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 or explosive device at school receiving various disciplinary actions, by selected school characteristics: School year 2009

School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS)

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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 or explosive device at school receiving various disciplinary actions, by selected school characteristics: School year 2009–10


	Disciplinary actions taken for students involved in the use or possession of a weapon other than a firearm or explosive device¹ at school
	Removals with no continuing services for at least the remainder of the school year				Transfers to specialized schools²				Out-of-school suspensions lasting 5 or more days but less than the remainder of the school year				Other disciplinary actions³
School characteristic	Number of students		Percent of students		Number of students		Percent of students		Number of students		Percent of students		Number of students		Percent of students
All public middle schools	600		5.2		3,550		30.5		6,410		55.0		2,910		25.0

Enrollment size
Less than 300	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
300–499	90	!	‡		‡		‡		660	!	41.5		560		35.1
500–999	360	!	5.6	!	1,990	!	30.8		3,880		60.1		1,410		21.8
1,000 or more	‡		‡		‡		‡		1,370		48.3		840		29.7

Urbanicity
City	200	!	4.7	!	1,250	!	30.0		2,080		50.1		1,110		26.6
Suburb	210	!	5.1	!	1,350	!	32.3		2,450		58.7		910		21.8
Town	‡		‡		340	!	22.6	!	880	!	59.5	!	360	!	24.3	!
Rural	‡		‡		‡		‡		1,000		53.9		540		29.0

Crime level where students live⁴
High	‡		‡		‡		‡		660	!	42.4	!	380	!	24.4
Moderate	260	!	7.5	!	1,080	!	31.4		2,130		61.7		810		23.5
Low	180	!	4.1	!	1,080	!	24.2		2,350		52.9		1,390		31.4
Mixed	‡		‡		‡		‡		1,270		57.7		330		14.8

Percent of combined Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native students
Less than 5 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		180	!	42.9
5 to less than 20 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		730	!	55.1		360	!	27.3
20 to less than 50 percent	100	!	‡		‡		‡		1,740		51.8		820		24.5
50 percent or more	340	!	5.1	!	2,170	!	33.1		3,750		57.0		1,550		23.6

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–20 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		290	!	36.0		290	!	36.9
21–50 percent	140	!	4.4	!	870	!	26.5		1,890		57.7		810		24.7
More than 50 percent	380	!	5.1	!	2,530	!	33.3		4,230		55.8		1,810		23.9

Percent of students below 15th percentile on standardized tests
0–5 percent	220	!	6.4	!	1,160	!	33.5		1,670		48.2		890		25.8
6–15 percent	160	!	3.9	!	1,010	!	24.3		2,300		55.4		1,060		25.5
More than 15 percent	220	!	5.4	!	1,380	!	34.2		2,440		60.3		960		23.7

Percent of students likely to attend college
0–35 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		2,330		60.3	!	810	!	21.0
36–60 percent	170	!	4.1	!	1,440	!	34.9		2,380		57.7		940		22.7
More than 60 percent	230	!	6.3	!	1,030	!	28.0		1,710		46.3		1,170		31.7

Percent of students who consider academic achievement important
0–25 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		760	!	47.4	!	310	!	19.0	!
26–50 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		1,650		55.7		750	!	25.5
51–75 percent	120	!	3.4	!	960	!	27.1		2,330		65.7		880		24.9
More than 75 percent	260	!	7.4	!	1,180	!	33.1		1,670		47.1		970		27.3

Percent male enrollment
0–44 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		280	!	68.0	!	‡		‡
45–55 percent	490		4.8		3,210		31.0		5,690		55.0		2,270		22.0
More than 55 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		440	!	48.4	!	580	!	62.9

Student-to-FTE ratio⁵
Less than 12 students	‡		‡		‡		‡		800	!	55.2		390		27.2
12–16 students	340	!	7.5	!	1,610	!	36.0		2,290		51.2		1,030		22.9
More than 16 students	180	!	3.2	!	1,560	!	27.2		3,320		57.9		1,490		26.0

Number of classroom changes⁶
0–3 changes	#		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
4–6 changes	160	!	3.6	!	1,100	!	25.3		2,580		59.3		1,070		24.6
More than 6 changes	450		6.3		2,440		34.2		3,690		51.7		1,820		25.5

Regular use of law enforcement⁷
Regular use	470		4.9		3,050		32.1		5,150		54.3		2,410		25.4
No regular use	‡		‡		‡		‡		1,260	!	57.8		510	!	23.3

Number of serious discipline problems⁸
No problems	300		7.7		1,350		35.3		1,930		50.5		860		22.4
1 problem	‡		‡		‡		‡		1,830		62.5		950		32.6
2 problems	‡		3.5	!	610	!	38.6		930		58.9	!	230	!	14.7	!
3 or more problems	110	!	3.4	!	870	!	26.1		1,720	!	51.7		870		26.1

Transfers as a percentage of enrollment⁹
Less than 6 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		1,060	!	66.1		380	!	23.7	!
6 to less than 11 percent	160	!	8.6	!	420	!	22.4		970		51.8		630		33.8
11 to less than 21 percent	230	!	5.9	!	1,100	!	27.9		2,380		60.2		1,040		26.3
21 percent or more	160	!	3.7	!	1,720	!	40.7		2,000		47.2		860		20.4

Prevalence of schoolwide disruptions¹⁰
No disruptions	500		4.7		3,040		28.6		5,880		55.4		2,770		26.1
Any disruptions	‡		‡		‡		‡		530	!	51.0	!	140	!	13.9	!

Percent of students absent on a daily basis
0–2 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		260	!	‡		‡		‡
3–5 percent	230	!	3.8	!	1,820	!	30.0		3,050		50.2		1,770		29.1
6–10 percent	220	!	4.9	!	1,460	!	32.6		2,580		57.6		790		17.6
More than 10 percent	‡		‡		‡		19.2	!	‡		‡		‡		36.4	!

Prevalence of violent incidents¹¹
No violent incidents	#		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
Any violent incidents	600		5.2		3,520		30.5		6,340		54.9		2,900		25.1
#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 for respondents 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."
²Specialized 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."
³Other disciplinary actions include suspension less than 5 days, detention, etc.
⁴Respondents 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."
⁵Student-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.
⁶Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
⁷Respondents 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?"
⁸Serious 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.
⁹Transfers 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.
¹⁰Schoolwide 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.
¹¹Violent 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 students 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.
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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