Table 5. Number and percentage of public high schools reporting incidents of possession of a firearm or explosive device or possession of a knife or sharp object at school, the number of incidents, and the rate of incidents per 1,000 students, by selected school characteristics: School year 2003

Crime and Safety Surveys

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Table 5. Number and percentage of public high schools reporting incidents of possession of a firearm or explosive device or possession of a knife or sharp object at school, the number of incidents, and the rate of incidents per 1,000 students, by selected school characteristics: School year 2003–04

School characteristic	Possession of a firearm or explosive device¹				Possession of a knife or sharp object
School characteristic	Number of schools	Percent of schools	Number of incidents	Rate per 1,000 students	Number of schools	Percent of schools	Number of incidents	Rate per 1,000 students
All public schools	1,503	14	2,728	0.2	3,179	29	10,697	0.9

Enrollment size
Less than 300	73	4	73	0.2	193	12	292	0.8
300–499	95	6	111	0.2	221	14	388	0.6
500–999	322	12	368	0.2	729	26	1,507	0.7
1,000 or more	1,013	21	2,176	0.3	2,036	42	8,511	1.0

Urbanicity
City	526	22	1,117	0.3	1,027	44	4,652	1.4
Urban fringe	442	13	908	0.2	1,050	30	3,520	0.7
Town	210	12	257	0.2	480	27	1,089	0.8
Rural	326	10	447	0.2	622	19	1,437	0.7

Crime level where students live²
High	153	27	348	0.5	342	61	2,007	2.8
Moderate	369	17	683	0.3	816	37	3,174	1.2
Low	655	10	1,019	0.2	1,379	21	3,569	0.6
Mixed	326	20	678	0.3	641	40	1,946	0.9

Percent minority enrollment³
Less than 5 percent	100	4	144	0.1	453	18	633	0.4
5 to 20 percent	467	17	719	0.2	701	25	1,653	0.5
20 to 50 percent	300	12	640	0.2	713	28	2,700	0.9
50 percent or more	583	21	1,124	0.3	1,285	47	5,647	1.5

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–20 percent	482	13	794	0.2	964	26	2,769	0.6
21–50 percent	555	12	1,127	0.2	1,376	30	4,422	1.0
More than 50 percent	465	18	807	0.3	838	33	3,505	1.4

Percent of students below 15^th percentile on standardized tests
0–5 percent	283	10	415	0.1	685	23	1,933	0.6
6–15 percent	554	12	999	0.2	1,239	26	3,239	0.6
More than 15 percent	667	22	1,313	0.4	1,254	41	5,525	1.7

Percent of students likely to attend college
0–35 percent	379	18	743	0.4	885	42	3,243	1.6
36–60 percent	488	15	806	0.3	845	26	2,367	0.7
More than 60 percent	636	12	1,179	0.2	1,449	26	5,087	0.8

Percent of students who consider academic achievement important
0–25 percent	128	15	316	0.5	219	25	865	1.3
26–50 percent	427	20	745	0.3	755	35	2,753	1.3
51–75 percent	364	11	558	0.2	1,098	32	3,322	0.9
More than 75 percent	584	13	1,108	0.2	1,107	26	3,756	0.7

Percent male enrollment
0–44 percent	108	12	219	0.3	320	35	1,085	1.3
45–55 percent	1,327	15	2,426	0.2	2,645	29	8,676	0.8
More than 55 percent	68	8	84	0.2	214	24	936	1.7

Student-to-teacher ratio⁴
Less than 12 students	284	7	431	0.2	971	23	2,727	1.0
12–16 students	687	17	1,308	0.3	1,250	31	4,031	0.8
More than 16 students	532	21	989	0.3	958	38	3,939	1.0

Number of classroom changes⁵
0–3 changes	85	15	134	0.2	103	19	380	0.7
4–6 changes	837	16	1,620	0.3	1,706	33	5,862	1.0
More than 6 changes	581	12	975	0.2	1,370	27	4,454	0.9

Regular use of law enforcement⁶
Regular use	1,252	16	2,434	0.2	2,765	36	9,942	1.0
No regular use	251	8	294	0.2	414	13	755	0.5

Number of serious discipline problems⁷
No problems	704	10	1,208	0.2	1,572	23	4,704	0.7
1 problem	314	19	473	0.2	616	37	1,869	1.0
2 problems	242	20	517	0.4	412	34	1,329	0.9
3 or more problems	243	20	531	0.3	579	48	2,795	1.5

Transfers as a percentage of enrollment⁸
0 to 6 percent	253	10	520	0.2	704	27	2,271	0.9
6 to 11 percent	187	9	319	0.2	555	26	1,901	0.9
11 to 21 percent	634	19	943	0.2	941	28	3,229	0.8
21 percent or more	430	16	946	0.3	979	36	3,295	1.0

Prevalence of schoolwide disruptions⁹
No disruptions	1,218	13	2,213	0.2	2,442	27	7,723	0.8
Any disruptions	285	18	515	0.2	736	45	2,974	1.4

Percent of students absent on a daily basis
0–2 percent	66	10	93	0.2	152	23	260	0.5
3–5 percent	427	10	679	0.2	979	24	2,648	0.6
6–10 percent	713	15	1,454	0.3	1,538	32	5,333	0.9
More than 10 percent	298	24	503	0.4	509	40	2,456	2.0
¹ Firearm or explosive device was defined as, "any weapon that is designed to (or may readily be converted to) expel a projectile by the action of an explosive. This includes guns, bombs, grenades, mines, rockets, missiles, pipe bombs, or similar devices designed to explode and capable of causing bodily harm or property damage."
² 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."
³ These estimates exclude data from Tennessee because schools in this state did not report estimates of student race.
⁴ Student-to-teacher 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.
⁵ Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
⁶ Respondents were asked, "During the 2003–2004 school year, did you have any sworn law enforcement officers, security guards, or security personnel present at your school on a regular basis?"
⁷ 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.
⁸ 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.
⁹ 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. 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, School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2004.

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