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Table 26.  Mean number of practices for monitoring access to campus used per school, and the percentage of public primary schools that monitored access to campus in specified ways, by selected school characteristics: School year 2005–06
      Percentage of schools that monitored access to campus in specified ways 
School characteristic  Mean number of practices for monitoring access to campus used per school1   Require visitors to sign or check in   Control access to school buildings during school hours2   Control access to school grounds during school hours3   Require students to pass through metal detectors each day   Require visitors to pass through metal detectors   Perform one or more random metal detector checks on students   Close the campus for most students during lunch
All public schools  3   97   88   44   1 ! 1 ! 2   60
                               
Enrollment size                               
Less than 300  3   90   77   34   #   #     60
300–499  3   99   93   43   #       57
500–999  3   100   89   51   2 ! 1 ! 3 ! 61
1,000 or more  3   100   97   70   #   #     68
                               
Urbanicity                               
City  3   99   91   55       5 ! 63
Urban fringe  3   99   90   46         57
Town  3   98   87   42         64
Rural  3   92   82   32   #   #     59
                               
Crime level where students live4                               
High  3   100   91   57       7 ! 67
Moderate  3   98   87   48       4 ! 63
Low  3   96   87   39         57
Mixed  3   96   91   55   #       65
                               
Percent minority enrollment5                               
Less than 5 percent  3   88   83   37   #   #   #   60
5 to less than 20 percent  3   98   88   37   #   #     53
20 to less than 50 percent  3   100   87   40   #   #     65
50 percent or more  3   99   90   58   2 ! 2 ! 5   63
                               
Percent of students
eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch 
                             
0–20 percent  3   94   85   39   #   #     51
21–50 percent  3   96   86   43   #   #   #   61
More than 50 percent  3   99   90   48   1 ! 1 ! 4   64
                               
Percent of students below 15th
percentile on standardized tests 
                             
0–5 percent  3   95   88   45       2 ! 57
6–15 percent  3   98   87   42         61
More than 15 percent  3   99   89   48       4 ! 63
                               
Percent of students likely
to attend college 
                             
0–35 percent  3   98   89   45       4 ! 66
36–60 percent  3   97   84   38         61
More than 60 percent  3   97   90   49       1 ! 54
                               
Percent of students who consider
academic achievement important 
                             
0–25 percent  3   97   83   54   #   #   #   64
26–50 percent  3   96   84   44   #   #     58
51–75 percent  3   96   88   39       2 ! 66
More than 75 percent  3   98   90   47   1 ! 1 ! 3 ! 57
                               
Percent male enrollment                               
0–44 percent  3   96   90   50         50
45–55 percent  3   97   88   45   1 ! 1 ! 2 ! 62
More than 55 percent  3   96   85   37   #   #     54
                               
Student-to-FTE ratio6                               
Less than 12 students  3   95   88   41       2 ! 56
12–16 students  3   99   90   43         61
More than 16 students  3   98   86   57       4 ! 68
                               
Number of classroom changes7                               
0–3 changes  3   96   88   50     1 ! 3 ! 58
4–6 changes  3   98   88   40     #   2 ! 60
More than 6 changes  3   97   88   40         65
                               
Regular use of law enforcement8                               
Regular use  3   99   87   52   2 ! 2 ! 7   63
No regular use  3   97   88   42   #   #     59
                               
Number of serious
discipline problems9 
                             
No problems  3   97   88   45     1 ! 2 ! 57
1 problem  3   98   86   45         70
2 problems  3   97   94   41   #   #   #   67
3 or more problems  3   100   84   45   #   #     62
                               
Transfers as a percentage
of enrollment10 
                             
Less than 6 percent  3   91   85   45         55
6 to less than 11 percent  3   98   86   48   #       62
11 to less than 21 percent  3   98   86   39     #     54
21 percent or more  3   99   92   46       2 ! 65
                               
Prevalence of schoolwide
disruptions11 
                             
No disruptions  3   97   88   45   1 ! 1 ! 2   59
Any disruptions  3   100   96   42   #   #     78
                               
Percent of students
absent on a daily basis 
                             
0–2 percent  3   92   78   41         53
3–5 percent  3   98   89   45       2 ! 61
6–10 percent  3   98   90   47   #   #   3 ! 63
More than 10 percent  3   97   88   42         54
                               
Prevalence of violent incidents12                               
No violent incidents  3   99   90   45   1 ! 1 ! 3   64
Any violent incidents  3   94   83   43         52
# 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 Data represent the mean number of "yes" responses to the practices listed.
2 Examples of controlled access to school buildings provided to respondents were locked or monitored doors.
3 Examples of controlled access to school grounds provided to respondents were locked or monitored gates.
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.
12 Violent 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: Responses were provided by the principal or the person most knowledgeable about crime and safety issues at the school. Detail may not sum to totals, because schools may have reported using more than one of these practices. 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.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2005–06 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2006.