,000	55
45–55 percent	11,380		1		42,200		5		212,320		26		559,270	68
More than 55 percent	‡		‡		3,620		4		26,800	!	32		51,880	62

Student-to-FTE ratio⁶
Less than 12 students	4,330		1		21,770		6		104,780		27		264,530	67
12–16 students	5,430		2		16,760		5		87,190		25		242,540	69
More than 16 students	3,770	!	2	!	11,150		5		73,700		32		142,090	62

Number of class- room changes⁷
0–3 changes	2,590	!	‡		‡		‡		25,080		18		107,140	75
4–6 changes	6,680		1		22,190		5		131,740		28		307,240	66
More than 6 changes	4,250		1		19,610		5		108,840		30		234,770	64

Regular use of law enforcement⁸
Regular use	10,890		2		37,600		6		215,780		33		392,590	60
No regular use	2,630	!	1	!	12,080	!	4	!	49,880		16		256,550	80

Number of serious discipline pro- blems⁹
No problems	4,880		1		15,930		4		99,700		24		288,800	71
1 problem	3,660	!	2	!	9,110		5		41,030		22		130,960	71
2 problems	2,080	!	1	!	8,050		6		33,040		23		103,070	70
3 or more problems	2,910		1	!	16,580	!	7		91,890		39		126,330	53

Transfers as a per- centage of enroll- ment¹⁰
0 to 6 percent	680	!	1	!	1,520		2		32,000		33		61,490	64
6 to 11 percent	2,570		2		6,550		4		33,540		23		103,260	71
11 to 21 percent	3,090		1		11,530		4		76,540		29		172,090	65
21 percent or more	7,190		2		30,090		6		123,580		26		312,310	66

Prevalence of school- wide disruptions¹¹
No disruptions	11,230		1		34,510		4		216,600		26		579,720	69
Any disruptions	2,290	!	2	!	15,180	!	11		49,070		36		69,420	51

Percent of students absent on a daily basis
0–2 percent	‡		‡		1,210	!	3	!	7,500		17		35,100	80
3–5 percent	5,620		1		17,450		4		79,810		19		309,060	75
6–10 percent	5,750		1		25,240		6		131,290		32		249,450	61
More than 10 percent	2,010	!	2	!	5,780		5		47,070		43		55,540	50
! 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 Specialized school was defined for respondents as "a school that is specifically for students who were referred for disciplinary reasons, although the school may also have students who were referred for other reasons. The school may be at the same location as your school."
² Other disciplinary actions include suspension less than 5 days, detention, etc.
³ 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.
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 Responding schools that did not have race/ethnicity on the sampling frame (2 percent of schools) are excluded from the base.
⁶ 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.
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 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?"
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.
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. The number of incidents, students, or disciplinary actions reported for a specified offense will not always be equal. This may be because a single incident could involve multiple victims or because no disciplinary action is taken for an incident. 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 (NCES), 2005–06 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2006.

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