Table 3. Number and percentage of public schools reporting sexual and physical assaults that occurred at school, the number of sexual and physical assaults, and the rate of sexual and physical assaults per 1,000 students, by selected school characteristics: School year 2007–08

School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS)

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Table 3. Number and percentage of public schools reporting sexual and physical assaults that occurred at school, the number of sexual and physical assaults, and the rate of sexual and physical assaults per 1,000 students, by selected school characteristics: School year 2007–08—Continued (Return to Table 3)

	Physical attack or fight with a weapon^3,4								Physical attack or fight without a weapon^3,4
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	2,470		3		14,050		#		60,330	73	812,150	17

Level⁵
Primary	930		2		7,630	!	#		30,540	62	379,610	17
Middle	810		5		4,650	!	#		13,990	91	239,330	25
High school	690		6		1,730		#		10,940	92	162,790	13
Combined	‡		‡		‡		‡		4,860	73	30,420	11

Enrollment size
Less than 300	‡		‡		‡		‡		11,070	58	72,480	18
300–499	280	!	1	!	500	!	#		16,110	66	138,700	14
500–999	1,340		4		10,960	!	#		24,210	80	382,410	19
1,000 or more	680		7		2,380		#		8,930	96	218,570	16

Urbanicity
City	1,070		5		8,330	!	1	!	17,230	81	299,480	22
Suburb	820		3		3,760	!	#		16,500	69	240,770	14
Town	280	!	2	!	960	!	#		9,130	78	88,080	15
Rural	310	!	1	!	‡		‡		17,470	67	183,820	16

Crime level where students live⁶
High	360	!	6	!	‡		‡		5,300	85	124,680	36
Moderate	790		5		2,820		#		13,860	81	235,480	22
Low	680		1		2,110	!	#		33,190	68	329,860	13
Mixed	650		6		‡		‡		7,980	76	122,130	16

Percent of combined Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and American Indian/ Alaska Native students
Less than 5 percent	60	!	#		100	!	#		8,780	64	62,610	12
5 to less than
20 percent	540		3		1,380	!	#		14,400	67	137,840	11
20 to less than
50 percent	480		2		1,660	!	#		15,350	76	221,030	17
50 percent or more	1,390		5		10,910	!	1	!	21,800	79	390,670	22

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–20 percent	300		2		690	!	#		10,860	61	99,950	8
21–50 percent	810		3		2,550	!	#		21,890	73	277,250	16
More than 50 percent	1,360		4		10,810	!	1	!	27,580	78	434,960	24

Percent of students
below 15th percentile on
standardized tests
0–5 percent	520		2		‡		‡		18,760	65	192,550	12
6–15 percent	960		3		6,170	!	#		24,580	75	331,610	17
More than 15 percent	990		5		‡		‡		16,990	80	287,990	23

Percent of students likely
to attend college
0–35 percent	520		3		‡		‡		16,540	79	257,130	24
36–60 percent	750		3		5,930	!	#		17,820	80	245,500	19
More than 60 percent	1,190		3		2,530		#		25,960	65	309,520	13

Percent of students who
consider academic
achievement important
0–25 percent	190	!	3	!	‡		‡		4,460	81	76,160	28
26–50 percent	560	!	4	!	1,710	!	#		11,920	85	179,140	24
51–75 percent	680		3		6,160	!	#		19,080	77	257,040	18
More than 75 percent	1,040		3		3,070		#		24,870	64	299,810	13

Percent male enrollment
0–44 percent	160	!	2	!	‡		‡		5,020	63	56,550	15
45–55 percent	2,060		3		11,010	!	#		48,430	74	677,040	17
More than 55 percent	240	!	2	!	950	!	#		6,880	68	78,570	17

Student-to-FTE ratio⁷
Less than 12 students	1,280		3		7,200	!	#		28,910	69	328,750	17
12–16 students	660		2		5,210	!	#		21,580	76	312,780	17
More than 16 students	530		4		1,640	!	#		9,830	80	170,620	18

Number of classroom
changes⁸
0–3 changes	210	!	1	!	‡		‡		13,040	59	172,550	18
4–6 changes	1,300		4		9,370	!	#		26,000	72	369,390	17
More than 6 changes	960		4		2,590		#		21,290	86	270,220	17

Regular use of law
enforcement⁹
Regular use	1,900		5		11,160	!	#		31,270	81	500,970	17
No regular use	570	!	1	!	‡		‡		29,060	65	311,190	16

Number of serious
discipline problems¹⁰
No problems	1,030		2		4,330	!	#		36,710	60	390,090	13
1 problem	720		4		3,600	!	‡		14,370	90	215,530	21
2 problems	340	!	7	!	‡		‡		4,710	90	86,000	24
3 or more problems	390		8		‡		‡		4,540	90	120,530	31

Transfers as a percentage
of enrollment¹¹
Less than 6 percent	360		2		700	!	#		12,270	70	94,460	9
6 to less than
11 percent	390		2		1,230	!	#		11,620	70	117,380	12
11 to less than
21 percent	960		4		5,820	!	#		18,700	70	263,900	18
21 percent or more	760		3		‡		‡		17,730	80	336,420	26

Prevalence of schoolwide
disruptions¹²
No disruptions	1,980		3		7,690		#		54,600	70	715,840	17
Any disruptions	490		8		‡		‡		5,730	90	96,310	18

Percent of students
absent on a daily basis
0–2 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		5,110	70	49,990	13
3–5 percent	990		2		4,770	!	#		30,070	70	370,500	15
6–10 percent	1,030		4		4,660	!	#		20,980	80	319,640	20
More than 10 percent	310		6		1,140	!	#		4,170	80	72,030	23
#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 Rape was defined for respondents as "forced sexual intercourse (vaginal, anal, or oral penetration). Includes penetration from a foreign object."
² Sexual battery was defined for respondents as an "incident that includes threatened rape, fondling, indecent liberties, child molestation, or sodomy. Classification of these incidents should take into consideration the age and developmentally appropriate behavior of the offender(s)."
³ Physical attack or fight was defined for respondents as an "actual and intentional touching or striking of another person against his or her will, or the intentional causing of bodily harm to an individual."
⁴ Weapon was defined for respondents as "any instrument or object used with the intent to threaten, injure, or kill. This includes look-alikes if they are used to threaten others."
⁵ 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.
⁶ 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."
⁷ 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.
⁸ Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
⁹ Respondents were asked, "During the 2007–08 school year, did you have any security guards, security personnel, or sworn law enforcement officers present at your school at least once a week?"
¹⁰ Serious discipline problems include student racial/ethnic tensions, student bullying, student sexual harassment of other students, student verbal abuse of teachers, widespread disorder in classrooms, student acts of disrespect for teachers other than verbal abuse, 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.
¹¹ 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.
¹² 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.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2007–08 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2008.

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