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Table 16.  Number and percentage distribution of students in public middle schools involved in the use or possession of a weapon other than a firearm at school receiving various disciplinary actions, by selected school characteristics: School year 2005–06

  Disciplinary actions taken for students involved in the use or
possession of a weapon1 other than a firearm at school
  Removals with no continuing services for at least the remainder of the school year   Transfers to specialized schools2   Out-of-school suspen-
sions lasting 5 or more days
but less than the remain-
der of the school year
  Other disciplinary action3
School characteristic Number   Percent     Number   Percent     Number   Percent     Number   Percent  
All public schools  1,350   6     5,690   25     9,940   43     6,220   27  
                                       
Enrollment size                                       
Less than 300              280 !       82 !
300–499    5 !   400 ! 17 !   1,300   56     500 ! 22 !
500–999  880   7     3,170   25     5,380   43     3,090   25  
1,000 or more  300 ! 5 !   2,110   33     2,980   46     1,050   16  
                                       
Urbanicity                                       
City  460 ! 5 !   2,750   32     3,650   42     1,830   21  
Urban fringe  540 ! 6     2,110   24     4,150   48     1,900   22  
Town  130 !     330 ! 16 !   880   44     670 ! 34  
Rural  220 !     500       1,270   33 !      
                                       
Crime level where students live4                                       
High  330 ! 8 !   1,240   30     1,930   47       15 !
Moderate  490   8     1,610   25     2,840   44     1,450   23  
Low  280 ! 3 !   1,800   21     3,230   38     3,110 ! 37 !
Mixed        1,040   24     1,940   45     1,050   25  
                                       
Percent minority enrollment5                                       
Less than 5 percent        100 ! 9 !   650   56     350 ! 30  
5 to less than 20 percent        390   11     1,790   50     1,290   36  
20 to less than 50 percent  420 ! 6 !   1,350   18 !   2,960   40       35 !
50 percent or more  760   7     3,450   33     4,350   41     1,930   18  
                                       
Percent of students
eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch 
                                     
0–20 percent  170 ! 6 !   450   16     1,550   56     580   21  
21–50 percent  390 ! 4 !   2,060   21     3,890   40     3,440 ! 35  
More than 50 percent  790   7     3,180   30     4,500   42     2,190   21  
                                       
Percent of students below 15th
percentile on standardized tests 
                                     
0–5 percent  420 ! 8 !   1,260   23     2,420   44     1,440   26  
6–15 percent  320 ! 4 !   2,120   27     3,520   44     2,060   26  
More than 15 percent  610   6 !   2,310   24     4,010   42       28 !
                                       
Percent of students likely
to attend college 
                                     
0–35 percent  540 ! 9     1,860   29     2,910   46     1,010   16  
36–60 percent  490   5 !   2,410   23     4,130   39     3,510 ! 33 !
More than 60 percent  320 ! 5 !   1,420   22     2,900   46     1,690   27  
                                       
Percent of students who consider
academic achievement important 
                                     
0–25 percent        680   31     990   45     420 ! 19  
26–50 percent  510   8     1,530   25     2,700   44     1,430   23  
51–75 percent  490   5 !   2,080   23     3,450   38     3,040 ! 34 !
More than 75 percent  230 ! 4 !   1,410   24     2,800   49     1,330   23  
                                       
Percent male enrollment                                       
0–44 percent  #   #     210 ! 30 !   400 ! 56        
45–55 percent  1,270   6     4,980   24     8,750   42     5,810   28  
More than 55 percent        490 ! 30     790   47     310   18  
                                       
Student-to-FTE ratio6                                       
Less than 12 students  480 ! 5 !   1,880   19     3,890   40     3,590 ! 37 !
12–16 students  590   7     2,410   27     4,130   47     1,680   19  
More than 16 students  270 ! 6 !   1,400   31     1,930   42     950   21  
                                       
Number of classroom changes7                                       
0–3 changes  #   #       10 !     40 !   190 ! 50 !
4–6 changes  600   6     2,400   25     4,520   48     1,970   21  
More than 6 changes  750   6     3,250   24     5,270   40     4,050 ! 30 !
                                       
Regular use of law enforcement8                                       
Regular use  1,110   6     4,480   26     7,670   44     4,000   23  
No regular use  240 ! 4 !   1,210   20 !   2,270   38       37 !
                                       
Number of serious
discipline problems9 
                                     
No problems  400 ! 6 !   1,660   26     2,940   46     1,430   22  
1 problem  420 ! 7 !   910   15 !   2,550   42       36 !
2 problems  220 ! 6 !   1,090   30     1,350   37     1,030   28  
3 or more problems  310 ! 4     2,040   29     3,090   44     1,620   23  
                                       
Transfers as a percentage
of enrollment10 
                                     
Less than 6 percent        430 ! 16 !   1,590   60     560   21  
6 to less than 11 percent  210 ! 5 !   420       1,530   38 !     47 !
11 to less than 21 percent  420 ! 6 !   1,430   20     3,310   46     2,030   28  
21 percent or more  680   7     3,410   36     3,520   38     1,750   19  
                                       
Prevalence of schoolwide
disruptions11 
                                     
No disruptions  1,230   6     5,000   25     8,560   43     5,220   26  
Any disruptions        700 ! 22     1,380   43     1,000 ! 31  
                                       
Percent of students
absent on a daily basis 
                                     
0–2 percent        370 !     820          
3–5 percent  630   6     2,560   26     4,540   45     2,300   23  
6–10 percent  470 ! 6     2,340   29     3,310   42     1,850   23  
More than 10 percent        420 !     1,280 ! 55       21 !
                                       
Prevalence of violent incidents12                                       
No violent incidents  #   #     #   #     90 ! 65 !      
Any violent incidents  1,350   6     5,690   25     9,860   43     6,170   27  
# 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 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."
2 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."
3 Other disciplinary actions include suspension less than 5 days, detention, etc.
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: "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. 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.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2005–06 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2006.