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 2009

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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 2009–10


	Disciplinary actions taken for students involved in physical attacks or fights¹ at school
	Removals with no continuing services for at least the remainder of the school year				Transfers to specialized schools²				Out-of-school suspensions lasting 5 or more days but less than the remainder of the school year				Other disciplinary actions³
School characteristic	Number of students		Percent of students		Number of students		Percent of students		Number of students		Percent of students		Number of students		Percent of students
All public schools	13,200		1.6		36,700		4.5		215,200		26.2		582,900		71.1

Level⁴
Primary	‡		‡		3,900	!	1.2		25,700		7.9		262,900		81.1
Middle	1,900	!	0.7	!	12,800	!	4.8		64,800		24.4	!	201,100		75.8
High school	4,100		2.2		17,300		9.5		93,300		50.8		85,100		46.4
Combined	1,300	!	‡		2,600	!	‡		‡		‡		33,800	!	72.0

Enrollment size
Less than 300	1,100	!	1.5	!	‡		‡		9,500	!	12.6		62,200	!	81.8
300–499	‡		‡		‡		‡		23,800		13.1		134,400		73.9
500–999	4,200	!	1.2	!	13,100	!	3.8		91,500		26.6		270,900		78.6
1,000 or more	3,300		1.5		18,800		8.6		90,400		41.5		115,400		53.0

Urbanicity
City	4,100	!	1.5	!	15,000	!	5.5		84,100		30.6		170,400		62.0
Suburb	6,200	!	2.4	!	9,900	!	3.9		64,000		25.2		186,200		73.2
Town	900	!	0.8	!	3,900	!	3.4		16,200		13.9		93,900		80.7
Rural	2,000	!	1.1	!	7,900	!	4.5	!	50,800	!	29.1	!	132,400		75.8

Crime level where students live⁵
High	1,700	!	1.4	!	6,000	!	4.7		46,900		36.6		82,000		64.0
Moderate	4,800	!	2.0	!	10,500	!	4.5		78,000		33.4		161,200		69.0
Low	5,600	!	1.9	!	11,600	!	3.9		54,800		18.4		238,000		79.8
Mixed	1,200		0.7	!	8,700		5.4		35,400		22.0		101,700		63.4

Percent of combined Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native students
Less than 5 percent	600	!	‡		‡		‡		12,100		16.1		60,700	!	80.6
5 to less than 20 percent	1,000	!	0.9	!	3,100	!	2.5		22,000		18.0		101,200		83.0
20 to less than 50 percent	2,800	!	1.4	!	9,800	!	4.8		44,300		21.8		137,500		67.7
50 percent or more	8,800	!	2.1	!	22,200	!	5.3		136,800		32.6		283,400		67.5

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–20 percent	1,100	!	1.6	!	2,900	!	4.1		14,700		21.1		55,500		79.9
21–50 percent	2,000		0.9		9,200		4.1		55,000		24.5		141,300		63.0
More than 50 percent	10,100		1.9	!	24,600	!	4.7		145,400		27.6		386,000		73.3

Percent of students below 15th percentile on standardized tests
0–5 percent	1,800		0.8	!	9,800	!	4.6	!	55,000	!	25.9	!	169,400		79.9
6–15 percent	3,400	!	1.2	!	13,500	!	4.5		67,300		22.7		203,700		68.6
More than 15 percent	8,000	!	2.6	!	13,400	!	4.3		92,900		29.8		209,700		67.4

Percent of students likely to attend college
0–35 percent	2,600		1.1		9,300		3.9		50,500		21.2		166,000		69.9
36–60 percent	6,600	!	2.5	!	12,800	!	4.8		87,700		32.6		194,400		72.3
More than 60 percent	4,000	!	1.3	!	14,600	!	4.7		77,000		24.5		222,500		70.9

Percent of students who consider academic achievement important
0–25 percent	1,000	!	1.8	!	4,200	!	7.6	!	17,500	!	32.1	!	46,000	!	84.2
26–50 percent	2,700		1.7		9,000		5.7		43,400		27.6		107,900		68.6
51–75 percent	5,700	!	2.2	!	10,200	!	3.9		79,300		30.2		182,500		69.5
More than 75 percent	3,800	!	1.1	!	13,400	!	3.9		74,900		21.7		246,500		71.3

Percent male enrollment
0–44 percent	900	!	‡		3,200	!	‡		‡		‡		58,600		85.8
45–55 percent	11,300		1.6		32,300		4.6		166,400		23.9		487,000		69.9
More than 55 percent	1,100	!	2.0	!	1,200	!	2.1	!	15,300	!	27.4		37,300	!	67.0

Student-to-FTE ratio⁶
Less than 12 students	600	!	0.7	!	7,300	!	8.2		17,400		19.6		62,900		71.0
12–16 students	3,400	!	1.0	!	14,500	!	4.5		98,300		30.7		244,800		76.5
More than 16 students	9,200	!	2.2	!	15,000		3.6		99,500		24.2		275,200		66.8

Number of classroom changes ⁷
0–3 changes	‡		‡		‡		‡		7,200		6.4		92,900	!	82.8
4–6 changes	4,800		1.4		16,800		4.8		107,500		30.5		264,500		75.1
More than 6 changes	4,000		1.1		17,800		5.0		100,400		28.2		225,500		63.4

Regular use of law enforcement ⁸
Regular use	8,500		1.7		31,800		6.2		176,800		34.2		351,500		68.1
No regular use	‡		‡		‡		‡		38,400		12.6		231,300		76.1

Number of serious discipline problems⁹
No problems	5,600		1.4		16,700		4.2		101,400		25.7		311,700		79.0
1 problem	1,800	!	0.9	!	8,900		4.6		51,600		26.4		123,500		63.1
2 problems	‡		‡		‡		‡		24,200		25.9		64,200		68.9
3 or more problems	‡		‡		‡		‡		38,000		27.8		83,500		61.1

Transfers as a percentage of enrollment¹⁰
Less than 6 percent	1,100	!	1.0	!	2,800	!	2.7		25,200		24.0		71,400		68.1
6 to less than 11 percent	1,800	!	1.2	!	7,100	!	4.6	!	58,200	!	37.4	!	112,800		72.4
11 to less than 21 percent	3,700	!	1.7	!	13,100	!	5.9		61,500		27.8		137,500		62.2
21 percent or more	6,600	!	2.0	!	13,700	!	4.0		70,200		20.8		261,200		77.2

Prevalence of schoolwide disruptions¹¹
No disruptions	12,900		1.7		32,800		4.4		196,300		26.1		542,900		72.2
Any disruptions	‡		0.5	!	3,900	!	5.8		18,900		27.9		39,900		58.9

Percent of students absent on a daily basis
0–2 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		6,000	!	15.7	!	‡		‡
3–5 percent	5,900	!	1.6	!	16,200	!	4.2		54,600		14.3		309,100		80.9
6–10 percent	6,000	!	1.8	!	17,300	!	5.2		109,900		32.7		214,100		63.8
More than 10 percent	1,200	!	1.8	!	2,400	!	3.7	!	44,600	!	69.8		38,300		59.9

Prevalence of violent incidents ¹²
No violent incidents	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
Any violent incidents	13,200		1.6		36,700		4.5		215,200		26.2		582,900		71.1
#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 represents more than 50 percent of the estimate.
¹1Physical 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."
²Specialized 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."
³Other disciplinary actions include suspension less than 5 days, detention, etc.
⁴Primary 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.
⁵Respondents 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."
⁶Student-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.
⁷Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
⁸Respondents were asked, "During the 2009–10 school year, did you have any security guards, security personnel, or sworn law enforcement officers present at your school at least once a week?"
⁹Serious 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.
¹⁰Transfers 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.
¹¹Schoolwide 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.
¹²Violent incidents include rape or attempted rape, sexual battery other than rape, physical attack or fight with or without a weapon, threat of physical attack with or without a weapon, and robbery with or without a weapon.
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 students 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, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2009–10 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS).

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