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 2009

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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 2009–10


	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 high schools	1,100		9.4		1,600		0.1		6,800	55.2	21,600		1.8

Enrollment size
Less than 300	100	!	‡		‡		‡		500	22.4	700		1.4
300–499	100	!	6.2	!	‡		0.2	!	800	42.6	1,500		1.8
500–999	200	!	7.8		400		0.2		1,600	54.3	4,100		2.0
1,000 or more	700		13.5		900		0.1		3,900	73.7	15,400		1.7

Urbanicity
City	400		14.7		700		0.2		2,100	68.5	6,800		1.8
Suburb	300		10.3		400		0.1		1,900	61.1	7,400		1.6
Town	100	!	6.7		200	!	0.1	!	1,100	54.5	3,400		2.1
Rural	200	!	6.1		300	!	0.1	!	1,600	40.8	4,000		1.6

Crime level where students live²
High	200		20.5		300		0.3		700	61.0	4,100	!	3.8	!
Moderate	200		8.8		400		0.1	!	1,600	69.1	5,100		2.0
Low	500		7.7		700		0.1	!	3,500	50.3	9,400		1.5
Mixed	200		9.7		200		0.1		1,000	52.9	3,000		1.4

Percent of combined Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and American Indian/ Alaska Native students
Less than 5 percent	100	!	5.6	!	100	!	0.1	!	800	39.8	2,200		1.9
5 to less than 20 percent	200	!	6.9		300	!	0.1	!	1,600	51.1	4,600		1.5
20 to less than 50 percent	300		11.2		500		0.1	!	1,800	59.6	5,700		1.6
50 percent or more	500		11.7		700		0.2		2,600	62.5	9,200		2.0

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–20 percent	200		8.6		300		0.1		1,200	50.9	3,300		1.0
21–50 percent	400		8.6		500		0.1		2,900	56.7	9,200		1.9
More than 50 percent	500		10.7		800		0.2		2,600	55.8	9,200		2.2

Percent of students below 15th percentile on standardized tests
0–5 percent	300		6.8		400	!	0.1	!	2,200	51.7	5,600		1.3
6–15 percent	500		10.6		800		0.2		2,700	56.1	8,100		1.6
More than 15 percent	400		11.0		400		0.1	!	1,900	58.6	7,900		2.5

Percent of students likely to attend college
0–35 percent	200	!	10.6		300		0.1	!	1,100	50.8	3,400		1.9
36–60 percent	300		11.1		500		0.2		1,900	59.5	8,100		2.8
More than 60 percent	600		8.2		800		0.1		3,800	54.7	10,100		1.3

Percent of students who consider academic achievement important
0–25 percent	100	!	11.0	!	100	!	0.2	!	400	45.1	1,100		1.9
26–50 percent	200		9.0		300	!	0.2		1,200	52.5	5,700		3.0
51–75 percent	400		10.4		500		0.1	!	1,900	56.5	6,600		1.9
More than 75 percent	500		8.7		700		0.1		3,200	57.2	8,300		1.3

Percent male enrollment
0–44 percent	200	!	11.0	!	300	!	0.2	!	600	44.7	1,300		1.2
45–55 percent	900		9.7		1,200		0.1		5,600	57.3	19,300		1.8
More than 55 percent	#		‡		‡		‡		500	49.8	1,000		1.7

Student-to-FTE ratio³
Less than 12 students	#		2.8	!	100	!	‡		700	42.5	1,800		2.4
12–16 students	400		9.5		600		0.2		2,400	55.6	8,200		2.1
More than 16 students	700		11.1		900		0.1		3,600	58.4	11,600		1.5

Number of classroom changes⁴
0–3 changes	100	!	9.8	!	‡		‡		300	43.4	900		1.4
4–6 changes	700		11.2		800		0.1		3,700	62.9	12,300		2.0
More than 6 changes	400		7.4		700		0.1	!	2,800	48.8	8,400		1.5

Regular use of law enforcement⁵
Regular use	1,000		11.0		1,500		0.1		5,900	62.9	20,100		1.8
No regular use	100	!	4.3	!	‡		‡		900	30.3	1,600		1.2

Number of serious discipline problems⁶
No problems	700		7.8		1,000		0.1		4,200	49.8	10,300		1.3
1 problem	200		9.8		200		0.1		1,200	57.0	4,100		1.8
2 problems	100	!	13.5	!	200	!	0.1	!	600	73.7	3,900	!	3.3
3 or more problems	200		18.5		200	!	0.2	!	800	82.6	3,300		3.0

Transfers as a percentage of enrollment⁷
Less than 6 percent	100	!	5.0	!	200	!	0.1	!	1,300	45.2	2,700		1.0
6 to less than 11 percent	200	!	6.9		300	!	0.1	!	1,600	54.3	4,600		1.7
11 to less than 21 percent	400		10.4		500		0.1		2,300	59.4	8,800		2.1
21 percent or more	400		15.3		600		0.2		1,600	60.6	5,400		2.0

Prevalence of schoolwide disruptions⁸
No disruptions	1,000		9.2		1,400		0.1		6,000	53.7	19,000		1.7
Any disruptions	100	!	11.2		200	!	0.1	!	700	72.5	2,600		2.2

Percent of students absent on a daily basis
0–2 percent	#		‡		#		0.1	!	200	25.5	600	!	1.1	!
3–5 percent	300		6.9		400		0.1		2,300	51.4	6,000		1.4
6–10 percent	500		9.6		800		0.1		3,400	61.7	12,200		2.0
More than 10 percent	300		17.4		400		0.3		900	54.6	2,800		2.1
#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.
¹Firearm 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."
²Respondents 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."
³Student-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.
⁴Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
⁵Respondents 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?"
⁶Serious 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.
⁷Transfers 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.
⁸Schoolwide 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), 2009–10 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS).

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