Creating Safe and Drug-Free Schools: An Action Guide - September 1996

A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

TABLE 1.- Percentage of students reporting the occurrence of, witness of, worry about, or victimization through robbery, bullying, or physical attack at school,1 by school and family characteristics:

Characteristic Number of students in grades 6 through 12 (thousands) Crime or threats at school
Has Occurred Has witnessed Worried about Happened to him or her
Percent s.e. Percent s.e. Percent s.e. Percent s.e.
Total 24,060 71 2.0 56 2.2 25 1.2 12 0.7
School grade level2
Elementary school 2,663 60 5.7 47 4.8 29 3.3 13 2.0
Middle or junior school 7,418 77 3.0 60 2.5 34 1.8 17 1.1
Senior high school 11,539 71 1.1 58 1.3 20 0.8 8 0.6
Combined 2,440 60 7.2 45 5.6 19 2.9 11 1.7
School type3
Public, assigned 19,507 73 1.8 58 2.0 26 1.1 12 0.8
Public, chosen 2,683 71 7.2 54 6.1 27 3.1 10 1.7
Private 1,870 45 2.9 32 2.3 13 1.6 7 1.1
School size4
Under 300 2,632 58 5.8 44 4.2 21 3.3 10 1.8
300-599 7,820 68 3.3 53 4.5 27 2.2 13 1.3
600-999 6,176 74 1.3 59 1.4 25 1.2 12 0.9
1,000 or more 7,433 75 1.2 60 1.4 25 1.1 10 0.8
Student's race/ethnicity and school racial composition5
White in mostly white school 9,598 70 1.9 54 2.9 22 1.4 10 0.9
White in racially mixed school 6,449 75 2.6 61 2.6 27 1.7 13 1.0
White in mostly nonwhite school 789 74 3.6 59 4.2 25 3.4 15 2.4
Black in mostly black school 1,055 70 3.4 56 3.3 27 3.0 10 1.8
Black in racially mixed school 1,958 68 7.3 55 6.3 29 3.5 11 2.4
Black in mostly nonblack school 814 69 4.2 56 4.5 22 3.8 14 3.0
Other race/ethnicity-school combination 3,399 64 6.5 48 4.8 26 4.9 12 3.2
Student's race/ethnicity
White, non-Hispanic 16,835 72 2.0 57 2.6 24 1.3 12 0.7
Black, non-Hispanic 3,826 69 4.0 56 3.4 27 2.1 12 1.2
Hispanic 2,636 65 1.9 51 2.3 30 2.0 11 1.4
Other races 762 64 6.5 48 4.8 26 4.9 12 3.2
Sex
Male 12,040 71 1.4 58 2.4 25 1.5 14 1.0
Female 12,020 70 3.0 54 2.3 26 1.3 9 0.7

1Includes school activities during the day and on the way to and from school.

2School were classified according to the lowest and highest grades at the school. Schools in which the lowest grade was 3 or less and the highest grade was 8 or less were classifies as elementary. Middle or junior high schools were those that had a low grade of 4 through 9 and a high grade of 4 through 9. Senior high schools had a low grade of 7 through 12 and a high grade of 10 through 12. Schools that did precisely meet these qualifications were classified as "combined."

3School type was defined by the parents of the students who were interviewed as an assigned public school, a public school that was chosen by the family, or a private school.

4School size was determined by the estimate of parents who were asked to choose from among the following four categories: under 300, 300 to 599, 600 to 999, or 1,000 or more. Parents who were only able to estimate the number of students in their child's grade were allowed to do so, and that answer was converted to size of school based upon the number of grades in the school.

5School racial composition was measured by parents reports. Schools were characterized as having more than 74 percent of students in the same racial/ethnic group as the child, between 25 and 75 percent, or less than 25 percent in the same racial/ethnic group.

NOTE: s.e. is standard error. Number of students may not add to totals due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey, 1993.