PLANNING AND EVALUATION SERVICE

 

A CLOSER LOOK AT DRUG AND 

VIOLENCE PREVENTION EFFORTS IN AMERICAN 

SCHOOLS

REPORT ON THE STUDY ON SCHOOL

VIOLENCE AND PREVENTION

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

DOC #2001-36 

 
 
A CLOSER LOOK AT DRUG AND VIOLENCE 

PREVENTION EFFORTS IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 

REPORT ON THE STUDY ON 

SCHOOL VIOLENCE AND PREVENTION 

Prepared for: 

U.S. Department of Education 

Contract No. EA96055001 

Prepared by: 

David Cantor 

Scott Crosse

Carol A. Hagen 

Michael J. Mason 

Amy J. Siler 

Adrienne von Glatz 

Westat, Inc.

1650 Research Boulevard 

Rockville, MD 20850 

In affiliation with: 

Gottfredson Associates, Inc. 

3239 B Corporate Court 

Ellicott City, MD 21042 

 
This report was prepared for the U.S. Department of Education under Contract No. EA96055001. The project 

monitor was Joanne Wiggins in the Planning and Evaluation Service. The views expressed herein are those of 

the contractor. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education is intended or should be inferred. 

U.S. Department of Education 

Rod Paige 

Secretary 

Planning and Evaluation Service 

Alan L. Ginsburg 

Director 

Elementary and Secondary Education Division 

Ricky Takai 

Director 

August 2002

This report is in the public domain. Authorization to produce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission 

to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be the following: Cantor, D., Crosse, S., Hagen,

C.A., Mason, M.J., Siler, A.J., von Glatz, A. (2001). A Closer Look at Drug and Violence Prevention Efforts in 

American Schools: Report on the Study on School Violence and Prevention. Washington, DC: U.S. Department

of Education, Planning and Evaluation Service. 

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

Background 

As part of the 1994 reauthorization of SDFSCA, Congress mandated that the U.S. 

Department of Education (ED) collect information on efforts to prevent violence in schools nationally.

Consequently, ED initiated the Study on School Violence and Prevention to describe the level of problem 

behavior, including violence, in schools; to learn about the measures that schools are taking to prevent

problem behavior and promote school safety; and to examine the use of funds allocated through

SDFSCA. 

The Study on School Violence and Prevention was a cooperative effort between the U.S. 

Department of Education (ED) and the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice (NIJ). At 

the same time that ED commissioned the Study on School Violence and Prevention, NIJ awarded a grant 

to conduct the National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools. To maximize resources and 

minimize the burden to schools, the agencies and external researchers agreed to merge many of the study 

activities. In this report, we refer to the project as the Study on School Violence and Prevention; in NIJ 

and other publications, the project is called the National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools. 

This report focuses on one of three study components, referred to as the “intensive level.” It 

is the first study in over 20 years to examine in detail what schools are doing to promote school safety.

While the intensive level component is an in-depth examination of a limited number of schools, the two

other study components (national and intermediate level components) are based on broad surveys of

national probability samples of schools. This report is organized in accordance with the topics covered by 

the study questions: 

• Extent of problem behavior in schools, including the types of victimization experienced

by students and teachers, and how students and teachers perceive the safety of their 

schools. Also included is a description of incident reporting systems. 

• Efforts used by schools to prevent problem behavior and the quality of their 

implementation. These efforts include formal curricular programs as well as disciplinary 

practices and policies, and security measures. Observations on school climate are 

presented here. 

• Planning processes used by schools and districts for prevention activities and the use of 

information (e.g., on effectiveness) in doing so. 

 i 
• Results of efforts to compare schools that differed on the extent of problem behavior.

These results allowed us to consider the characteristics and processes that distinguish 

safe and unsafe schools. 

Method 

The intensive level study gathered extensive qualitative and quantitative information from a 

purposive sample of 40 schools (20 middle schools and 20 senior high schools). All of these schools 

were among the over 230 schools that surveyed students during 1998 as part of an earlier phase of the 

study. We limited our selection to public secondary schools. In selecting the schools, we sought to 

include schools that varied on instructional level (middle schools and senior high schools), number of 

students enrolled (small and large schools), and metropolitan status (urban, suburban, and rural schools). 

In addition, we selected earlier schools that varied on safety, based primarily on information obtained 

from our surveys of principals, teachers, and students. 

We collected qualitative and quantitative information from diverse sources at each of the 40 

schools in the intensive level study. The primary vehicle for collecting this information was three-day 

site visits to the schools. While at the schools, site visitors made systematic observations; reviewed

records on incidents of violence; conducted focus groups with teachers and students; and conducted indepth interviews with district officials, principals, and school staff. In addition, we surveyed all teachers 

and a sample of students. 

One of the strengths of this study is that it combines quantitative and qualitative information 

from a wide variety of sources. The quantitative information represents each school with fairly high 

precision. The qualitative information provides, from multiple perspectives, details and insights that are 

typically unavailable with surveys. A limitation of the study is that the sample varied little on the

measures of safety we used for the intensive level. As a result, this limited our ability to compare and

contrast characteristics that distinguish safe from unsafe schools. 

 ii 
Key Findings 

Disorder in Schools 

Overall, the site visitors found that the vast majority of the schools have relatively low levels 

of serious crime1

. This was borne out by the surveys of students and teachers. While fighting did occur 

and the presence of weapons was not unheard of, the combination of the two was rarely seen in the same 

school. Theft was much more common than robbery, and while teachers may have been verbally abused, 

they very rarely were attacked or threatened with a weapon. 

Fear of disorder did not seem to interfere with the learning process. Even though the schools

visited were predominantly free of serious violence, less serious incidents still could have contributed to 

apprehension about being in school. This did not seem to be the case, however, in most of the schools 

included in the study. Site visitors at roughly two-thirds of the schools unanimously described their

schools as safe or very safe, with low or very low levels of disorder. Similarly, about a third of the site 

visitors reported that the schools they visited were completely orderly and safe. Only one site visiting 

team characterized their school as “unsafe.” 

While most schools followed similar discipline procedures, they varied quite a bit in how 

they recorded and used incident data. A review of the systems in place in the schools included in the site

visits found that: 

• Collection forms vary widely among schools, 

• Serious incidents usually are reported to the district or state, and 

• Victims and offenders are rarely reported in systems. 

At most schools, disciplinary information was reviewed informally within the school.

Principals and teachers were usually aware of the most prevalent types of disorder at their schools as well

as which students were more likely to cause trouble. However, few schools had specific procedures in 

place to review incident data. In addition, very few schools seemed to follow guidelines recommended in 

1996 by the National Center for Education Statistics task force on the collection and compilation of

incident data. Neither the level of detail collected on particular incidents nor the unit of collection

 

11 As used, “serious crime” refers to crimes such as aggravated assault, weapons violations, and robbery.

 iii 
(incident, victim, and offender) seemed to be in place in most schools to support the unit-based collection 

system recommended by the task force.

Efforts to Prevent Problem Behavior 

Efforts to Prevent Problem Behavior 

We described efforts to prevent problem behavior in terms of the following major categories: 

(a) prevention activities, (b) school security, (c) school discipline practices and policies, and (d) school 

climate. 

Prevention Activities. The review in this report is based on classifying prevention activities 

into 19 different types of programs using categories developed for an earlier phase of this study, which is

based on national survey data (Gottfredson et al., 2000; Crosse, Burr, Cantor & Hantman, forthcoming).

Our findings amplified those of the intermediate level study in that many programs discussed by site 

visitors did not meet minimal quality criteria along a number of basic characteristics, including financial 

support, frequency of participation by students, and monitoring and evaluation. These problems, we 

believe, reflect a view on the part of the schools that prevention programs do not generally play a critical 

role in preventing problem behavior in the school. In fact, many of the programs are being implemented

within schools that are perceived as being relatively safe and not in great need of such programs.

Particularly noticeable in these programs was the absence of data that documented the implementation 

process, as well as any formal or informal evaluation of the effectiveness of the programs. 

School Security. The description of school security was divided into three areas: (a) school

security staff, (b) law enforcement personnel, and (c) security devices and strategies. School security was 

the most common type of activity that administrators reported as specifically set up to prevent disorder in 

the school. The most prevalent security strategy used throughout the schools was various ways to

monitor student and non-student movement within the school. The staff and administrators were 

primarily responsible for this task. Generally, other types of security strategies--such as hiring special

security personnel, use of metal detectors, and random searches--were also used by a smaller number of

schools. These additional strategies tended to be implemented in those schools where student movement 

and, perhaps safety, may be more of an issue (large, urban schools). 

The implementation of many of these strategies was inconsistent. For example, site visitors

observed a number of times when hall monitors were not consistently enforcing rules and procedures 

 iv 
(e.g., use of hall passes). Several site visitors found locks, intended to keep people out, that were broken. 

Video cameras, when they were in place, were not widely monitored by staff. 

School Discipline Practices and Policies. We found considerable overlap in discipline

procedures across schools. The rules were generally guided by the school district and involved varying

levels of punishment as the offenses became more serious. Very few rewards were structured into the

procedures. Schools seemed to have few problems with communicating the rules to all students. 

However, we found some evidence that rules are inconsistently enforced across students. How common 

inconsistent enforcement was across relatively minor and serious infractions is unclear. Many of these 

inconsistencies may stem from the general process of letting teachers handle many of the infractions 

within the classroom. As noted by a number of administrators, teachers do vary on how they deal with 

disorder problems. Much of the inconsistency reported by students may be related to these differences in 

individual style across teachers and other staff. 

School Climate. We described school climate using a typology based on the school climate

goals outlined by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement [OERI] (1993) and Kelly et al. 

(1986). 

Staff/student relationships. The majority of the sites reported good communication between 

staff and students, although examples of high and low quality communication are described in the report. 

Site visitors observed that highly visible, communicative, and engaging principals had schools with some 

of the strongest climate relations. Students often described these principals as caring, approachable, and

fair. Conversely, principals in schools with poor climate were often described by teachers and students as

non-collaborative, unapproachable, unengaged and intimidating. 

Goals. With respect to school goals, the schools in our sample were classified into four

different types: (a) strong focus on academics, (b) focus on academics but struggling to improve 

performance, (c) mixed academic reputation but a strong emphasis on controlling disorder, and (d) great 

deal of emphasis on extra-curricular aspects. 

Rules and procedures. Schools were described as having two basic approaches to rules and 

procedures. One was where teachers tended to deal with all but the most serious discipline problems, 

including setting punishment and calling parents (if necessary). The second approach tended to deal with 

small infractions within the classroom and then refer students to an administrator for repeated or more

 v 
serious infractions. The administrator was responsible for assigning punishment and contacting parents. 

Regardless of the approach, consistency of rule enforcement emerged as an important issue, especially

among students (as expressed in the focus groups). This also re-emphasized the role of the principal in

setting the overall tone in a school when it came to discipline and enforcement of rules. School staff 

expressed more satisfaction if the principal set clear expectations, communicated regularly with staff, and

gave them a voice in management issues. 

Facilities and environment. Most of the schools were described as being clean, both inside and outside. 

Vandalism was rarely seen. Some variety was found in the condition of the buildings. The community

environments sometimes contrasted with the school. In this sense, some schools were clearly “safehavens” for the students. 

Planning 

The study team developed a definition of sound planning and applied it when selecting six 

schools for detailed analysis. Once selected, the schools were contacted and asked to elaborate on the 

information that was initially elicited in the national survey. Respondents were asked about the kinds of

school-level planning structures, the main functions of these structures, and the outcomes of the planning. 

The kinds of school-level planning structures varied across schools. Regardless of 

variability, however, all of the schools had at least one school-level planning structure that regularly

assessed (through formal or informal needs assessments) the need for reduction or prevention of problem 

behavior. This did not necessarily result in implementing prevention activities. 

Distinguishing Middle Schools with Different Levels of Disorder 

To conduct this analysis, a limited number of schools were identified as having “high” and 

“low” levels of disorder using the data from the student surveys. Schools were compared across the high 

and low disorder groups along school characteristics, community characteristics, prevention programs, 

security, discipline, and climate. This comparison was intended to identify policy-relevant factors that

distinguished schools with high and low levels of disorder, with the intent of suggesting approaches that 

policy-makers and school personnel may wish to pursue to increase school safety. 

 vi 
Complicating this analysis was the fact that, as a whole, the 40 schools in our sample tended 

to have relatively low levels of disorder. Middle schools tended to have higher levels of disorder than 

high schools. For the high schools, less than five percent of students in the low disorder schools had

experienced being robbed or threatened with a weapon; approximately 16 percent of students in the high

disorder schools were victims of such violent incidents. This range (11%) was exceeded by the range for 

the middle schools (33%). Between 28 and 37 percent of students in high disorder middle schools 

experienced one or more violent incidents. Because of the limited range in disorder among the high 

schools, this analysis was restricted to middle schools. 

What seemed to most clearly distinguish the high and low disorder schools? Not

surprisingly, school and community characteristics were clearly important. The high disorder schools

tended to have higher levels of poverty, unemployment, and other risk factors associated with community

disorder. Schools that were ranked high on disorder tended to have more programs specifically targeting 

reduction of problem behavior and had considerably more security arrangements (e.g., school security

devices). This seemed to be driven primarily by the level of perceived need of the school. Low disorder 

schools did not allocate their resources towards prevention programs when they did not feel it was 

warranted. This is especially true for security devices. 

The most important policy-relevant differences between the two groups of middle schools 

were related to discipline practices and climate. Low disorder schools were characterized by several 

important characteristics, including strong principals, school staff viewing themselves as working as a 

team, active involvement of teachers in maintaining order inside and outside the classroom, and generally 

positive relationships among staff and students. In contrast, high disorder schools lacked a clear approach

to discipline, did not convey expectations to students well, and demonstrated poor communication

between teachers and administrators. 

This last result reinforces the finding that managing a school and the effects of this

management on school climate is vitally important to keeping schools safe and secure. While programs 

to prevent violence undoubtedly play some role in reducing violence, very little evidence from this study 

indicated that this is what distinguishes schools with high and low levels of disorder. In fact, this study

suggests that the use of prevention programs is, in part, a reaction to disorder. As a result, schools with 

higher levels of disorder seem to implement more prevention programs than schools with lower levels. 

 vii 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Chapter Page

 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................. i 

1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND .................................................... 1 

Historical Context and Literature Review ....................................................... 1 

Study on School Violence and Prevention and Safe and Drug-Free Schools 

and Communities Act Program........................................................................ 2 

Study Questions............................................................................................... 3 

Overview of Study Design and Report Organization ...................................... 4 

2 METHODS ...................................................................................................... 6 

Intensive Level School Selection..................................................................... 6 

Data Collection ................................................................................................ 6 

Analysis ........................................................................................................... 7 

Strengths and Limitations................................................................................ 7 

3 DISORDER IN SCHOOLS............................................................................. 9 

Methods ........................................................................................................... 9 

Disorder in the Schools.................................................................................... 10 

Perceptions of Safety and Disorder.................................................................. 16 

Incident Reporting and Monitoring in Schools................................................ 17 

4 EFFORTS TO PREVENT PROBLEM BEHAVIOR...................................... 25 

Violence Prevention Activities........................................................................ 25 

School Security................................................................................................ 40 

School Discipline Practices and Policies......................................................... 49 

School Climate................................................................................................. 58 

5 PLANNING..................................................................................................... 65 

Characteristics of Planning Structures............................................................. 66 

Factors Associated with Development of Planning Structures........................ 68 

Summary and Discussion................................................................................. 70 

6 DISTINGUISHING MIDDLE SCHOOLS WITH DIFFERENT

LEVELS OF DISORDER ............................................................................... 72 

Method ............................................................................................................ 72 

Describing Middle Schools with Different Levels of Disorder ....................... 74 

What Makes a Difference?............................................................................... 78 

References........................................................................................................ 81 

 APPENDIX A.................................................................................................. 83 

 viii 
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) 

List of Tables 

Table Page

4-1 Prevention Activity Categories and Definitions.............................................. 26 

4-2 School Wide Arrangements and Definitions ................................................... 28 

List of Exhibits 

Exhibit

4-1 Examples of Schools with good Student/Staff Relationships.......................... 59 

6-1 Profiles of Low Disorder Middle Schools....................................................... 74 

6-2 Profiles of High Disorder Middle Schools....................................................... 76 

 ix 
A Closer Look at Drug and Violence Prevention 

Efforts in American Schools 

Report on the Study on School Violence and 

Prevention 

Chapter 

1 

Introduction and Background 

Concern about youth violence has increased dramatically across the country. This has been 

especially true for violence that occurs in schools. Schools should provide disciplined and orderly 

environments that are conducive to learning and should be safe havens from violence. This report

examines the status of school safety in a cross-section of 40 public secondary schools; it also assesses 

what schools are doing to promote safety and prevent problem behavior. 

Historical Context and Literature Review

In recent years, the murder of students in a Littleton, Colorado high school and in a half 

dozen other schools have led to a sense of great urgency to understand school violence and ensure school

safety. These tragic events seized public attention, in part, because they occurred in settings that we 

usually associate with safety: schools in rural or suburban communities. As a result, many parents began 

to question the safety of their own children in their local schools. For example, seven months after the 

Columbine deaths, 60 percent of Americans indicated that school safety “worried them a great deal”

(Brooks et al., 2000). Policy-makers and parents demanded action that could stem what they perceived as 

a crisis situation, in spite of the fact that, as most available data indicate, schools are relatively safe places. 

In the last decade, several studies have investigated the prevalence of school crime and some 

of the factors associated with it. For example, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice (2000)

report that 50 school-associated violent deaths occurred nationally during the complete 1998-99 school

1 
year2

, which is down from the 60 school-associated violent deaths reported by Kaufman et al. (2000) for

the previous school year3

 (see also Stephens, 1999 and U.S. Departments of Education and Justice, 1999). 

Of the 60 school-associated deaths reported in the 1997-98 school year, 42 involved student homicides or 

suicides (Kaufman et al, 2000). As a point of comparison, approximately 4,771 young people between 

the ages of 5-19 were victims of homicide or suicide in non-school settings during the 1997-98 school

year (Kaufman et al, 2000). Other studies that have investigated school crime include: Violence and 

Discipline Problems in U.S. Public Schools: 1996-97 (Heaviside, Rowand, Williams, & Farris, 1998); 

Violence-Related Attitudes and Behaviors of High School Students—New York City, 1992 (Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, 1993); Youth Risk Behavior Survey (Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, 1999); and School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (Chandler 

et al., 1998). For the most part, these studies have found that the more serious types of school crime (e.g.,

violence with a weapon) is relatively rare, though less serious types of crime (e.g., theft and physical

fights without weapons) are much more prevalent. For example, Violence and Discipline Problems in

U.S. Public Schools: 1996-97 (Heaviside et al, 1998) indicated that approximately 10 percent of public 

elementary and secondary schools reported one or more serious crimes (i.e., murder, rape or other type of 

sexual battery, suicide, physical attack or fight with a weapon, or robbery) to the police, while 57 percent 

of schools reported any incident of school crime. 

In response to concerns about school crime, researchers and school personnel have 

developed and implemented a wide variety of prevention and treatment interventions. Some of these 

interventions are geared towards individuals, potential victims or offenders; other interventions focus on 

the school environment, for example, seeking to increase “guardianship” in the schools. Some of these 

interventions have been evaluated under controlled conditions and produced encouraging outcomes. (See 

Gottfredson et al., 2000.) However, little is known about the types and number of prevention efforts 

currently being implemented in schools. In addition, while we know that interventions are only as 

effective as they are well implemented, research on the implementation quality of these school-based

interventions has been rare.

Study on School Violence and Prevention and Safe and Drug-Free Schools and

Communities Act Program 

The Study on School Violence and Prevention was developed to increase understanding of

some of the issues surrounding school safety and prevention efforts as well as to meet congressional

 

2

 July 1, 1998-June 30, 1999.

3

 July 1, 1997-June 30, 1998.

2 
reporting requirements linked to the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (SDFSCA) 

Program. As the largest school-based federal program directed at preventing student drug use and

promoting school safety, the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Program has been

instrumental in funding school-based prevention efforts. This program, administered by the U.S. 

Department of Education (ED), provides funding to states, each of which has both a state education

agency (SEA) program and a Governor’s program. The SEAs distribute almost all of the funds to local 

school districts; 70 percent of these funds go to school districts by formula (based on relative student 

enrollments), and the remaining 30 percent of funds go to districts that have the greatest needs for

additional funds to implement prevention programs. The Governor’s programs award grants to 

community agencies and public and private nonprofit entities. The districts and other grantees support

prevention activities at the school and community levels. 

As part of the 1994 reauthorization of SDFSCA, Congress mandated that ED collect 

information on efforts to prevent violence in schools nationally. ED initiated the Study on School

Violence and Prevention to describe the level of problem behavior, including violence, in schools; to 

learn about the measures that schools are taking to prevent problem behavior and promote school safety;

and to examine the use of funds allocated through SDFSCA. 

The Study on School Violence and Prevention was a cooperative effort between the U.S. 

Department of Education (ED) and the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice (NIJ). At 

the same time that ED commissioned the Study on School Violence and Prevention, NIJ awarded a grant 

to conduct the National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools. To maximize resources and 

minimize the burden to schools, the agencies and external researchers agreed to merge many of the study 

activities. In this report, we refer to the project as the Study on School Violence and Prevention; in NIJ 

and other publications, the project is called the National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools. 

Study Questions 

The Study on School Violence and Prevention has been guided by several study questions

that emphasize issues critical to policy makers and school officials. These issues are the extent and nature 

of problem behavior in schools; types and quality of prevention efforts underway in schools; planning and

funding of prevention efforts; and factors and processes that contribute to school safety. The study 

questions are as follows. 

• What is the incidence of problem behavior in schools nationally? 

3 
• What types of efforts are underway in schools to prevent problem behavior? 

• How well are efforts to prevent problem behavior implemented? 

• To what extent do schools use sound planning processes and information on school

prevention options to improve school management 

• What sources of funding (including SDFSCA funds) do schools use to support

prevention efforts?

• What are the policy-relevant characteristics and processes that distinguish safe and

unsafe schools? 

Although the Study on School Violence and Prevention did seek to assess the 

implementation of prevention activities and to identify factors that may contribute to school safety,

rigorously evaluating the effectiveness of these activities and factors was beyond its scope. 

Overview of Study Design and Report Organization 

The Study on School Violence and Prevention is based on three separate data collection and

analysis efforts. 

• For the “national level” of the study, we conducted secondary analyses of the data 

collected for the Principal/School Disciplinarian Survey on School Violence, which was 

sponsored by the National Center on Education Statistics (Heaviside et al 1998); this

survey collected information on school crime and violence prevention efforts from 

administrators in a probability sample of public elementary and secondary schools. 

• The “intermediate level” of the study collected information on school crime and efforts

intended to prevent problem behavior from multiple sources (e.g., school district

administrators, principals, and program providers) in a probability sample of public and 

private elementary and secondary schools. 

• The “intensive level” of the study drew on detailed quantitative and qualitative

information collected from multiple sources in a purposive sample of 40 public 

secondary schools that participated in the intermediate level. 

This report presents what we have learned from the data collected for the intensive level of

the study. We will report on the national and intermediate levels of the study separately.

This report is organized around the topics covered by the study questions. The chapters are 

as follows. 

• Chapter 2 summarizes the methods for the intensive level study.

4 
• Chapter 3 presents findings on the extent of problem behavior in schools, including the 

types of victimization experienced by students and teachers, and how students and 

teachers perceive the safety of their schools. This chapter also describes incident 

reporting systems. 

• Chapter 4 discusses efforts used by schools to prevent problem behavior and the quality 

of their implementation. These efforts include formal curricular programs as well as

disciplinary practices and policies, and security measures. The chapter also covers the

school climate that we observed. 

• Chapter 5 describes how schools and districts plan prevention activities and how they

use information (e.g., on effectiveness) in doing so. 

• Chapter 6 presents the results of efforts to compare schools that differ on the extent of 

problem behavior. These results allow us to consider the characteristics and processes 

that distinguish safe and unsafe schools. 

• Appendix A describes the study methods in detail. 

5 
Chapter 

2 

Methods 

The intensive level study gathered extensive qualitative and quantitative information from a 

purposive sample of 40 schools. In this chapter, we briefly describe the methods used in this study. We

cover school selection, data collection, and analysis. We also discuss the strengths and limitations of our

methods. For a fuller discussion of the study’s methodology, please refer to Appendix A. 

Intensive Level School Selection 

In selecting schools for the intensive level study, we identified schools that differed on

school safety, but were similar on background characteristics associated with safety. This approach was 

designed to permit us to answer the study question on the policy-relevant characteristics and processes

that distinguish safe and unsafe schools. We then drew a purposive sample of 40 public secondary schools 

(20 middle and 20 senior high schools). The criteria for selecting the schools included the following: 

• Instructional level – middle schools and senior high schools; 

• Number of students enrolledsmall and large schools; and 

• Metropolitan statusurban, suburban, and rural schools. 

Data Collection 

We collected qualitative and quantitative information from diverse sources at each of the 40 

schools in the intensive level study. The primary vehicle for collecting this information was one round of

three-day site visits to each of the schools. Site visitors made systematic observations; reviewed records 

on incidents of violence; and conducted in-depth interviews with district officials, principals, and school 

staff. With the assistance of the school coordinator, we also conducted surveys of all teachers and a 

sample of students. 

6 
The topics covered by this study overlapped with those covered by the intermediate level

study. However, the intensive level study went into greater depth and drew from additional sources (e.g., 

police and school security staff). In addition, other topics that are difficult to capture well in surveys, such

as local dynamics (e.g., youth gang activity) that contribute to school violence, were investigated in this 

intensive level study. 

Wherever possible, the data collection drew from extant instruments and design strategies. 

Survey items have built on an established research base to ensure the study’s ability to measure 

implementation and school climate. Many questions were drawn from studies previously conducted in

the areas of school safety and discipline, youth violence, victimization, and drug use. 

Analysis

We conducted within-school analyses for the 40 individual schools as well as cross-school

analyses. The site visitors conducted within-school analyses as they developed case study reports based

primarily on the qualitative information that they collected on site. These reports conformed to a detailed

report outline that has tied to the data collection instruments. The analysts combined information across 

sources to address topics in their reports. As needed, the site visitors or other project staff recontacted 

respondents to clarify information or to collect additional information. For a detailed discussion of 

analysis, please refer to Appendix A. 

Strengths and Limitations 

The intensive level study is the first study in over 20 years to examine in detail what schools 

are doing to promote school safety. One of the greatest strengths of this study is that it combined

quantitative and qualitative information. The quantitative information, mainly the student and teacher

survey data, offered strong broad information that represented each school with fairly high precision. The 

qualitative information complemented the quantitative information by offering details and insights that 

are typically unavailable with surveys. 

Another strength of the study is that it captured a broad range of perspectives and topics 

linked to the research questions. At a given school, we collected information from over ten different 

sources. Each source offered a unique lens on complex school safety issues. 

7 
A limitation of the intensive level study is that we are unable to generalize findings from it to

other schools. The nonprobability selection of schools and sample sizes underlie this limitation. Another

related limitation is that the assignment of schools to cells was imperfect. As mentioned, we based our 

measures of safety on survey data from a previous component of the study. Student survey data, one of 

those sources, were based on relatively small sample sizes that limited the precision of the measures.

Hence, we found thatusing more precise measures based on larger samples of studentssome schools 

were misclassified on safety. Perhaps more importantly, despite our best efforts, a very large percentage

of the schools included in the sample did not vary much along measures of disorder. This may be the 

result of the relatively high non-response rate associated with the intermediate study. The schools that 

complied with the survey requests tended to be safer, better managed schools. As a result, the site visits, 

which were based on the intermediate sample, did not include as wide a range of schools along the 

disorder dimension as would have been ideal for this type of analysis. 

A final limitation follows from our approach of having the site visitors conduct the withinschool analyses. While we gained strong summary reports that facilitated the cross-site analyses, we lost

some of the detail that we potentially could have had in those analyses. In the cross-site analyses, we

would have had stronger analyses had we relied on, for example, interview transcripts, rather than 

summary reports. With many different site visitors, we also introduced some “error” into the withinschool analyses that carried over to the cross-site analyses. 

8 
Chapter 

3 

Disorder in Schools 

The purpose of this chapter is to address two questions: 

• What type of disorder is most prevalent in the sampled schools? 

• How do the sampled schools record and monitor disorder occurring in school? 

The first question elaborates on analysis reported by the survey data (Gottfredson et al., 

2000; Crosse et al., forthcoming). The intent of this chapter is to provide examples and descriptive 

information on the type of disorder that occurred in the sample schools, as well as providing some insight 

into how disorder may translate into levels of fear by the students and staff in the school. 

Addressing the second question should provide background on the types of systems schools 

have in place to monitor and evaluate the level of disorder in their schools. Recent initiatives by the U. S. 

Department of Education have encouraged districts and schools to begin recording and tracking incidents 

of disorder in a systematic way. This should provide the schools with a useful tool for monitoring

potential problems and evaluating any interventions that are targeted to reduce disorder. It should also

allow for more systematic collection of this type of data across schools for purposes of state and national 

reporting. 

Methods 

This chapter is based on data from three different sources of information. Much of the 

discussion is based on data collected by the site visitors. This includes interviews with key persons on the 

staff, as well as direct observations of the functioning of the school. The second source of information is

the surveys that were distributed to teachers and students in the school. As noted in Chapter 2, these 

surveys were identical to those that were used for the national analysis (Gottfredson et al., 2000; Crosse et 

al., forthcoming) and include items on victimization in school, delinquency and perceptions of safety

within the school. The third source is information abstracted by the site visitors from reports prepared by

schools on incidents that occurred within the schools.

9 
Disorder in the Schools 

Overall, the site visitors found that the vast majority of the schools have relatively low levels 

of serious crime4

. This was borne out by the surveys of students and teachers. While fighting was

common and the presence of weapons was not unheard of, the combination of the two was rarely seen in 

the same school. Theft was much more common than robbery5

. While teachers may have been verbally 

abused by students, they very rarely were attacked or threatened with a weapon. Similarly, data taken 

from the abstracts documenting crimes reported to the police found only two schools had called the police

regarding a fight with a weapon, and no calls were made with regard to two robberies occurring in the 

schools. In this section, the prevalence of different types of incidents is described, along with site visitor

observations in schools. 

Characterizing Disorder in Schools 

The survey data indicated that 6 percent of students reported they had been threatened with a 

knife or gun, and less than 1 percent of teachers reported having a weapon pulled on them. Seven percent

of students claimed to have been physically robbed, or forced to hand over, items worth more than $1, 

and 6 percent of students were robbed of items worth less than $1. Three percent of teachers reported that 

they were physically attacked during the school year, and less than 1 percent were seriously hurt. Seven 

percent of students admitted hitting or threatening to hit a teacher or other adult at school, and 14 percent 

of students actually witnessed a teacher being physically attacked by a student at school. 

The predominant type of disorder found in the schools involved much less serious incidents. 

Fighting was found in every school, but infrequently resulted in serious injury, rarely involved weapons,

and was unlikely to be identified as gang activity. Regarding drugs and alcohol, personnel in several 

schools reported having a problem with students smoking, drinking, or getting high in school; and a fair 

number of students reported easy access to, favorable attitudes toward, and personal use of alcohol and 

drugs. Perhaps the most widely cited types of disorder in the schools, however, involved student 

disruptive behavior in the classrooms and insubordination to teachers. Truancy, tardiness, and cutting 

class also were quite common in the schools. Property damage, such as vandalism and graffiti, occurred 

in most schools, but was rarely thought to be problematic. 

 

4

 As used in this chapter, “serious crime” refers to crimes such as aggravated assault, weapons violations, and robbery.

5

 Theft is the unlawful taking of property without violence or threat. Robbery is the unlawful taking of property by violence or threat. 

10 
Below, we describe the types of crimes that were found in the schools and the reactions

students and staff had when asked about their occurrence. 

Fighting. Student altercations occurred to some degree in every school. Based on 

interviews with staff and students, verified by incident reports, about one-quarter of the schools in our

sample (mostly middle schools) had frequent fighting, as much as several times a day; in other schools it 

occurred less frequently, around once a month or so. Site visitors observed fights at a few schools, as 

well as the aftermath at one school in which the principal had sustained a broken finger from trying to

break up a fight. Fights resulting in serious injuries were rarely reported. Across all schools studied,

about one in three fights that the principal found out about were reported to police. 

Almost a quarter of students surveyed said that they had to “fight to protect themselves” at

school, and 18 percent of students said that someone had threatened them with a beating at school. 

Fighting was the highest reported type of delinquent behavior in the surveys, with 38 percent of students 

admitting that they “hit or threatened to hit other students” in the last 12 months. 

As previously mentioned, fights rarely involved the use of weapons. This is not to say that 

weapons were absent from schools. Possession of a weapon, mostly knives, was cited by several school

administrators to have occurred at least once in the past year or so. Hunting knives were popular in rural 

schools. These schools tended to have rules that permitted the possession of a knife shorter than one inch

long. Only the school personnel in a few urban areas seemed concerned about weapons. In one of these 

schools, razor knives and mace were common, and in the other school, weapons were confiscated about

six times a year. As students at one school described, knives usually were brought to school for 

protection, although a few brought them to show off. Less than 10 percent of students surveyed reported 

carrying a “hidden weapon other than a pocket knife.” (We were unable to discern the extent to which 

these weapons included guns.) The site visits indicated, however, that if weapons were present in the 

schools, they were rarely used to harm or threaten another person. 

Fights in our sample of schools were unlikely to be caused by gang activity. Although 

personnel and students from several schools admitted the presence of “gang-wannabes,” site visitors 

rarely saw any evidence of gang activity in the schools. Some findings pointed to gang dealings outside 

of school. Administrators from one urban school claimed to have five different gangs that caused trouble 

off campus. Ten percent of the students surveyed reported having been involved in gang fights, and 7

percent of students reported belonging to a gang that engaged in “fighting, stealing, or selling drugs.” 

11 
Similarly, interviews with school personnel and students rarely mentioned racial tension, 

especially as a motivator to fight. This is note worthy because almost half (16) of the schools in our

sample had more than 25 percent of its students in a race/ethnic group (or groups) other than the majority

race/ethnic group at the school. Only one school principal claimed that students fought due to differences 

among identifiable groups, which were mainly attributed to socioeconomic levels and where the students 

lived. 

Fighting was explained to most likely be the result of “petty” issues or gossip directly related 

to alleged activities of individuals, friendship groups, or cliques. Several school officials noted the rise of 

fighting among girls. As the Assistant Principal at one school described, fights often were brought upon

because “she looked at me the wrong way” or “she was after my boyfriend.” Students felt that fighting 

was prevalent at one mid-size, rural middle school, because some students came to school in the mornings 

angry and ready to fight; these students would fight students of other cliques (defined by race, family, 

socioeconomic level, and the place where they lived). One of the site visitors reported that, “There was a 

general attitude among the students that they had to fight to establish themselves, and that their parents 

encouraged that as a way of resolving conflicts. Students come from homes where fighting is a normative 

way of solving problems, and they therefore feel it should be okay in school.” 

Theft. Theft showed up in nearly half the schools that provided incident records, but was 

reported to be a problem in only a quarter of the schools. (Again, theft refers to unlawful taking of

property without violence or threat.) Administrators who talked about this type of incident reported that 

most of the problems were minor theft, consisting of student possessions being taken from unlocked 

lockers or gym locker rooms. From the student surveys, 44 percent of students said that someone had 

stolen something worth less than $1, while 42 percent of the students said that things were stolen that 

were worth $1 or more. Teachers, too, reported being victims of theft, although in fewer numbers than 

the students who reported being victimized in this way. Twenty-one percent of teachers had personal 

property worth more than $10 stolen from them, while 11 percent had more valuable items stolen. 

Classroom Disruptions. All but a few schools in our study had data that supported some

type of student disruptive behavior as a prevalent type of disorder in the school. Mostly, the disruptive 

behavior took place in the classroom and included such things as students talking, being loud or unruly,

calling names, using profanity, engaging in roughhousing or “horseplay,” not remaining seated, refusing

to follow directions, throwing things, or chewing gum. Similar types of disruptive behavior frequently

were reported on the busses, too. Dress code violations were mentioned at a fair number of schools.

Some schools were more serious about this rule than others. 

12 
More than three-fourths of the teachers surveyed said that they spent at least some time each

day coping with disruptive student behavior, and 28 percent of teachers claimed that the disruptive 

behavior kept them from teaching a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of the time. Overall, however,

teachers reported that they maintained a fair amount of classroom order. Generally, students paid 

attention in class, did not take things that didn’t belong to them, and seldom damaged property. From the

survey, almost all teachers (96%) stated that students “almost always” or “often” did what the teachers

asked. The main problem teachers faced was with students talking at inappropriate times. Almost half 

the teachers noted that this occurred “sometimes,” and 32 percent said that it happened “often.” While

students seldom tried to physically hurt, make threat to, or curse at others, 73 percent of teachers reported 

that students did tease one another. A majority of teachers reported that students were distracted by the 

misbehavior of others, but classroom activity rarely came to a stop because of discipline problems. 

Insubordination to Teachers. Another common type of disruptive student behavior

involved insubordination. This involves students showing blatant disrespect for a teacher’s authority.

Every school in our sample had reported incidents of this type, and many of the staff who were 

interviewed cited this as a prevalent problem in their schools. The severity of this type of incident varied 

among schools. In some of the more serious examples, students yelled at teachers, swore at them, and

even harassed or threatened them. Many teachers and administrators suggested that students were

becoming more disrespectful throughout the years and refusing to listen or remain under control. 

“Sassiness” was a term commonly used to describe the students’ behavior. One principal thought that, 

“Students are getting more rude each year,” and believed that it was because, in part, “there’s less parental

backing each year.” 

Harassment, including sexual harassment or threatening behavior, against students and

sometimes teachers, was reported in a few of the schools’ incident reports. Nearly 30 percent of students 

surveyed reported seeing a teacher threatened by a student. Very few teachers reported being physically

attacked, but a fair number of teachers were threatened (18%) or received obscene remarks or gestures 

(39%) from a student. 

Truancy. Next to classroom disruptions and disrespect for authority, truancy-related

incidents were another prevalent type of disorder, as found in nearly half the schools. These incidents 

included, in addition to being truant from school, skipping class or coming late to class. In some cases, 

students would leave school or walk out of a class without permission. At one specific school, tardy 

incidents were estimated to represent 85 percent of all the problems at the school. In addition, some 

school personnel also complained that a majority of students failed to report to detention. Many schools 

had specific policies to deal with attendance and tardy violations. 

13 
Property Crimes. Property damage such as vandalism or graffiti did occur at the schools, 

as well, but was rarely mentioned as a prevalent type of disorder. Although site visitors observed 

property damage, it was not reported as a problem to the site visitors. Similarly, about 1 in 5 students

admitted to destroying either school property (17%) or personal property not belonging to them (20%) in

the last 12 months. 

Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drugs. School administrators, teachers, and students from 

several schools reported that tobacco was a major problem in their schools. Site visitors confirmed these 

reports by personal observations of some students smoking outside, as well as evidence from cigarette

butts on school grounds and ashes in the bathrooms. 

Other drugs and/or alcohol were reported to be a prevalent problem in about one-fourth of

the schools. When specified, the drug of choice most often was marijuana. At one school, site visitors 

observed a group of students smoking marijuana outside the school. At a few other schools, visitors 

witnessed or heard about numerous violations involving alcohol in school. In most of these schools with 

reported drug problems, however, site visitors did not witness any such disorder. The schools with drug 

and alcohol problems could not easily be distinguished from schools without these problems. In fact, at

one school where administrators reported about 30 percent of its student population using or selling drugs 

(including within and outside of school), site visitors observed low levels of student disorder and only a

few recorded incidents of drug violations. 

From the student surveys, we learned that drugs and alcohol were available to students. The

majority of students claimed that obtaining certain substances was “easy” or “very easy”: cigarettes

(68%), alcohol (62%), and marijuana (51%). Regarding “other drugs,” 43 percent of students reported 

easy access to these. We are unable to discern, however, whether students thought that they could get

these drugs within or outside the school. 

Most students reportedly kept most of their drug and alcohol activity outside of the school.

Only 15 percent of the students admitted to going to school when they were drunk or high on some drugs. 

This supports observations by site visitors and personal accounts by staff and students that showed 

minimal disorder due to drug and alcohol activity in the schools. 

Site Visitor Descriptions 

The discussion above provides a picture of the types of incidents that occurred in the 

schools. Site visitors also conducted observations at the schools by walking the halls both during classes 

14 
and in between class changes. They also went into bathrooms, walked around the school campus, 

monitored student traffic as the school day started and ended, observed lunch periods, and looked into

classrooms. The visitors were instructed to note any disorder among the students, such as rowdiness and 

high noise level, amount of loitering in the halls during classes, and other signs of misconduct such as 

smoking or fighting. 

In roughly one-third of the schools, site visitors noted some student disorder. They observed

“stragglers” in the hallways during classes, running and pushing in the hallways and near busses, and/or 

noisy cafeterias or classrooms. As previously noted, some site visitors observed students smoking outside

(in one case they were smoking marijuana), and a few fights also were witnessed. In one particular

school with a lot of student disorder, one site visitor observed, “While bedlam may be an exaggeration, 

children do run and yell between classes. This level of noise and motion increased dramatically during 

lunch and after school. The school gym, cafeteria and bus lines were chaotic, even when adults were 

present.” 

In about the same number of schools, however, site visitors observed very low levels of 

student disorder. They reported students moving about at a leisurely, orderly pace, with low levels of 

noise and no loitering in the halls. Students in these schools appeared to be on task in the classrooms. As 

one site visitor observed, “Overall, we found the students polite, friendly, and orderly. No shoving or 

rough-housing was witnessed during the site visit.” A site visitor from a different school reported, “The

students, observed during class changes and while boarding the buses at the end of school, were 

extremely orderly and noticeably polite to each other and to the adults monitoring the area.”

Disorder was most likely to occur in areas without a lot of supervision or monitoring, such as 

bathrooms or areas outside the school. Lunch periods and other times when large numbers of students

congregate without adequate adult supervision also were cited as places where disruption was more likely 

to occur. Several school administrators mentioned that students waited until after school to cause trouble. 

Bathrooms were most commonly cited as places for student disorder in the school, mainly due to 

smoking, along with a few examples of fights and vandalism. In the student surveys, bathrooms were the 

most common places in the school that students reported staying away from, cited by almost 15 percent of

the students. Fifteen percent of teachers also reported that student bathrooms were not safe from 

vandalism, personal attacks (on students, teachers, and others), and theft. Isolated areas outside the

school also were commonly used for fighting or smoking, and represented the next highest percentage of

student response from the surveys (14%) regarding places they stay away from. Gym locker rooms

without adult supervision provided opportunities for theft, and 13 percent of teachers thought that these 

15 
areas were unsafe (for teachers, students, and others). Students skipped school from unsupervised student

parking lots and vandalized cars. 

During lunch periods, large numbers of students were confined to one place with few adult 

monitors. This was a common time of the day for student disorder, particularly in regard to high noise 

level and rowdiness. According to site visitors at one school, “Lunch is very loud with lots of movement

from table to table and from the cafeteria to the gym where lunch-goers play basketball and run around. 

Even though adults are present, no attempt was made to keep the noise level down. The kids were so loud

we didn’t hear the bella teacher had to come outside to tell the students to come in.” Interviews with

students and staff from other schools as well, showed that fighting was most likely to occur during 

lunchtime. 

Similarly, areas of bus arrivals and departures were potential sites for disorder. Site visitors 

at one school described the scene as “pandemonium,” citing examples of one student slapping someone 

and another student throwing pencils. Personnel from a few schools cited the majority of their student

disorder occurring on the buses themselves. Again, these are areas with a lot of students and little adult

supervision. 

Perceptions of Safety and Disorder 

Fear of disorder interferes with the learning process. Even though the schools visited were

predominantly free of serious violence, less serious incidents occurred that could contribute to 

apprehension about being in school, although on the whole, site visitors did not find this to be the case at 

the schools that they studied. At roughly two-thirds of the schools, site visitors unanimously described 

their schools as safe or very safe, with low or very low levels of disorder. Similarly, about a third of the 

site visitors reported that the schools they visited were completely orderly and safe. Only one site visiting 

team characterized their school as “unsafe”. 

From the student surveys, most students reported feeling safe at school and in the 

surrounding community. Almost 57 percent of students reported feeling “almost always” safe while in

the school building. Similarly, 64 percent of students were “almost never” afraid that someone would

hurt or bother them at school, and 72 percent were “almost never” afraid on the way to or from school. 

However, as many as 12 percent of students reported avoiding certain places (e.g., restrooms) because of

fear. As reported earlier in this section, however, about a quarter of students felt they had to fight to

16 
protect themselves at school. A fair number of students also witnessed delinquent acts against teachers at

school, including teachers being threatened by students (30%) and being attacked by students (14%). 

Thirteen percent of students reported “almost never” feeling safe. Those students that did 

report feeling unsafe at times were wary in school bathrooms, locker rooms, and isolated areas in and

around the school. According to site visitors at one school, “students themselves feel the school isn’t 

safe. Besides worrying about an outside gunman breaching school security, a few focus group 

participants related that they’ve felt unsafe in the schools’ hallways, bathrooms, and classrooms where 

teachers have stepped away. Their apprehension appears to center on potential physical (pushing and 

shoving, being attacked) or emotional (name-calling, threats to fight) incidents. The kids also said they

don’t feel safe in the hallways or bathrooms, where they themselves or friends have been pushed, shoved, 

or otherwise attacked.” 

Teachers had a slightly more mixed set of feelings about safety in the school. From the 

survey data, the majority (61%) of teachers felt very safe in their classrooms while teaching. However, 

less than half the teachers felt very safe in any other part of the school or grounds. Only about a quarter

of teachers felt very safe in the restrooms used by students (25%) or in locker rooms or gyms (23%).

According to one site visitor, “Most of the teachers think the school is safe, stating that the threat of

violence isn’t their primary challenge, rather keeping order in the classroom is their biggest problem. One

teacher did state that she felt physically threatened and has made a point to stay out of the hallways at

lunch and during class changes, and does not stay after school at all. In her words, “I do my job and then

I get out.” One teacher at another school commented that she had felt threatened because the doors were

unlocked and anyone from the community could come in at any time. Finally, site visitors from another 

school mentioned that “teachers were also divided on whether they thought the school was safe or not 

(although even those who complained said it was not bad in their own classrooms).” 

Incident Reporting and Monitoring in Schools 

An important aspect of managing disorder in school is the development of systems to

monitor incidents. The discussion in this section provides a description of the types of monitoring 

systems the schools in the sample currently have in place and how these systems compare with the 

standards proposed by the state and federal government. 

17 
Incident Records 

While most schools follow similar discipline procedures (See Chapter 4), they varied quite a

bit in how they recorded and used incident data. A review of the systems that are in place in the schools 

included in the site visits found that: (a) collection forms vary widely between schools; (b) serious 

incidents usually are reported to the district/state; (c) victims and offenders are rarely identified by name

in the system; and (d) most schools review incident data informally rather than systematically. 

Collection Forms. Each school used its own standard referral form, developed locally

either at the school or at the district level. These forms were used when students were referred to the 

central office for misbehavior. Most forms included a checklist of possible incidents and actions with 

additional space for describing them in detail. For example, checklists of incidents could include

excessive talking, fighting, leaving class without permission, tardiness, use of profanity, substance abuse,

failure to follow directions, and being unprepared for class. Actions might include in-school suspension, 

detention, out-of-school suspension, referral to a counselor, or conference with a parent. Actions that the 

teacher took before sending the student to the discipline office might include parent contact, meeting with

the student, verbal warning, or revised seating arrangement. 

Several school administrators mentioned that they prefer to document each incident in detail, 

describing what happened and what steps were taken with the student, including “previous action” by the

teacher. A few school principals mentioned that this documentation is related to the possibility that legal 

action might become necessary. For example, one principal said that he insists that the teachers describe

the problem behavior in great detail, so that the incident reports “can be taken to court.” Another 

principal mentioned that he maintains very detailed written documentation of disciplinary action because

of “potential legal action.” 

Besides noting the incident and action, other items commonly found in schools’ incident

reporting forms included: 

• Offender’s name, 

• Referring name (usually a teacher), 

• Student’s grade, and 

• Date of incident. 

Other items that were found in only a few schools were: 

• Student’s race; 

• Student’s gender; 

18 
• Time of the incident; 

• Location of the incident; 

• Names of other students involved, such as accomplices or witnesses; 

• Previous action taken (a record of how the student was disciplined before being sent 

to the office); 

• Parents notified; and 

• Student comments. 

Reporting Incidents to the District. Most school administrators mentioned reporting only

serious incidents to their districts. These data usually involved suspensions, and could be either in 

summary form or as a listing of all serious referrals. At several schools, serious incidents were kept track

of separately from other referrals. However, in a lot of these schools, serious incidents were so rare that

they readily stood out in administrators’ minds. As one school principal pointed out, “more serious 

incidents may not be recorded as these are vivid and rare and can easily by tracked by memory.” 

Similarly, serious infractions leading to expulsions were routinely made known to the 

districts. Most of these cases required district approval. Likewise, school district personnel were usually

involved in alternative placement decisions, which kept them aware of serious incidents or repeat

offenders. Regardless of how the district personnel received their information, school districts usually

were aware of how many suspensions and expulsions occurred at each of their schools, and the reasons 

why these actions were taken. 

Reporting Incidents to the Police. School administrators also mentioned reporting serious 

incidents to the local police. In some schools, only criminal offenses were reported, which usually 

involved the local police department anyway. In other schools, any serious offense was reported, such as

theft, drug and alcohol offenses, and serious fights. One school principal pointed out that, by law, he 

must report all incidents involving weapons or drugs. In some schools, summary reports were provided

to the officers who work with the schools. In another school, copies of its standard incident forms were 

sent to the School Resource Officer, who must then decide whether or not the incident warrants reporting 

to the police department. 

Reporting Incidents to the State. Some school administrators also mentioned sending

discipline information directly to their states. In one school, information was sent from its bus and

teacher referrals to the central office and, at the end of the year, to the state. In another school, a 

Discipline Incident Summary on violent behaviors was sent to both the state and district, and at a third

19 
school, a State School Behavior Report on suspensions and expulsions was sent to the district office and 

reported to the state. 

Other schools had incident data entered directly into statewide computer systems. For 

example, in one state, school personnel used a statewide information system that contains “a wealth of 

information on each student, including name, address, social security number, parent’s information,

emergency information, immunization record, academic information, and discipline records (type and 

date of incident and action taken).” Data from these records could be aggregated to the school, county,

regional, and state levels. At another school, a computerized reporting system was used that sought to

have all schools in the state networked with the state education agency (SEA); this would allow the SEA 

to obtain, at any time, discipline information for any school system in the state. 

From most schools, how incident data got to the state level was unclear. States are required, 

however, to collect data from their local education agencies (usually districts) regarding incidents in 

schools. These data must be submitted to Congress as part of performance reports for the Safe and Drug 

Free Schools and Communities Act. For the “State Education Agency Safe and Drug-Free Program

Reporting,” states currently use a reporting form that asks, among other things, about the “frequency,

seriousness, and incidence of violence in elementary and secondary schools.” 

Specifically, states are asked to report the number of: 

• Incidents, 

• Victims (students, school personnel, non-school personnel), 

• Offenders (students, non-students), and

• Weapon-related incidents. 

Also, as part of the Gun-Free Schools Act, states are asked to also report the number of: 

• Student expulsions for bringing a firearm to school (handgun, rifles/shotguns, other 

firearms), 

• Student expulsions shortened to less than one year on a case-by-case basis, and 

• Expelled students referred to an alternative placement. 

School officials generally report serious incidents to states, either directly or through their 

districts. This reporting procedure, however, is not standard across all schools and some are more

efficient than others. Some schools utilized standard, computerized reporting methods, while others 

relied on hard copies or memory. Because of this variability, information is likely to be inaccurate. 

School officials rarely do anything with the information they collect on the victim and/or 

offender, if such information is collected at all. Often, names of students involved in the incident were 

20 
recorded on the referral forms. The incident was recorded in the offending student’s file. If need be, 

school administrators, especially those who track incident data electronically, could retrieve summary

data on offenders. Victims, however, may be noted by hand on referral forms, but were rarely entered 

into computer systems, and even more rarely summarized into a report. 

U.S. Department of Education Incident Collection and Reporting Recommendations. 

In order to extract this information easily from the schools, states have asked for recommendations from a 

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) forum for the best ways to collect and report incident 

data. Findings from the NCES task force, which included SEA officials, were published and 

disseminated to SEAs in July 1996. SEAs are responsible for distributing these recommendations to the

district and school levels. Although a few schools had incident reporting forms developed by their

districts (which could have adopted these recommendations), none of the schools that we visited 

mentioned anything about specific reporting recommendations from either their districts or states. 

The main finding from the NCES task force was the advice to track incident data through a 

unit record system. This would avoid duplication while making sure that all the data was collected.

Specifically, school administrators should document incidents using: 

• One incident record per incident, 

• One or more student record(s) for every student involved, and 

• Link the incident and student records by a unique identifier. 

For example, if a fight occurred between two students, an incident record would be made to document the 

“fight,” and two student records would be made for the two students involved. All three records (one 

incident and two students) would be linked by a unique identifier. Thus, when the state asks for the 

number of incidents, school officials would retrieve all incident records, sorted by the unique identifiers. 

When asked for the number of offenders or victims, school officials would retrieve all student records. 

Since students would be linked to specific incidents through the unique identifiers, questions about how 

many students were involved in fights, for example, could be answered. 

Currently, school administrators appear to document an incident on a single form. From the 

example above, it would be noted on one referral form what happened (fight) and who was involved

(names of students). If this information were entered into a computer database, it usually would be

tracked by incident or student. Thus, with computer tracking systems, data could be retrieved involving

one incident record per incident, and one or more student records for offending students. We did not 

observe, however, that these records were linked by unique identifiers. While obtaining total numbers of

incidents and students involved per type of incident would be possible, these data would not be linked. A

21 
single fight, for example, that occurred between two students may be listed under each student’s record. 

The NCES task force recommended other key concepts for schools’ reporting of incidents: 

• Data collection should be organized around the school year (as opposed to the calendar 

year or fiscal year); 

• All incidents should be reported that occurred on school grounds or school

transportation, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day;

• The location of the incident should be included (if it happened during an off-campus, 

school-sponsored activity, it only should be reported if a student was involved); 

• Students should be identified by only those enrolled in the district (a “non-student”

would include a student from another district); 

• Incident reports should include whether or not alcohol, drugs, or weapons were 

involved;

• Incident reports should include whether or not the incident was gang- or hate-related; 

• Records should be kept on which incidents were reported to police; and 

• If more than one offense occurred at the same time, only the most serious one should be

recorded on the single incident form. 

The schools visited for this study had reporting systems that were consistent with many of

these recommendations. School officials created records based on the school year, and some reported the 

location of the incidents. There appeared to be some confusion, however, about whether or not to report 

something, especially if it happened outside the school walls or school day. This confusion extended to

after-school and off-campus activities. Referrals usually noted whether alcohol, drugs, or weapons were 

involved, but did not always document whether police were called. None of the incident referral forms 

had a way of systematically recording whether or not the incident was gang- or hate-related, although this

certainly could have been noted in the description of the incident. Finally, there were some

inconsistencies among the schools in how incidents were reported if more than one occurred at the same 

time. In some schools, more than one incident was listed on the same student record. 

No one from the site visit schools or districts mentioned anything about the state reporting 

forms or NCES reporting recommendations. Currently, states would appear to have a difficult time

collecting all of the information that the NCES task force recommended. 

Monitoring and Reviewing Incident Data 

Disciplinary information from each school in our study usually was reviewed informally 

within the school. Principals and teachers usually were aware of the most prevalent types of disorder at 

their schools as well as which students were more likely to cause trouble. 

22 
In many schools, incident data were sorted by student. This provided an easy way to review 

which students were involved in different kinds of trouble. For example, teachers at one school looked at

the referrals to see if any students were repeat offenders in order to decide the most appropriate

punishment. Other school officials looked at a student’s history of misbehaving before deciding whether

or not to send the student to an alternative school. As one school administrator said, “reports are filed

alphabetically in each student’s file. The information accumulates until the principal or Dean of students

feels that a student has engaged in too many misconduct behaviors. A more lasting solution is developed, 

such as sending the student to the local alternative high school.” 

Another reason that staff reviewed incident data was to monitor classroom management.

Some teachers issued more referrals than others did, or different types of referrals, both of which could 

warrant attention from administrators. For example, at one school, the principal reviewed its incident

information for internal tracking and as a way to audit teachers and students with large referrals. 

Besides looking at individual students or teachers, incident data was reviewed within the 

schools in order to notice trends. This kind of tracking, however, was more the exception than the rule. It 

was mostly done informally by teachers and administrators in the school. A few school officials 

mentioned that their districts compiled and provided trend data, or summary reports, to the school. By

looking at trends in disorder, administrators could decide whether or not to create new or revise existing

programs, rules or policies. For example, the principal at one school noticed an increase in student drug 

use. Based on this information, she considered bringing in a drug-sniffing dog to conduct random 

searches. A site visitor at another school reported that, “though no formal needs assessments are made,

the administration examines the disciplinary reports to see if there are trends with particular students, 

offenses, or teachers. They then adjust procedures accordingly.” 

Only a few schools in our study had specific procedures in place to review incident data. At 

one school, the faculty senate consistently reviewed data by examining a printout listing all incidents at 

the end of the school year. Another school’s principal participated in a systematic review with his district

by being involved in a district safety committee. The committee met monthly to review all accidents and

incidents involving students and employees. They also reviewed reports of vandalism and destruction to 

school and district property and conducted walks through the school buildings to make sure everything

appeared safe (e.g., no torn carpet, fire extinguishers charged, fire alarms and locks in working order).

The committee would then formulate a plan based on any problems found and distribute a report to all

schools regarding the nature of the problem and how it was being handled. In another district, two staff 

members in the central office coordinated and provided assistance to school staff on collecting data on 

23 
safety issues. They tracked incident reports and attendance, as well as health issues and community

involvement. 

24 
Chapter 

4 

Efforts to Prevent Problem Behavior 

This chapter addresses two questions: 

 What types of efforts are underway in schools to prevent problem behavior? 

 How well are efforts to prevent problem behavior implemented? 

Two previous reports for this project (Gottfredson et al., 2000; Crosse et al., forthcoming) 

addressed each of these questions using information collected from a representative sample of schools, 

teachers, students and program providers. The goal of the present chapter is to get a better understanding

of these results by providing a qualitative picture of what schools are doing to prevent problem behavior. 

This chapter is organized into 4 sections, including: (a) violence prevention activities; (b) 

school security; (c) school discipline practices and policies, and (d) school climate. 

Violence Prevention Activities 

The previous report analyzed violence prevention activities that were classified into 19 

different types. These are divided into two overall groups: prevention activities (Table 4-1) and schoolwide arrangements (Table 4-2). In this section, we amplify the results from the previous report for all of

these activities except security and surveillance, which we discuss separately in the school security

section of this report. 

25 
Table 4-1 

Prevention Activity Categories and Definitions

Categories of School Activities Definition 

1) Prevention curriculum, instruction or training Training or instruction in which the content 

involves knowledge, skills, attitudes or values 

intended to prevent problem behavior. 

Instruction or training may be brief (less than 

an hour) or of extended duration. 

2) Counseling/social work/psychological/ 

therapeutic interventions 

Provision of advice or guidance to remedy or 

prevent problems using identifiable 

techniques of psychology, counseling, or

social work. 

3) Use of external personnel resources in 

classrooms 

Includes the use of parent or community 

volunteers, authority figures (e.g., police 

officers), classroom consultants, aides, or 

older students.

4) Culture or climate change, norm change Includes efforts to establish, encourage, or 

sustain a special school climate or culture 

though symbols, ceremonies, or systematic 

procedures; communication of expectations; 

and use of social influence or attitude change 

techniques to obtain commitment to norms. 

5) Behavioral or behavior modification 

interventions

Tracking student behavior, setting behavior 

goals, and feedback or punishment to decrease 

undesired behavior or rewards to increase 

desired behavior. 

6) Recreational, enrichment, and leisure 

activities 

Provision of or access to activities, play, 

amusement, or diversions; exploration outside 

the school; for fun or relaxation. 

7) Improvements to classroom organization and 

management 

Activities applied to entire classes to establish 

and enforce classroom rules, use rewards and 

punishments, improve the use or management 

of time, or change the way in which students 

are grouped for instruction by ability, 

achievement or effort within the classroom. 

26 
Table 4-1 (continued) 

Categories of School Activities Definition 

8) Services to families Outreach or service to families to improve 

their child management and supervision 

practices, or to provide other family services. 

9) Mentoring, tutoring, coaching, or 

apprenticeships 

Provision of one-on-one attention to students 

other than counseling or behavioral 

programming. 

10) Improvements to instructional practices Activities applied to entire classes that 

involve the adoption or expansion of 

improved instructional techniques or 

practices. Includes training, supervision or 

assistance to improve instructional methods. 

Not included are curriculum changes. 

11) Intergroup relations, interaction between 

school and community

Activities to promote interaction among 

members of diverse groups and celebrate 

diversity, to promote relations between the 

school and the community, and improve 

intergroup relations or resolve or reduce 

conflict. 

12) Youth regulating and responding to student 

conduct 

Student participation in making school rules, 

in resolving disputes, or in responding to

problem behavior (e.g., student court, peer 

mediation, or student conflict resolution).

13) Planning structure or process Structured or facilitated planning activities as 

well as activity to coordinate or manage 

change in the school. Includes the use of 

methods or processes for planning or program

development, inclusion of a broad range of 

individuals or perspectives in planning, or the 

use of consultants to advise on school

practices or solve problems. 

14) Security and surveillance Application of procedures to discourage 

intruders from entering the school; watching 

entrances, hallways and school grounds;

facilitating reporting of problem behavior; 

searching for weapons or drugs; removing 

barriers to observation or inspection; action to 

avert potential unsafe events. 

27 
Table 4-2 

School Wide Arrangements and Definitions 

School Wide Arrangements Definitions 

1) Simple provision of information regarding the 

harmfulness of violence, drug use, or risky

sexual behavior or about the availability of 

services 

Information may be provided by using posters, 

newsletters, brochures, announcements, 

handouts, videos, slide shows, lectures, 

presentations, readings, or other methods. 

Information may be directed at students, 

parents, educators or community members. 

Does not include instruction or training. Does 

not include information conveyed as part of 

any activity listed above. 

2) Reorganization of grades, classes or school 

schedules 

Includes use of specially arranged school 

schedules, group of students, formation of 

within-school units, or small class size to 

prevent problem behavior or promote school 

order. May also include within-school units 

such as “teams” or “houses” or special gradeto-grade promotion criteria. 

3) Activities that influence the composition of the 

school’s population 

Includes are special student recruitment 

efforts, school specialization in attractive 

educational programs, selective admissions 

criteria, scholarships, assignment of students 

with educational or behavior problems to other 

schools, or a requirement of tuition or fees. 

4) Treatment or prevention interventions for

administration, faculty, or staff 

Includes prevention or treatment of alcohol, 

tobacco, or other drug use; anger or selfcontrol problems, or other health or mental 

health problems. 

5) Architectural design or structural features of 

the school 

Includes the use of fences, space, facilities, 

barricades, physical arrangements, or artwork. 

The previous analysis found that the diversity and quantity of activities reported by 

principals was extremely high. For example, on average, principals reported 9 of the 14 different

prevention activity types listed in Table 4-1 (Gottfredson et al., 2000). The most commonly reported 

prevention activity type was prevention curriculum, instruction or training. Nationally, 76 percent of

schools reported using this category. A substantial proportion of schools used “celebrity” programs, 

which are “off-the-shelf” or “canned” programs marketed to schools. A large percentage of schools also

28 
reported school-wide arrangements, with the most common activity being simple provision of information 

(80% of schools). 

As part of the site visit, principals and other school personnel were asked about activities 

they considered important for preventing or reducing problem behavior in schools. The number of

separate prevention activities reported by respondents to site visitors was less than would be expected 

from the national survey data. On average, 12 prevention activities per school were reported to site 

visitors. This compares to an average of 17 to 18 activities reported for schools nationally during the 

survey. 

At least some of the difference between the two results stems from the methods used to

collect the information. To some extent, the difference also may be due to the site selection methods 

used--probability sampling versus purposive selection. During the survey, the principal was presented

with a list of possible activities that could be used to prevent problem behavior. He/she was then asked to

report on appropriate activity under each category. This contrasts to the procedures used during the site 

visit, which consisted of an in-person, open-ended interview, without specific prompts or cues about

particular types of activities. The open-ended questions are most likely to elicit information that is

prominent in the principal’s mind, especially as it ties into preventing violence within the school. The 

survey provided a more exhaustive set of cues to the respondent to assist in defining eligible activities.

However, it may have also placed greater demand on the respondent to report any possible activity that 

might qualify as an activity to prevent violence. This suggests that respondents may have over-reported

activities on the survey. 

The survey of program providers found that the quality of implementation of prevention 

activities was quite low. For each particular type of activity, the provider survey asked about specific

practices with respect to the particular activity. The responses were then used to assess the extent that

providers were following “best practices6

.” Overall, this analysis found that only 57 percent of the 

prevention activities achieved adequate levels of implementation quality. That is, only 57 percent of the 

measures met criteria (developed by experts) for sufficient strength to achieve a reduction in problem 

behavior or an increase in school safety.

Interestingly, adequacy ratings on the national survey varied by school level and location.

The ratings tended to be highest in urban areas and lowest in rural areas. This is opposite to what one 

 

6

 Best practices were based on expert judgement and a review of the literature on the effectiveness of prevention activities (see Gottfredson et al., 

2000).

29 
might expect, given that the national survey results indicate that urban areas tended to have lower levels

of safety than suburban or rural areas. Based on those results, one might expect that schools that are the 

least safe would be the least able to implement programs in an effective way. Instead, the survey data 

suggest that program implementation is driven in part by the need to control problem behavior: schools 

that have greater safety concerns appear to attend more to the quality of program implementation than 

other schools.

The site visit reports amplify this general pattern. As noted in the previous chapter, many of 

the schools visited were considered by staff and students to have relatively low levels of violence. This 

was also reflected in the interviews with many of the principals during the site visits. Principals did not

report an overwhelming number of concerns with safety and, on the whole, did not attribute the safety of 

the school to particular types of prevention activities. 

The site visits were not designed to do an intensive process evaluation of particular activities 

in the school, so we have very little information on the content of the program (e.g., material covered in 

lesson plans; type of counseling strategies used) or the methods of implementing the activities. 

Nonetheless, we found great variability across the different types of programs with respect to basic 

quality criteria, including the existence of specific goals, the actual frequency of participation of students 

in the activity and any tracking of outcomes relative to the initial goals of the activity. With a number of 

exceptions, the site visitors generally found a lack of information on these basic elements. One 

interpretation of this is that many of the schools that did not perceive themselves as having a safety 

problem also did not seem to feel a great need to ensure that the program was being implemented as

initially planned. 

To illustrate the issues that came up during the site visits, we discuss four different types of

programs: (a) youth regulation of and response to student conduct; (b) activities involving individual 

attention (such as mentoring, tutoring, or coaching.); (c) activities to change or maintain the culture or 

climate of the school, alter or maintain expectations for student behavior, or secure commitment to norms;

and (d) implementation of counseling, social work, psychological or therapeutic activity. These program

types were selected on the basis of having a sufficiently large number of schools in the site visit sample 

reporting them, as well as having the site visitor actually interview the provider for the activity. 

Youth Regulation of and Response to Student Conduct 

About half the visited schools had instituted some form of prevention activity that involved 

students in managing or responding to the conduct of their peers. The vast majority of such activities 

30 
were peer mediation programs. In 12 of these schools, the site visitor interviewed the program 

coordinators. The discussion below provides information on the peer mediation programs in these 12 

schools. The schools included in this group of 12 were evenly distributed across middle and high schools, 

along urbanicity and size. 

Participation in the program was voluntary in all cases but one. In that program, students 

were often given the choice between referral to the discipline office/suspension and participation in peer

mediation. Typically, students who wanted the services of a mediator completed a request form located

in a counselor’s office or in boxes placed in common areas throughout the school. Mediation sessions 

were held at a mutually agreed upon time during the school day. Students generally were excused from a 

class period to participate in a mediation session. Mediations adhered to a set of rules agreed upon in 

advance. If successful, mediation ended with some sort of written agreement between the disputants. 

All programs targeted the entire school population. For the most part, student mediators 

were drawn from the upper grade or grades of a school. The number of mediators per school ranged from 

10 to 46. The number of mediators was not related to the size of the school, except perhaps inversely.

Two of the largest schools had the smallest numbers of mediators. 

In most schools, programs were coordinated by one adult staff member. No school had more 

than two staff members involved in running the program. The type of staff varied by school (e.g., 

counselor, teacher, security aide), and a minority of staff were actually compensated for running the

program by means of a stipends. 

All mediators received training, generally a few days outside school. Training usually 

involved practice and role playing. Mediations were quite structured and closely followed the model 

conveyed during training. One program provided mediators with ongoing training and other activities 

throughout the year. Funding for the program was provided by the school district in all but two cases.

Most of the districts used SDFSCA funds for this type of program.

Overall, peer mediation programs in these schools were not particularly well implemented.

Programs were not widely used by students (as far as site visitors could tell), had scanty monitoring and 

evaluation data and were not perceived as being very effective by students or staff. 

On the whole, these programs were not widely supported by the schools. Extreme examples 

of this are in two schools where the programs were not implemented at all. One never really started 

because of a lack of interest on the part of the student body and the other had operated in previous years

31 
but was not operating in 1998-99 because it did not have a faculty or staff sponsor. Similarly, only two 

schools provided an extra stipend for staff to assist with the activities. In the other schools the staff

running the program picked the activity up as part of their normal duties. In one school, space was a clear

issue. The principal had not allocated a private space for the program, which made conducting 

confidential sessions difficult. 

In most schools, the program was perceived as not well used or not well known. Programs 

maintained very limited data on the extent of use by students. Only five schools provided any numbers 

related to how many students used the program during the course of the school year. These consisted of 

numbers of mediations per year or per week rather than numbers of students. Three of the five schools 

provided actual counts of mediations, the others provided estimates. The range was 30 to 100 mediations 

per year. In the schools that provided actual counts, roughly 7, 9, and 22 percent of the student body 

participated in peer mediation during the past year. 

Programs also maintained very limited data for program monitoring and evaluation. To the

extent that programs maintained any data at all, it was primarily process data—records of individual 

mediations and their resolutions. Two programs made a practice of following up with participants after 

mediations. One school sought regular feedback from students and parents about the program.

In the absence of evaluation data, indications of program effectiveness were anecdotal.

Perceptions of effectiveness varied. Program coordinators and mediators tended to be the most positive 

about program potential and about the skills they had acquired. Other school staff and administrators had 

mixed reactions. They often felt that the program had limited uses or was not well implemented. 

Students tended to have the most negative perceptions. At one school, although student mediators were 

quite enthusiastic about their mediation program, other students questioned its effectiveness for example, 

these non-mediators reported that, rather than resolving differences, medication had the effect of moving 

unresolved disputes from school to other venues such as local restaurant parking lots. 

Activities Involving Individual Attention 

About one quarter of the visited schools had programs in place that focused on providing

individual academic and social support to a subgroup of students. These included tutoring and mentoring 

programs, dropout prevention programs, career orientation programs, and family literacy programs. 

These did not include activities that provided one-on-one attention as a function of counseling or

psychological support. Interviews with program providers were obtained for 8 of the programs in 7 of

these schools. 

32 
The programs were fairly evenly distributed between middle and high schools, large and

small schools, and rural and urban schools. The programs were quite diverse but all provided extra 

academic or social support to students and all targeted at-risk students. Teachers and other school staff

identified and referred students to such programs usually because of their grades, problem behavior,

attendance, or combination of these problems. 

Goals of the programs tended to focus on individual students. They were phrased in terms of

improving participants' grades, social skills, attendance, and self esteem. One school had the stated goal 

of reducing the overall dropout rate. One program aimed for an “80 percent positive placement rate” (i.e., 

remaining in school, finding full-time employment, or entering post-secondary education). 

Providers usually worked with students in pullout settings during the school day, generally 

no longer than a class period 2 or 3 times per week. One program (a dropout prevention program) 

functioned as a class for participating students that met every day. Two programs met once a week after

school for 1 to 2 hours. Most programs had between 15 and 40 participants. 

Quality of implementation is difficult to assess because of the lack of data maintained by the 

programs. The programs varied tremendously along a number of important dimensions correlated with

implementation quality. Staffing ranged from a full-time coordinator with a staff of 9 teachers to a

teacher or counselor coordinating the program in his or her spare time. Support ranged from two 

programs that did not receive any cash funding to several programs funded by the school district, state, or

federal Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) grant. 

These programs were much better than their peer mediation counterparts at maintaining

process information. Programs tended to maintain data such as attendance and activity logs. Grades,

attendance, and persistence in school were tracked for individual students. One program also monitored 

the school-wide dropout rate. However, like the peer mediation program, efforts to evaluate the programs 

in any systematic way were minimal or non-existent. 

Staff and provider perceptions of the programs tended to be positive. Although teachers 

grumbled about pull-out programs, most school staff seemed to feel that the additional attention was

helpful to participants. Two programs were in their first year and the consensus was that the programs

showed promise but assessing effectiveness should wait until the programs had matured. 

From the site visits, the lack of resources, either inconsistent or declining participation of

staff or shrinking funds, was cited as a major barrier to effective implementation. Only one program (an

33 
after-school family literacy program) planned to expand its outreach. Some programs lacked much

intensity of service—either they did not meet very frequently or the amount of time per session was very

limited. Some programs did not have adequate staff to provide much one-on-one contact with students. 

Activities to Change or Maintain the Culture or Climate of the School, Alter or 

Maintain Expectations for Student Behavior, or Secure Commitment to Norms 

We gathered information from program providers on 15 of these types of activities in 10 

schools. The programs were evenly split between middle and high schools. Eight of the programs were

in suburban schools, 5 were in urban schools, and 2 were in rural schools. Most of the schools had

enrollments of over 500 students; 5 schools had enrollments over 1000 students. 

In the visited schools, these activities tended to be variations of three basic forms: student 

clubs, activity/discussion groups, and leadership classes. Student clubs often had anti-drug or antiviolence themes. They attempted to engage students in positive alternatives to problem behavior and 

sponsored school-wide events and community service projects. The clubs recruited speakers on a variety

of topics, sponsored field trips, and organized theme-based events for the school such as dances or “Just

say no” week. Often these clubs required individual members to perform a set number of hours of

community service or to initiate as a group one or two major community service projects per year. Often

these clubs were affiliated with national organizations. 

Discussion or activity groups tended to focus on a specific group of students such as students 

having trouble in school or the lowest grade in a particular school. They often revolved around social 

adjustment of students such as easing the transition to middle school or high school. Two programs were

elective leadership classes. Drawn from the upper grades of the schools, the students in these classes 

were expected to serve as role models for other students. In one high school, participants led discussions 

of teenage issues with younger students at the end of the school year. 

Seven of the programs were funded through SDFSCA or the school district, three received

funds from the school, three received funds from local organizations, five relied substantially on 

fundraisers, three charged student dues, one was funded by a local grant, and one received funds from 

AmeriCorps. Cash funds paid for materials, activities, or staff time. In-kind resources consisted mostly

of donated time. 

34 
Goals tended to focus on creating a drug or violence free environment, building self-esteem 

and leadership, improving student social interactions and decision-making, and easing the transition to 

middle school or high school. 

Students targeted by these activities varied. Most of the clubs were open to all. Some

groups targeted at-risk students or students in a particular grade. Leadership classes targeted students in 

upper grades with higher grade point averages and teacher recommendations. One discussion group 

targeted females. These programs had between 20 and 100 participants depending upon the nature of the 

program. 

Program coordinators were generally counselors or teachers. Most were run by only one or 

two staff members. In one very large high school, 10 teachers instructed multiple sections of a leadership 

class. A couple of programs were staffed by non-school personnel such as AmeriCorps members. Most 

program coordinators had received no specialized training. Most providers operated these programs as

part of their regular duties (counselors and leadership teachers) or as extra duty (teachers). A few were

paid small stipends for coordinating the program. 

Assessing implementation of these programs is difficult because of the lack of systematic

data. Some reached very few students and lacked much intensity of service. Most lacked the resources to 

expand. Most attempted to reach the broader school community through special events or mentoring

relationships with other students; however, these programs did not measure school-wide effects. 

These programs maintained very little data. Classes monitored individual student grades and 

behavior, activity/discussion groups monitored individual student behavior and attitudes toward the 

program (one administered pre- and post-test questionnaires to participants). Student clubs monitored

attendance and activities. No formal evaluations were planned or had been conducted. Perceptions of the 

programs were generally positive, but were based on anecdotal evidence of effectiveness for individual

students. None of the schools measured any school-wide outcomes against program goals or activities. 

Counseling, Social Work, Psychological, or Therapeutic Activity

Information about these types of programs was available from 27 of the 40 schools visited 

during the site visits. Generally, these programs were, at least from outset, one of the most highly

structured and most strongly supported of the different programs reviewed by the site visitors. This 

should not be particularly surprising, since counseling is part of the everyday school activity. We 

35 
characterized these programs partly on the basis of the types of populations they serve. Approximately 30 

percent of the programs were universal and targeted an entire group of students (all students in a class, 

grade, school, or system). Approximately half of the programs were selected prevention whereby 

students were identified and referred by teachers, counselors, principals, juvenile justice, parents, and by

self-referral. Most of these students were identified as having or being at risk of developing behavioral or 

academic problems. These students had not yet been formally assessed, only referred to some type of 

intervention. The indicated prevention programs constituted 18 percent of the programs reviewed. These 

students were identified through assessment of test scores (lowest quartile on standardized tests),

significant drop in grades, failing courses, substance abuse, truancy, or documented behavioral 

disruptions. 

Mental health specialists (counselors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, family

therapists) accounted for about half of the staff, with teachers and administrators making up the 

remainder. About 10 percent of the programs utilized at least two different disciplines in addressing 

school violence and related issues. 

These programs seemed to have access to significant funds for support. The majority of

program providers are supported by district funding for their position, meaning they receive funding from 

no other identifiable external source. Sources of funding for providers other than district funding were

distributed fairly evenly. Roughly one-third of programs were funded by SDFSCA, one-third was funded

by state education departments or city and state agencies (other than state and local education agencies),

and the last third did not specify a funding source for their programs. 

Written goals or mission statements were very common among the programs reviewed 

(83%). However, these goals varied greatly in their specificity and measurability, with some programs

having very general and broad goals and others having highly specific and measurable goals. The

remaining programs stated they did not have goals (4%), that they did not specify any goals (8%), or that

they developed goals individually for each student (4%). 

Formal program evaluations were a part of approximately half of those reviewed, although

not all of these evaluations included outcomes or long term tracking of outcomes. This was relatively 

high compared to other types of programs reviewed during the site visits. Approximately one-third of the 

programs did not have any evaluation or monitoring of effectiveness. Perceptions of the programs’

effectiveness were quite positive among providers, staff and students. Only a small percentage of schools 

were critical of the way the program operated or its effectiveness. 

36 
Exemplary Programs 

To illustrate some of the factors that seemed to lead to good implementation, two programs 

seemed particularly strong. Both of these are counseling programs. 

Characteristics of Exemplary Programs. We classified programs as exemplary programs 

based on the extent to which they possessed certain key characteristics. These characteristics are firmly

grounded in the prevention research literature as being the “active ingredients” that are most likely to 

produce the desired effects. These key characteristics include the following: 

 Large target population. The two programs had very clear focus and addressed 

universal, selected, and indicated levels of prevention. Although the second program 

was focused on tobacco reduction, the development of personal self-management

skills and general social skills are clearly seen as ‘cross-over’ skills that could reduce 

violence in the school setting. 

 Highly trained staff. The providers for the first program were highly trained with

many providers having or working towards doctoral level training in mental health 

counseling or psychology. The second program had a registered nurse with specific 

and ongoing training in the implementation of the program.

 Written program materials. Both of these programs utilized manuals and

curriculum guides. Both programs were structured in ways to deliver effective 

interventions. For example, one program has a step-down ‘dosage’ model that 

provides ‘booster sessions’ to reinforce what has been taught earlier. 

 Significant monetary support. The significance of substantial funding is evident in

the quality of both of these programs. A critical level of funding (SDFSCA or State 

Department of Health) provides the foundation for quality programs, high quality 

providers, and sophisticated evaluation components. 

 Evaluation and monitoring. The second program used a sophisticated evaluation

protocol. This program has a significant history in being well researched and very 

well regarded in the prevention field. The first program had a less rigorous program, 

but strong as compared to the programs reviewed in other schools. The first program 

implemented process and outcome evaluative components that had multiple

stakeholders participate in the evaluation processes. 

 Integration into the school. Both programs are highly integrated into the school 

communities and have evolved from multiple evaluations of needs and resources.

That is, the programs have a substantial history within the local setting, have been

critically reviewed and adapted to cultural norms, are part of an ongoing feedback

evaluation process, and are openly and actively promoted within the local settings. 

Program 1. The first program is in a relatively large middle school in an urban setting. The 

program is currently funded by the Safe and Drug Free School and Communities Act. The program was 

37 
initiated after consultation with the school district’s Safe and Drug Free Schools Advisory Council, as 

prescribed by legislation. 

Program specialists were typically Masters degree level counselors, although many had 

Ph.D.’s or are enrolled in a doctorate program. The specialists provide individual, group, and family 

counseling. Some specialists focus on teen dating violence that includes presenting to students issues

surrounding date rape and alternatives to violence. The specialists also conduct instructional preventive 

interventions as well as assisting teachers in technical implementation of the curriculum. The curriculum 

allows for adaptation to specific school needs. 

The programs are evaluated at the district level. Surveys of a random sample are conducted

that ask teachers, counselors, and administrators about their level of knowledge of the program in their 

school (who provides what programs; what was the modality, type, duration, intensity; target population), 

opinions about the program, and benefits from having the program in their school. This process 

evaluation is self-imposed by the program. Program staff prepare quarterly summaries of activities 

conducted by the TRUST specialists. 

Program 2. The second program is based in a small middle school in a rural setting. The 

program is funded from a $50,000 grant from the state to reduce the use of tobacco by students. The 

program includes the teaching of prevention-related information, promoting anti-drug norms, teaching

drug refusal skills, and fostering the development of personal self-management skills and general social

skills. The program has explicit performance objectives and timelines for each objective through the

year, with a review of the effectiveness of the program by the state legislature occurring at end of two 

years. 

The program consists of a twelve lesson curriculum conducted over 15 class periods during

the first year, 10 class periods the second year, and 5 class periods the third year. The program is 

designed for students attending middle or junior high school, with the first year intended to be 

implemented in either 6th or 7th grade. The district, which created the overall program for the state grant 

application, hired the school nurse to implement the program in grades 6 through 8, a modified program

with grades 9 and 10, and chose to include life skills training as part of it, and also to serve in the three

elementary schools in the county. The total number of students served is 750. One major strength of the 

program is its clear objectives and performance indicators for evaluation purposes. 

In September 1998, the school nurse began implementing the program in grades 6 through 8.

She follows set lesson plans and uses the textbooks and materials associated with the program published 

38 
by Princeton Health Press, Inc. In the school, she is able to teach for 30 minutes every day in the

homeroom period rather than only three times per week, which was the schedule in another middle school 

in the district. The nurse attended a two-day training program in October with other nurses and teachers

from around the state so she could conduct and coordinate training for classroom teachers in the county as

well. She attended a second training in February that afforded opportunities to exchange experiences and 

information with other nurses and teachers of the program in the state. The publisher of the program 

sponsored both training sessions. The funding for the program is from the state legislature’s settlement

with the tobacco companies. 

The district chose the program because it has been rigorously evaluated and recognized by

the American Medical Association (AMA), American Psychological Association (APA), and the Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for its excellence as a prevention program. The district is 

monitoring the activities overall as outlined in the grant proposal, but the nurse documents every activity

she implements as well as the number of students served and other details. Although she is not required

to document activities, she is used to documenting her work as a nurse. Progress reports are completed in 

the middle of the program (January) and at the end of the school year to assess if the program is being 

implemented as planned. 

Evaluation of the program takes several forms. These include a pre- and post-program

survey of the students designed by the nurse that also affords the opportunity for feedback and a formal 

evaluation measured by pre- and post-tests. 

Summary

In summary, our review of 19 different types of programs found large variation across a 

number of characteristics important for effective violence prevention. Our findings amplified those of the 

analysis of the survey data (Gottfredson et al., 2000; Crosse et al., forthcoming) that many programs do

not meet minimal quality criteria along a number of basic characteristics, including financial support, 

frequency of participation by students and monitoring and evaluation. These problems, we believe, 

reflect an overall view on the part of the schools that these programs do not generally have a critical role

in preventing problem behavior in the school. In fact, many of these programs are implemented within

schools that are seen as being relatively safe and not in great need of such programs. 

39 
School Security

Unlike the activities reviewed in the previous section, school personnel viewed maintaining 

school security as the first line of defense against violence and other problem behavior. Security is 

ubiquitous across all schools and consists of different types of personnel to monitor student activity, as 

well as hardware. The previous analysis found that this type of prevention activity was implemented 

significantly better than a number of other prevention measures (Gottfredson, et al., 2000). 

Schools use a variety of strategies and measures to promote safety for their students and 

staff. The most commonly used security effort involves monitoring students and the school building to 

ensure proper student behavior, as well as to keep outsiders away from the school. Several schools in our

study also provide security by conducting drug and weapon searches, sometimes using metal detectors. 

Other schools may use protection measures such as developing emergency or crisis plans, or using

classroom devices such as two-way intercoms, phones, or emergency buttons. Security may take the form

of different organizational arrangements in some schools, such as block scheduling (See the section in this 

chapter on policies to monitor student movement), and the removal of disruptive students. Finally, some 

schools may use the architectural design of their buildings to promote security. 

Schools reported using an average of six security measures, strategies, or devices at their

schools. About a third of the schools reported using 7 to 12 different ways to administer security. These 

schools tended to be urban schools, as well as large schools. 

This section elaborates on the security used in schools. The section is divided into three 

parts. The first describes the security provided by staff. The second section describes the use of law 

enforcement personnel and the relationship between the police and school. The third sections discusses

security devices and strategies. 

School Security Staff 

A number of different types of security staff are used by schools. The most common are 

teachers and/or administrators. They are expected to assume these extra duties on top of their regular 

teaching or other responsibilities and are usually not compensated for the additional work. These 

individuals perform the most common type of security activity by monitoring student behavior in the

halls, cafeterias, bathrooms, parking lots, bus stops and other areas of the school campus where disorder

has the potential to arise. Monitoring high traffic areas is seen by many schools as a key prevention 

40 
strategy as this adult presence is designed to “discourage loitering and misbehavior.” While monitoring, 

staff may be expected to check hall passes, confront unauthorized persons on school grounds, escort 

school visitors to their destinations, verbally reprimand inappropriate student behavior, break up fights,

issue tickets or citations, or escort disruptive students to the office. 

Some schools credit monitoring as an effective practice for preventing student disorder.

Teachers and administrators at one school felt that monitoring “has been instrumental in preventing 

misbehavior.” Site visitors at another school reported that “we saw a few teachers in the hallways, and it

seemed to be an effective practice for minimizing the amount of horseplay and running in the halls.” The 

teachers at a different school did not mind their monitoring roles and felt that it was “effective in

preventing problems in and around the school.” This kind of practice also lends itself to the “proactive”

philosophy of discipline on which several schools commentedmonitoring situations and catching 

incidents before they escalate. 

Other schools did not treat their monitoring practices as seriously. Even with an adult

presence during the cafeteria period at one school, site visitors observed much disorder. As they reported, 

“the principal stated that lunch was a good time for students to let off steam and thus he tolerated the 

disorder.” At the same school, teachers did not monitor the hallways during class changes, and site 

visitors observed a lot of yelling and pushing in the halls. At a different school, teachers were supposed

to write tardy notes and check hall passes. Site visitors, however, observed that some teachers were

grading papers in the hallways and ignoring students. Some students at another school complained that 

teachers who were supposed to be monitoring hallways spent more time talking to other teachers. The 

limited availability of teachers to cover monitoring duties caused problems at some schools. At one 

school, teacher absences were common and enough substitutes were not always found so that some

teachers had to be pulled from hall duty to cover classes. 

A small number of schools mentioned having security “aides” that are responsible for

monitoring or assisting with other aspects of security (e.g., locking doors and gates). Some schools rely 

on their school resource officers to provide additional assistance monitoring key problem areas. In 

addition, some schools have security guards (off-duty police officers or guards from private companies)

that were hired to provide daily security for their schools. One large urban school reported having over 

thirty security guards employed to provide security during regular school hours; however, this seems to

be an exception rather than the rule. 

41 
Law Enforcement Personnel 

The majority of schools we visited reported having some sort of relationship with police 

officers from their local police departments. The capacity in which these officers serve ranges from very

informal to formal, and includes a variety of activities. Three major roles performed by police in local

schools are: (a) security, (b) law enforcement, and (c) education. 

The most frequently reported capacity in which police officers serve in relation to schools is 

as some form of school security. Most often, police officers are present at school events such as football

games or dances and serve to patrol areas prone to disorder. At a few of the schools, these police officers

offer their assistance as a public courtesy. However, at a majority of schools, these officers are off-duty 

police officers and compensated for their time monetarily or through fringe benefits (e.g., free tickets to 

all sports events). 

In addition to providing security at special school activities, some schools reported that local

officers often "drop by" or regularly patrol school grounds or the surrounding areas. A number of the 

officers who visit the schools are the designated "School Resource Officers" (SRO) and regularly visit

area schools. The responsibilities of SROs vary by school and may include providing security, advising 

school staff on safety issues, teaching prevention program activities, and promoting positive relationships

between students and the local police. The salaries for these officers may come from the local police 

department; or at least partially, from the school district. Other officers simply "drop by" as a public 

courtesy and have no formal agreement with the schools. Still others are off-duty police officers hired by 

school districts to act as security guards. Visiting police officers (on- and off-duty) often patrol halls, 

parking lots, and other areas that have a high risk for disorder. 

Police presence in schools is often part of a “community policing” program. As one site

visitor noted, the objective of these school-based community-policing programs is to “decrease disruptive 

behavior by increasing officer visibility.” For example, one school site visitor explained, “by roaming the 

school and the property, the officer became known to the students and helped prevent disruptive behavior 

by writing trespass charges, smoking citations, and other charges...(making) it “unattractive” to hang out 

by the school. By taking care of little infractions, the bigger problems went away. The uniformed officer 

was a common sight at the school, visiting at least 2 to 3 evenings per week and 1 to 2 times during 

lunchtime. In addition, the officer was immediately available to react to disruptive behavior by writing 

citations and providing counseling.” 

42 
The most formal relationship police officers have with local schools involves operating in a 

law enforcement capacity. Most schools reported calling the police to respond to incidents of disorder 

and criminal activity, including fighting, weapon possession and substance abuse. In response to

disorder, the police may counsel students, issue citations, or make arrests. In addition, several schools 

reported that local police bring in police dogs to conduct drug and weapons searches. These searchers are 

usually conducted at random and occur twice a year. One school, however, reported that the local police 

use their school as a training ground for new K-9 officers and conduct searches more frequently (already

4 times within the current school year). Most schools where these K-9 searches take place indicated that 

they feel this activity is an effective deterrent to students bringing drugs and/or weapons to school. 

Police also operate as educators in their local schools. Some police officers make 

presentations to students on the duties of police officers, the effects of drugs and alcohol, and the 

consequences of delinquent behavior. For example, officers at one school brought a pair of special 

goggles called Fatal Vision that "alters the wearer’s vision to approximate intoxication" to give students 

an idea of how alcohol can impair one's ability to function. 

In addition, some police officers offer in-services for teachers and administrators. Topics 

include how to identify certain drugs, and how to recognize substance abuse and gang symbols. For 

example, officers brought samples of drugs to one school for teachers and administrators to see and smell. 

The majority of the schools we visited reported positive relationships with their local police. 

These ranged from “good” to “excellent.” For example, one site visitor reported, “the relationship 

between the police department and the school, as evident mainly by the relationship between the principal 

and the chief of police, is friendly and supportive. The principal and sheriff are friends, and two police 

officers are usually at major games. In such a small community, the police are well known and have a 

good relationship with the school.” Another site visitor reports, “the link between the school and the

police is, of course, a direct one—as a result of the Deputy Sheriff assigned full-time to the school, and 

the working relationship is said to be excellent.” 

A few schools, however, reported having a less than positive relationship with their local 

police department. Characterizations of these relationships include descriptors such as “distant,”

“strained,” and “frustrating.” For example, one site visitor reported, “the relationship between the police 

and the school is distant. The police do not routinely stop by, there are no SROs, and the police officer

told us he never talks to the kids or the principal unless he’s called.” Another site visitor reported, “the 

relationship between the school and the local police department can best be described as strained.

Communication between these two agencies seems to be minimal and the communication that does occur

43 
is through formal channels only. The police believe that the school administrators push problems, such as 

fights, off campus so that it is no longer their problem and the police have to deal with them. The school

also complains that when incidents happen off campus, the police bring the students to them to discipline,

when the school has no jurisdiction off campus.” 

Security Devices and Strategies 

A number of security devices and strategies were found during the site visits. In this section, 

we discuss the most common ones found in the schools, including policies to monitor student movement, 

devices, searches and communication methods. 

Policies to Monitor Student Movement. This includes requiring students to have a pass, 

issued by a teacher or administrator, if they need to leave the classroom for any reason. This seemed to 

be inconsistently enforced at the schools that were visited. From the site visitors' observations, we did not

always see school staff (teachers, administrators, guards) ask students for hall passes. Several of the 

students we interviewed said that the staff showed favoritism by asking some students for passes and not

others. The staff at some schools appeared to ask for a hall pass only if they did not know the student, or

if the student seemed suspicious. 

Many schools also have a policy of requiring visitors to make themselves known to school

staff. Most schools mandate that all visitors sign in at the main office. Some schools require visitors to

"buzz in" through a locked main entrance. Most of the site visitors were not, however, asked to wear 

anything to show visitor status, and not all of them were asked to sign in at the main office. At several

schools, however, school staff stopped the site visitors and asked who they were. The schools may have

been more lax in their enforcement of the visitor policy because most of the school staff knew that site 

visitors would be coming. 

Some of the schools in our study, mostly high schools and large schools, require staff and/or 

students to wear ID badges. A few of these badges contain photo identification. This kind of policy often 

seemed to be mandated at the district level, in order to deter intruders. Schools varied in how well the 

policy was carried out. One school started its policy recently and it continued to be observed by all staff. 

Another school only required student identification at dances and sporting events. At one school, the 

policy was enforced mainly at the beginning of the school year, when staff did not know the students very 

well. Students stopped wearing their badges after the start of the year, and site visitors observed that at 

the time of the visit, few teachers and no administrators were wearing their badges. 

44 
The architectural design of the school also played a role in how students were monitored 

during the day. Some schools appeared to be designed with safety monitoring in mind. For example, one 

school’s design included a single driveway leading to parking lots in front and behind the school, one 

primary entrance where students and visitors must enter, a commons/cafeteria room at the front entrance

that is very visible through the glass walls of the principal’s office, and wide corridors that branch off 

from the central commons that provide very few places that are not in clear view. A few other schools 

also used glass windows to monitor the cafeteria, parking lot, and gymnasium. 

Schools that had several buildings complained about their situations. Having students 

transfer between buildings for classes created a lot of student traffic and potential disorder. One school 

attributed its vast number of students loitering in the hallways during class time to the size of the school, 

and the fact that many students have to travel from building to building. Another school complained

about students skipping gym class at the end of the day when it required walking to the ball field up the 

road. To combat this problem at one school, a staff member literally walked their middle school students 

to high school music classes. 

A handful of schools mentioned having fences surrounding their schools to prevent outsiders 

from coming in. Some of these fences displayed barbed wire. The amount of disorder in these schools 

did not seem to vary from schools without fences. No one at the schoolstudents, teachers, or

administratorsseemed to notice any effects from having a fence around their school. 

Another way to assist in monitoring student movement was through the school schedule. 

Various scheduling issues within a school may promote better orderliness. For example, block

scheduling was cited by some schools as an efficient preventive strategy. Students remain in a fewer 

number of classes for longer periods of time, thus reducing the number of times spent transferring

between classes and the possibilities for disruptions in the hallways. Several schools shortened time spent

between classes for this reason, as well. Block scheduling also lengthens the amount of time each teacher

spends with each class, promoting the chance for more interaction and greater familiarity with specific 

students. Grade level teams help with this, as well. For example, one school held team meetings three 

times per week in which teachers could work to resolve issues that might have arisen concerning their

students, including discipline issues. 

Security Devices. Common devices used for monitoring include walkie-talkies, cell phones, 

video cameras and metal detectors. Walkie-talkies are usually given to principals and security staff as a

way to communicate with one another regarding student safety, while a few schools use cell phones for

the same reasons. These devices promote communication among staff and are less disruptive than an

45 
intercom system. They are especially helpful in larger schools where tracking down staff may be more 

difficult. More than half the schools in our study reporting the use of walkie-talkies were large schools. 

The schools were predominantly urban, as well. 

Video cameras are used in schools to monitor the building as well as student behavior. One 

school talked about wanting to purchase a video camera for the computer room as a way to prevent theft.

Several schools mentioned having one rotating camera on school busses, hidden by a camera box thus

making students unaware of which box actually holds the camera on any given day. Other schools may

use video cameras in the hallways. Most students as well as administrators said that video cameras are

ineffective in preventing disorder. The cameras often are not equipped with tapes and rely, instead, on 

someone viewing the monitoring screen. This responsibility usually rests with the principal, who often 

may not be in his or her office, and most likely does not have time to sit and watch a video monitor. At 

one school, a camera was installed in the detention room. Students knew that no one consistently

monitored the camera from the principal’s office, so they used their detention time for sleep or roaming

the halls. Another school had monitors in the administrative offices, but site visitors observed that none

were turned on. 

To help monitor school grounds, lighting systems are utilized, especially in parking lots.

Many schools use alarm systems to protect the school at night and on weekends. 

Locks on doors are used as a way to control who is allowed in and out of the school. Every

school that was visited mentioned locking their doors. Many schools locked the doors during the day.

One school admitted that it did this because of problems with non-students entering the building. Some

schools kept only the main entrance open, while a few required a buzz-in system. Some schools only 

locked doors after the end of the school day. Often, classes that were not in use got locked, as well. 

Observations at schools showed variations in how well these locks were employed. In some schools, 

many doors were not locked, some locks were broken, and other ways to get into the building were 

usually available. 

Some schools locked gates on driveways in order to prevent outsiders from entering. One

school reported that it put locks on its driveway gates to prevent non-students from driving into the 

school, causing trouble, then quickly driving off. The strategy eliminated this specific type of incident. 

Metal detectors are also a device that was used in less than half of the schools. Metal 

detectors were more common in the large schools. More than half the schools in our study that used

metal detectors had enrollments of more than 1000 students. Half of the schools, also, were located in

46 
urban areas. One way to use these devices was to have a standing metal detector that is stationed at 

entrances. In one school where this was a practice, the detectors were placed in two spots (out of 17 

total), but were currently inoperable. One school reported that its metal detector was located in the door 

of the in-school suspension room. This school used to make students walk through the standing metal 

detector during random classroom spot checks, but the activity was discontinued because parents told the

principal that it violated the rights of the students. Another school mentioned having a standing detector

that was used for games, but most schools used hand-held metal detector wands. 

Wands were mainly used for random searches. On occasion, they could be used to search

individual students suspected of carrying concealed weapons. Many of the schools that used metal

detectors did so because of district policy. Districts acquired the wands and mandated their use in the

schools. Usually, schools were required to conduct random searches a set number of times per day or 

week. For example, one district acquired manual metal detectors when it was going through a particularly

violent period several years ago. School officials, however, have never used them because they felt no

need to do so. Another school was supposed to conduct random searches several times a day, but the 

principal felt they caused more disruption than they were worth. His school currently uses the wands only 

occasionally during “tardy sweeps” for students without passes lingering in the halls after the late bell

has rung. 

We observed some pressure, as well, to have metal detectors in the schools. As one assistant 

principal pointed out, they needed the metal detectors just to show the public that they have them. Some

districts and schools reacted to crime elsewhere in the nation, wanting to make sure that such violent 

incidents did not happen in their own schools. One superintendent ordered metal detectors for his rural 

district after coming from a large, urban school. The principal thought he was a “little paranoid” and has 

never used the wands in his school. He told a site visitor that if he suspected a student of having a 

weapon (like a knife), he would just bring the student to his office and tell him or her to hand it over. 

Searches. Searches were done in several schools that we visited. The purpose is typically to 

uncover hidden weapons or illegal drugs. The scheduling of the searches varied across schools. In some 

schools, they are routinely scheduled with staff receiving prior notification; in other schools, they are 

conducted on a random basis. They are performed by school personnel or local police forces. One school 

mentioned its relationship with a private security firm to conduct random searches using hand-held metal

detectors. 

Several schools mentioned using drug-sniffing dogs for random drug searches. For example,

the K-9 patrol conducts random drug and weapon searches at one school. As one site visitor described,

47 
“No one at the school knows when the searches will take place. On the day of the search, staff and 

students are alerted and given the opportunity to dump any drug or weapon into the collection bins.

Students do so anonymously and are not held accountable for whatever they drop off. If an illegal item is 

found during the search, however, the student will be prosecuted. The searches have yielded significant

amounts of contraband, mostly marijuana.” 

Some middle schools did not provide student lockers. Students were required to keep

everything in their possession throughout the day. This strategy aimed to deter hidden drugs and/or

weapons. A few schools did not even allow students to carry standard book bags, but instead would

accept clear mesh bags. 

Communication Strategies. Schools have implemented a number of strategies to

communicate across their buildings in the case of an emergency or when situations arise within

classrooms. Most schools had plans in place to respond to natural disasters such as fires, tornadoes, and

earthquakes. These plans instruct students and staff what to do if such crises occur, such as specific 

routes to follow in case of fire, where to assemble if a tornado hits, or how to remain safe during an 

earthquake. In addition to plans for responding to natural disasters, a few schools have also developed 

ways to respond to other school-wide emergencies. At these schools, emergency codes are commonly 

used as a way to alert students and staff to dangerous situations. For example, in one school, certain

codes announced over the intercom system would alert students to proceed immediately to a classroom.

These have been used in the past when a student was killed in an accident on the way to school and when

another student overdosed at school. 

Another way to communicate within the school is through classroom intercoms. About half

the schools we visited used two-way intercoms and/or phones in the classrooms. These were

implemented with safety and communication in mind. The front office can monitor classrooms and 

communicate with teachers better than they could without these devices. One school stated that it used a

two-way intercom and phones in classroom as a way to monitor the class when the teacher steps out. 

A few schools, mostly urban ones, implemented emergency buttons in the classrooms. With 

these devices, teachers can easily signal for help when disruption arises. For example, a site visitor

described the procedure at one school, “Classroom teachers have an ‘emergency button’ in the classroom 

that connects to the main office. If the button is pushed, someone in the office will contact the classroom 

via an intercom and ask, ‘what’s the nature of the emergency.’ If the teacher requires assistance, a

security officer will be sent to the classroom.” 

48 
Summary

As described above, schools used many different strategies and practices to maintain 

security. This was, in fact, the most common type of activity administrators reported as specifically set

up to prevent disorder in the school. The most prevalent strategy used throughout the schools was various 

ways to monitor student and non-student movement within the school. The staff and administrators were 

primarily responsible for this task. Generally, other types of security strategies, such as hiring special 

security personnel, use of metal detectors and random searches were also used by a smaller number of

schools. These additional strategies tended to be implemented in those schools where student movement 

and, perhaps safety, may be more of an issue (large, urban schools). 

The implementation of many of these strategies was not found to be consistent. For

example, site visitors observed a number of times when hall monitors were not consistently enforcing 

rules and procedures (e.g., use of hall passes). Several site visitors found locks, intended to keep people 

out, that were broken. Video cameras, when they were in place, were not widely monitored by staff. 

School Discipline Practices and Policies 

All schools had similar discipline practices and policies. Rules are commonly developed by

school districts and used by every school within the district. Almost every school mentioned having

student handbooks, which were provided to all students at the beginning of the school year. Individual

schools usually have discretion in revising the handbooks, and most do adapt the rules to fit their 

particular situations and discipline management styles. Many schools discuss the handbooks as they are 

given to the students, and several require student and parent signatures. 

The site visitors felt that students knew most of their school rules, mainly through word of 

mouth and observation. Students simply paid attention throughout their years of schooling. When asked

in the focus groups, most students said that they knew the rules and that they have not changed from 

when they first began attending school. Many commented that they were “common sense.” 

In most of the schools, teachers were encouraged to handle discipline problems on their own 

inside the classroom, unless the incident was serious enough to warrant more attention. As one school

summed their school-wide strategy, “If you (the teacher) can deal with the disorder in your classroom,

then deal with it. If you need assistance or if violence erupts, call (the security officer) and the front 

office immediately.” Or as another respondent pointed out, “the administration encourages the teachers to

49 
deal with these types of problems (general misbehavior and horseplay) in the classroom so as not to bring 

every little problem to the attention of the office staff.” 

When incidents do occur and discipline action is taken, teachers often are encouraged to 

follow through with phone calls to the student’s parents. Whether or not this happens seems to depend

upon the relationship between the teachers and parents, as well as the school’s discipline policy. Other 

teachers prefer not to handle student misbehavior on their own. They would rather remove the disruptive

students from their classrooms so that they might teach rather than constantly act as a disciplinarian. In 

schools with larger discipline offices and procedures in place to systematically handle individual cases,

teachers may be more willing, and even encouraged, to send students to the office. For example, in one

school, a type of detainment classroom is set aside to hold students until a discipline administrator is 

ready to meet with them. 

Consequences of Violating or Complying with Rules 

Consequences associated with rules almost exclusively involved some sort of punishment for

violating rules rather than rewards for complying with the rules. The consequences associated with 

breaking the rules were most often determined by school district staff. Administrators within the schools 

could change or adapt them as they saw fit. The type of consequence administered depended upon the 

incident. School officials usually had a great deal of flexibility in deciding the consequence for a 

particular incident, although certain serious incidents dictated specific consequences. The schools had in 

place a wide array of consequences, mainly involving either some kind of focused attention on the 

student, a process of removing and containing the student, or outside involvement from parents or law

officials. 

For initial infractions or minor rule violations, students were given warnings. Sometimes, 

teachers or administrators would hold personal conferences with the student, to talk about their behavior

and deal with problems before they got out of hand. Removing student privileges was often the first line 

of defense that schools used for minor offenses. Examples might include revoking a student's break, offcampus lunch, or driving privileges. Students in vocational education programs may be dropped from the 

program. 

Schools try to routinely involve parents in discipline matters concerning their children. In 

some schools, teachers are encouraged to call parents with every infraction. Other schools routinely call 

parents when students are absent from school. Some schools send written notices home regarding 

discipline actions. Parents are almost always involved with student suspensions, and are often required to

50 
attend a conference with school administrators. Parent contact is also required for matters of truancy, and

may involve attending a school board meeting. At one school, parents are asked to accompany their child 

to school for a day when the student misbehaves. At another school, parents must sign their children into

school after an “overnight suspension.” Whether these helped deter future misbehavior or not is unclear. 

Detention. This strategy involves containing students in a supervised setting for a set period

of time in which they are required to work and study silently. It differs from in-school suspensions 

because it operates outside of the normal school day, usually before school, after school, or for a block of 

time on Saturdays. The exception is lunchtime detention, offered at a few of the schools in our study.

Teachers usually have the authority to assign this type of punishment themselves. It is commonly given 

to students for minor classroom offenses such as being tardy or disruptive, and often is used as an

automatic response for certain infractions, such as reaching a set number of tardies or unexcused 

absences. It also almost always precedes more serious consequences such as suspensions. Saturday 

school detentions, especially, are used as the last step before an out-of-school suspension is issued. 

The idea behind this strategy is to remove some of the free time of students and make afterschool or weekend transportation inconvenient. The principal and others at one school seemed to think

detention was an effective deterrent because “the kids don’t like being kept after school or on Saturdays.” 

At another school, students told the site visitors that they'd rather take corporal punishment than waste a 

Saturday or figure out alternative transportation after school. Parents are often inconvenienced by this

type of consequence, as well. According to students at one school, parents often complained about

detention and transportation and thought that, “If the school assigns detention, they should provide

transportation.” 

While staff members at several schools thought that detention was an effective strategy due 

to the inconvenience factor, teachers from other schools did not share those beliefs. At one school,

detention was considered to be an ineffective deterrent to misbehavior because attendance was

unenforced and students did not have to do their own work if they did attend. According to most schools 

employing this type of consequence, the major drawback is finding the staff to monitor the detention

rooms. Many school districts cannot afford to pay for it. 

Corporal Punishment. This approach was used in a number of schools that were visited, 

mainly in southern schools. Certain rules govern its use: paddling must be administered with an approved

instrument (often referred to as the “Board of Education”) on the student’s buttocks and cannot exceed 

three “pops,” “swats,” or “licks” per day; it must be done by the principal or assistant principal, in the 

presence of another professional and out of the view of students; and parents must sign a release form

51 
authorizing its use. In some schools, a waiver must be received from the district. Parents and the

community seem to support it. According to the principal in one school, parents think that corporal 

punishment should be administered sooner, harder, and more often. In some schools, teachers paddled

the students, but mostly the punishment came from the principal. Corporal punishment could be 

administered for any infraction. Students were usually given the choice of paddling over another form of 

consequence. Many students, when given the choice, preferred to be paddled rather than receive another 

consequence such as detention. At one school, the students told site visitors that they would rather “take 

the swats than waste a Saturday or figure out alternative transportation after school.” In another school,

students preferred two or three licks by their coach to running laps.

Some administrators believed corporal punishment was effective. At one school, a site

visitor noted, “the principals themselves are not in favor of corporal punishment, but have resorted to it 

because of problems getting parents involved in resolving disciplinary issues.” Administrators at another

school use the paddle when they feel it is necessary to “straighten out a kid.” A different principal joked 

that he would need to take disability for his shoulder if he continued to paddle students as frequently as he

was (284 times in one year). On the other side of the debate, some teachers at one school did not believe 

it works to “fight fire with fire.” An assistant principal cautioned that this punishment is not effective

with angry students, and admitted its ineffectiveness with repeat offenders. At this school, site visitors 

concluded that, “it appears that swats are not effective because students do not take them seriously. The 

guidance counselor said she witnessed a ‘swatting’ while we were visiting and the youth openly laughed

as he was struck.” 

Suspension. Another common type of consequence, found in every school, is suspension. 

With this, students are suspended from normal school activities and must serve their sentence either inschool or out-of-school. Out-of-school suspensions were reserved for serious offenses, such as fighting 

or drugs, and could automatically be assigned, usually for a period of 3 to 10 days. Most schools 

preferred in-school suspensions, however, because students were removed from their classes and normal 

school activities but remained in school and not at home watching television or roaming the streets. Also, 

funding and school performance indexes use daily attendance information, which is affected by students

serving out-of-school suspensions. 

Like detention, some schools find staffing the in-school suspension rooms difficult. A new 

person must be hired, or teachers or administrators could proctor the room during free periods. In some

schools, however, a video monitor substitutes for an actual person. As suspected, this type of

consequence is not taken seriously at these schools. For example, at one school, students serving an in52 
school suspension had to stay in one room with a video camera for supervision. They were supposed to 

work on homework, but no one monitored the camera, so they used the time to sleep or walk the halls.

Schools vary quite a bit in how in-school suspensions are carried out. Depending on the

infraction and school policy, some students may serve anywhere from a lunch period to several days. 

While serving time, students are supposed to be working on class assignments. A lot of the schools

reported that students waste time in the suspension room. Being bored may serve as the deterrent. In

addition to working on class assignments, students may also work on behavior adjustments. For example, 

at one school, students must participate in 45 minutes of conflict resolution; at another school, students

must, in addition to completing school assignments, copy the school rules, a discipline packet, and the

County Code of Conduct.

Many schools viewed in-school suspensions as a positive way to deal with student 

misbehavior. It removes students who cause disruptions and benefits disruptive students, as well, by

keeping them at school in a structured learning environment, as opposed to serving out-of-school 

suspensions. As one school, staff pointed out, “the intent of the program is to keep the students at school 

in a confined manner, while allowing them to do school work so they don’t get behind. The philosophy

behind the program is that if one cannot act responsibly in school, one will suffer the consequences of

having all their rights and privileges taken away, including the ability to talk to others and to move 

freely.” 

Alternative Schooling. Another type of consequence is to completely remove the student 

from their home school and place them in alternative schooling. With this, students are sent to another

school to continue their education for a set period of time. These alternative schools usually are run by

the district and are used as a last resort before expulsion. Alternative schooling is a way to reach students 

when conventional schooling does not work. It may take the form of a separate school during the day,

night school, or home schooling. This strategy is often provided for students who had committed more 

serious infractions, or for repeat offenders for whom other types of consequences did not help. Students 

with special needs--such as pregnant teenagers, troubled youth, academically challenged students, or

those with attendance problems--also could be sent to an alternative school. 

Alternative schools accommodate a smaller number of students, usually no more than 15 to

20. Students are sent to the school for a set number of weeks, usually six, and at the end of the term, 

students are re-evaluated and may be sent back to the home school on probation. Activities at alternative 

schools vary between districts. Mostly, students are expected to work on regular classroom assignments 

in order to keep up or catch up to their peers. At some alternative schools, students are required to work

53 
on their own, individualized tutoring is provided at others, and some alternative schools may also provide

some kind of behavior modification training. Students are given individual attention and are expected to 

adhere to strict rules. 

Many school officials with alternative schooling in their districts thought that this was an

effective strategy for maintaining order within their schools. Many view this as a last effort to reform 

students, before expulsion or dropping out. While many students drop out of school from these programs,

the majority of students do return to their home schools. Both the staff and community police officer

spoke highly of one center in their district, with the officer quoting, “this is the best thing that ever came 

to (our community).” Students miss socializing with their friends; and the alternative school in this 

district has a military-style structure. Parents are inconvenienced by having to provide transportation, as

well. In this district, few students return to the alternative school after being sent back to their home 

schools. 

The biggest complaint regarding this strategy is the lack of staff available to monitor the 

schools. One school thought it was ineffective because it was too small and had a long waiting list. 

Transfer. Some schools may transfer disruptive students to another school in the district. 

This is known at one school as “opportunity transfers.” The idea behind this is to remove the student 

from his or her friends and give an opportunity for a fresh start in a different school. This strategy often is

used to break up gangs. For example, students at one school noticed the formation of a gang and school

officials acted quickly by transferring the ring-leaders out of the school. Of course, schools that send

disruptive students away also need to deal with the disruptive students that other schools send their way.

As some teachers and students in one school pointed out, “the students who transfer in from other area 

schools have much more serious problems than the students (our school) ships out. (We) also feel that the 

problem is not really solved, it is just dumped on another school. Furthermore, students lose continuity

because they fall out of touch with (our) teachers [who] they may have developed positive relationships 

with.” 

Expulsion. The most serious consequence a school can administer to students is expulsion.

This completely removes the student from the public school system, often for a semester or longer, even 

permanently. This occurs infrequently and usually is reserved for serious offenses, numerous repeat

offenders, or as part of a zero tolerance policy7

 involving weapons, drugs, or assault. The process of 

 

7

 "Zero tolerance" policies imply that a school has predetermined consequences for the violation of certain school policies. The majority of the

schools we visited reported that they had some sort of "zero tolerance" policy. The most common "zero tolerance" policies established 

automatic suspension or expulsion for students who engage in certain activities. The most common behaviors covered by "zero tolerance"

policies included fighting, use or possession of drugs, and possession of a gun or other weapon.

54 
expelling a student from school always involves the district and must follow certain legal guidelines.

Students usually have the chance to appeal the decision. 

Rewards. As noted above, a few schools did mention that they try to promote good

behavior through the use of rewards rather than punishment. Citizenship and attendance awards are

commonly given to students to encourage these behaviors. Site visitors from one school reported that

“extensive rewarding is used to boost the morale of students and teachers.” This school had a student of 

the month, awards at each grade level, and an awards banquet. One program at the school provided 

rewards such as 5 minutes early release to lunch, food at local restaurants, and T-shirts. Teachers, also,

may provide rewards within their classrooms in the form of extra points. 

Other programs rewarded students for giving information on school crime. One school 

offered monetary rewards for information in solving a crime. Another school incorporated this practice 

with its “Caught Being Good” program, which gives students prizes for telling on their peers. The 

program uses sponsors to buy various prizes. If a student gives a tip to the principal or assistant principal 

that leads to the capture of another student doing something wrong, the informant can choose a prize. The

site visitor at that school reported that, “The assistant principal felt that this was working to help reduce 

fighting in the school.” 

Consistency of Rule Enforcement 

The two keys to effective discipline practices are communicating the rules clearly to all 

students and consistently enforcing the rules. As noted, the schools visited seemed to do an adequate job

communicating the rules to all students. Actually getting a good measure of how consistently rules are 

enforced is difficult from the site visits, since this depends on reports from a relatively small number of

persons in the school. Keeping this caveat in mind, site visitors reported that many schools did not seem 

to be consistently enforcing the rules. This last result overlaps with the conclusions from the national

survey, which found schools generally did not consistently enforce rules across situations and students

(Gottfredson, et al, 2000). The site visitors found that consistency of rule enforcement was the exception

rather than the rule across schools. 

Many of the inconsistencies seemed to be related to the seriousness of the offense. Several 

schools indicated that serious offences were more likely to be met with consistent enforcement. For 

instance, one site visitor at a large high school indicated that “rules involving violence or drugs are strictly

enforced and carry severe penalties” whereas rules involving minor offences such as “no gum chewing in 

class is only enforced by certain teachers.” A site visitor at a large suburban middle school noted, “while 

55 
smaller infractions such as dress code violations are enforced inconsistently, serious violations are dealt

with firmly by school administration.” 

Consistency in rule enforcement, although less common generally, was reported to exist in 

several schools. In one suburban middle school, a site visitor concluded, “teachers and administration

consistently enforce school rules and policies.” At a different middle school, a site visitor summarized

that “the principal and counselor follow these consequences strictly. Students and teachers both felt that

rules were enforced very consistently. They were unaware of any favoritism in the school, and students 

said they liked the fact that the principal did not “play favorites” and gave the same consequences to any

student breaking rules, regardless of whether or not that student was a star athlete or class clown.” 

Many students and some teachers specified “favoritism” as the source of rule enforcement 

inconsistencies. For example, one site visitor reported, “the teachers in the discussion group felt that

certain students received special treatment from the administration, such as athletes. Some students felt

that the “preps” or richer students received preferential treatment because they were better liked by the

principal than other students. Another site visitor at a large suburban high school noted that students “as 

well as the teachers in the teacher discussion group, felt that the teachers and administration are not 

consistent in how they handle similar situations with different students and that perhaps there was some

favoritism among those students who frequent the discipline office and have gotten to know the staff 

better and among those students who are athletes.” A third site visitor at a large rural high school 

mentioned that, “it seems that the principal shows favoritism to students who have prominent parents.” 

Another explanation for inconsistencies was variation in discipline styles across teachers and 

administrators. For example, as related by one site visitor, “the students felt that some teachers are 

stricter than others are and take offenses—even minor ones—more seriously and give out greater 

punishments.” Another site visitor at a large urban high school stated that “the major problem with 

discipline at the school was inconsistencies between assistant principals. Students, teachers and 

administrators all stated that the two assistant principals handle discipline issues very differently. One

assistant principal adheres to the student handbook discipline rules, while the other ‘negotiates’ with each 

student, so that the student receives a smaller penalty in comparison.” 

How problems are handled in the classroom varies from teacher to teacher. Some teachers

yell, some threaten with extra homework or a lower grade, and some try to keep students on task to avoid 

any free time for acting out. As one site visitor reported from her school, “all of the teachers we spoke to 

talked about keeping ahead of incidents and trying to prevent them by talking to students ahead of time, 

keeping students on-task, establishing routines, and maximizing the amount of time that the teacher

56 
controls the classroom.” At the same school, however, a recent incident involved a teacher pushing a 

child over a chair. At the time of the site visit, the teacher was under investigation. Obviously, at that

school, as in many of the schools we visited, classroom management practices varied widely. 

Site visitors did observe some variability in the schools regarding what the teachers and 

administrators are expected to handle. As one site visitor observed, “there is a slight struggle between the 

administrators wanting teachers to handle more incidents themselves, and teachers wanting administrators

to handle lower level cases.” Administrators sometimes express annoyance that teachers do not handle 

more discipline problems on their own, and that they refuse to take responsibility for disorder in their

classrooms, let alone in the rest of the school. Administrators complained at one school that teachers did 

not enforce the rules consistently, and let students out of class early. The teachers disagreed, however, 

claiming that they handle most disorder problems within their classrooms themselves and that only a very

few teachers write up students. At another school, the principal admitted that he handles discipline 

referrals differently depending on the teacher and student involved. If a teacher writes up students for 

“every little thing,” it is not taken quite as seriously as with a teacher who has good control of the class 

and writes up a student as a last resort.

A third common explanation for inconsistency was principal personality or management

style. For instance, a site reporter at one large urban high school recounted that, “the principal is very

supportive when it comes to programs, but not so supportive when it comes to matters of discipline. The 

principal forces many problems back to teachers to deal with, problems that would be handled by the 

principal in other schools.” A site visitor at a different school illustrates another example: “according to 

the principal, the administration is committed to setting an appropriate tone and being very clear about the 

rules. However, the teachers described the principal as having ‘no vertebra,’ as being ‘weak,’ and feel the

rules are very unclear. The students also feel that he is soft on discipline and avoids dealing with 

incidents when possible.” 

Summary

We found considerable overlap in discipline procedures across schools. The rules were 

generally guided by the school district and involved varying levels of punishment as the offenses became 

more serious. Very few rewards were structured into the procedures. Schools seemed to have few 

problems with communicating the rules to all students. However, we found some evidence that rules are 

not consistently enforced across students. How common inconsistent enforcement was across relatively

minor and serious infractions is unclear. Many of these inconsistencies may stem from the general

process of letting teachers handle many of the infractions within the classroom. As noted by a number of 

57 
administrators, teachers do vary on how they deal with disorder problems. Much of the inconsistency 

reported by students may be related to these differences in individual style across teachers and other staff. 

School Climate 

An important correlate of the level of school disorder is the climate of the school. For 

purposes of this report, we have adopted a definition of climate from two sources (OERI, 1993; Kelly, et

al, 1986). The essential components of our school climate model are: (a) staff/student relationships, (b) 

goals, (c) rules and procedures, and (d) facilities and environment.8

 In the remainder of this chapter we 

discuss our findings on these components. 

Staff/Student Relationships 

The majority of the sites reported good communication between all parties (teachers,

administrators, parents, and students). In some cases, the sites produced contradictory messages 

regarding relations. For example, a site that reported limited communication regarding management 

issues also reported high levels of comfort with all parties at the school. A site that reported disrespect 

toward teachers also reported a family atmosphere between some teachers and students. These two

examples portray the complicated and sometimes mixed communication patterns that are documented by 

site visitors. However, these examples appear to be the exception to the rule. Schools were assessed 

overall very positively in regards to teacher-student, teacher-administration, and student-student

relationships. The two areas that consistently appeared to be the weakest links in the communication 

chain were parent-school and community-school relations. Even within the strongest examples we found 

in overall relationships, these two areas were lacking. Exhibit 4-1 provides examples of schools that

exhibited very strong relationships. 

 

8

 These components consist of: 

Staff/student relationships: teacher-student relationships, student-peer relationships, teacher-administrator relationships, parent-school

relationships, and community-school relationships; 

Goals: student academic orientation, behavioral values, and school reputation; 

Rules and procedures: instructional management, administration, and guidance; and 

Facilities and environment: level of cleanliness, supplies, space, and community environment. 

58 
Exhibit 4-1 

Examples of Schools with Good Student/Staff Relationships 

One middle school that provides an example of good student/staff relationships appears to

begin with this positive climate predicated on the principal’s communication style. At this 

particular school, the principal is described as collaborative and welcoming with teachers and

administrators. He is described as genuinely liking the students and is supportive of them. 

Students in turn, report feelings of respect for the principal. The students appear to treat each other

with respect and treat the teachers with respect as well. Teachers believe that the administration is

“on the same page” with themimplying clear and consistent communication patterns are the 

norm. The teachers report their enjoyment of working at this school and that they treat the students 

“as if the students are their own and expect them to behave accordingly.” Communication with

parents appears to be “of great importance at the middle school, “and procedures are in place to 

involve parents when issues arise with students. 

A high school setting highlights the importance of creating and maintaining open lines of 

communication. In this example, teachers and students reported positively on the communication 

between teachers, students and administration. This positive communication appears to reflect the 

commitment of the teachers to the school and the students. The teachers report being supported by

the administration and that decision-making is handled collaboratively. According to students and 

teachers, relationships with students are positive. Students feel comfortable talking to teachers 

about problems. Based on our observations, the interactions between administrators and students

were relaxed and friendly.

Both of these examples leave something to be desired in the parent-school relationships and 

the community-school relationships. Administrators appear to be trying to involve the parents and the 

community through guest speakers and having parents work as greeters in the schools. Links with the 

community generally are through parents and this appears to be the primary format that most schools take

in engaging the surrounding community into the life of the schools.

These impressions from the site visitors seem to support the quantitative survey data 

collected during the site visits. As noted in the introduction, these surveys were administered

concurrently to teachers and students. They included questions on school morale, which was rated very

high. Similarly, the students who completed the survey rated their relations with other students as very

good, indicating overall positive relations. 

An example of poor relationships in a high school setting begins with teachers reporting that

they don’t have the support of their administration. Further, the teachers report that the administration

does not value their input and, therefore, the administration does not have “buy-in” with the teachers on 

policy issues. The level of communication between teachers and the administration was reported to be

not very good. Students also reported not being treated with respect and that classes were too big. Parent

59 
involvement at the high school level is notoriously low. The relationship between the school and the 

local police department can be best described as strained. Communication between these two agencies

seems to be minimal, and that communication is through formal channels only.

These impressions from the site visitors are supported from the survey data collected during 

the site visits, which indicate that teachers rated their school morale as very low. Similarly, the students 

who completed the survey rated their relations with other students as poor, indicating generally poor 

relations at this particular school. 

When looking at school climate through the lens of relationships, a trend was observed that 

cut across school levels as well those strong and weak examples of school relations. This trend was the 

active engagement of the principal into the ‘life-flow’ of the school. That is, we often observed highly

visible, communicative, and engaging principals working at schools that had some of the strongest 

climate relations. These principals were observed in the cafeteria with students, talking with staff and

teachers informally, and generally engaged in the on-going, daily activities of the schools, or the lifeflow. These principals were also described by teachers as collaborative, supportive, open to ideas and 

input, and “on the same page.” Students often described these principals as caring, approachable, and 

fair. Conversely, principals in some of the schools with the least healthy relations were often distant, 

narrowly focused, and even absent. These principals were often described as non-collaborative,

unapproachable, unengaged, and intimidating by teachers and students. Principals’ communicative style

within the school culture appears to permeate the entire system to some degree, and this can facilitate

healthful or harmful relations. 

Goals and Mission 

The second component of climate examined is the school’s overall sense of purpose and 

mission. This includes the academic orientation of staff and students, behavioral values, and the general

reputation for academics and safety. The visited schools fell into four general types. The first type of

school tended to be characterized by a strong focus on academics on the part of students and staff. They

tended to have a good academic reputation relative to other schools in the community and above average 

performance on standardized tests. Examples include a small middle school in a large city. It is a magnet 

school where the students are admitted on the basis of academic performance. Most go on to magnet high 

schools. Although physically unassuming and somewhat dreary, the school supported numerous 

computers and had recently been the cited in a newspaper article for its use of technology. Another rural 

school had recently gone from worst to first academically in the district and was “working hard to become 

a superior academic setting.” These schools tended to be relatively small. 

60 
The second type of school focused primarily on its academic mission but was struggling to 

improve performance. Although these schools were often large and located in neighborhoods with 

economic or social problems, they managed to keep academics in the forefront. One large suburban high 

school had a generally poor reputation but was viewed by students and staff as “one of the best kept 

secrets in the district.” Students were generally serious about learning and teachers took their roles 

seriously. Neighborhood gangs viewed the school as neutral territory. Although surrounded by a chain

link fence, the school gave the impression of being an oasis in the surrounding community. 

The third type of school was characterized by wide variation in academic reputation and 

performance, but was notable for a strong emphasis on controlling student behavior and maintaining

discipline. Some were in communities where students or parents did not place high value on education.

Some were in communities where order and respect for authority were important. Others struggled to

maintain order in large schools with diverse populations. In one rural middle school, the “emphasis is 

rather more on behavior than academics.” The school had a reputation as strict and controlling and 

seemed to fear disorder more than it had experienced disorder. The school day was structured to limit 

opportunities for students to act out in any way. Another rural high school in a “conservative and old 

fashioned” community also placed considerable emphasis on discipline. “Teachers [said] that if there was

as much attention to the curriculum and instruction as there is to behavior, the school could solve some of 

its real problems—student apathy toward studies, parental apathy, truancy, and tardiness.” One urban

high school with a good academic reputation had made improvements in discipline and security over the 

past few years. However, students “felt the administration was preoccupied with discipline and focused 

more on rules related to the dress code than those concerning safety or education.” Staff pointed out “that

there are more administrative staff assigned to handling discipline than there are handling academic

issues.” 

The fourth type tended to place a great deal of emphasis on extra-curricular aspects of

school. Their reputations were often defined by their sports teams. They tended to be in communities 

where the social aspects of schools were as important as the academic aspects. In one low achieving rural 

high school, teachers felt that students and the community were not committed to education. Few

students went on to post-secondary education and sports were important. Similarly, in another rural high 

school, teachers felt that “students are not very interested in learning and many come to class just to

socialize with their friends.” The school supported a very successful football team. One suburban high 

school was characterized by students and staff as lacking diversity and as being, “a throw-back to the 

1950’s, focusing on pep rallies...[and] sports.” The emphasis on academics was not strong. Both

61 
students and staff reported that the school had a reputation for extra-curricular activities, and students

reported having a reputation as “stuck-up snobs.” 

Rules and Procedures 

Another aspect of school climate is the school’s approach to rules and school management. 

This includes the fairness and consistency of enforcement of rules, instructional management, and 

principal leadership. Procedures for enforcing rules and dealing with discipline issues are described in 

another section. In this section, we discuss some overlapping themes and approaches that contribute to 

school climate. 

Although classroom teachers had the primary responsibility for discipline in all cases,

schools fell into two general types. In the first type, teachers tended to deal with all but the most serious 

discipline issues within the classroom, including setting punishments (such as detentions) and calling 

parents if necessary. Administrators dealt only with the most serious or intractable problems. In many

cases, these schools were small or did not have the resources to allocate administrators to deal with

discipline full time. In the second type, teachers tended to deal with small infractions within the 

classroom and then refer students to an administrator for repeated or more serious infractions. The 

administrator(s) (usually an assistant principal or dean) was responsible for assigning punishment and

contacting parents. These schools tended to be larger or have a larger administrative staff. 

School approaches to disorder and discipline ranged from proactive to reactive. Schools 

with proactive approaches tended to enforce rules more strictly and deal with small incidents quickly

before they escalated. Reactive schools dealt with situations and incidents as they happened. Proactive 

schools tended to have a strategy for managing the school day and dealing with discipline. This strategy 

could either be explicitly stated or just a shared understanding among administrators and teachers. 

No matter what the approach toward discipline in the study schools, consistency of rule

enforcement emerged as an important issue especially among students in our focus groups. Both middle 

and high school students were quick to note real or perceived inconsistency in the enforcement of rules.

This included variation among teachers in their tolerance for classroom disorder, variation among

administrators, selective enforcement of rules, and variation in enforcement by type of student (e.g., good

students, athletes, or students with prominent parents). Perceptions of inconsistent enforcement were

widespread among students and less so among teachers and administrators. This highlights the difficulty 

of maintaining a balance between enforcing rules consistently and maintaining the flexibility to deal with 

students as individuals. 

62 
Another theme that emerged was the importance of principal leadership in setting the overall 

tone in a school regarding discipline and enforcement of rules. Principals varied in their involvement

with school management and discipline. Some took a “hands-on” approach and were involved in the dayto-day application of discipline. They were often a frequent presence around the school building and

encouraged teachers to be a presence outside the classroom as well. Others left discipline to teachers and

other administrators. Whatever the level of direct involvement in discipline and management, school staff 

expressed more satisfaction if the principal set clear expectations, communicated regularly with staff, and

gave them a voice in management issues. 

Facilities and Environment 

Site visitors observed the condition of the school buildings and grounds, looking for signs of

graffiti, litter, vandalism, and disrepair. Most of the schools were reported to be clean, both inside and 

out. If graffiti appeared, it was usually painted over by the next day. If litter was present, usually only a 

small amount was observed on the school grounds or in the bathrooms, although several schools did

report areas littered with cigarette butts outside the school. Vandalism was rarely seen, but a few site 

visitors did observe bathrooms without stall doors or supplies. 

Regarding the condition of the school buildings, some variety was shown in the schools in 

this study. Some schools were new or recently renovated, while others showed their age with leaky roofs

and crumbling architecture. A few schools had broken windows, and site visitors at one school did not 

observe any fire extinguishers at the site. 

No trends emerged in the amount of physical disorder and instructional level (high or middle

school), but schools did show some trends in terms of urbanicity and size. Urban schools were more 

likely to have disorderly appearances, and small schools, along with rural and suburban schools, were 

more likely to be clean and in good condition. 

The community environments sometimes contrasted with the school ecologies. For 

example, the surrounding neighborhood of a large urban middle school is run-down with boarded-up and 

abandoned houses scattered throughout the area. A large public housing project that has a very poor

reputation in this large city is situated next to the middle school. Counter to what one might expect of the 

school’s physical environment, it boasts large colorful murals outside as well as inside. Colorful banners 

with positive and motivational messages hang in the halls of this school. Pictures of famous African

Americans fill bulletin boards in the hallways. Very little graffiti exists and fresh paint is apparent. 

63 
These positive environmental conditions create a “safe haven” for these students, most of whom live in

environmentally stressful situations. 

These positive environmental conditions at schools may foster stronger school attachment,

which has been linked to reduced school disorder and is a protective factor for youth (Hawkins, Catalano, 

and Miller, 1992). That is, students for whom school attachment is high have more at stake—more to 

lose—by misbehaving in school than students with low school attachment. Schools with high levels of 

school attachment among students, hence, are more likely to have lower levels of disorder and higher 

levels of safety than schools with low levels of school attachment. 

64 
Chapter 

5 

Planning 

An important part of managing and controlling disorder in a school is the use of planning to

assess needs and make decisions on appropriate actions. To this end, this chapter addresses the question: 

To what extent do schools use sound planning processes and information on 

school prevention options to improve school management? 

Analysis of national survey data (Gottfredson, et al., 2000; Crosse, et al., forthcoming) found 

that 57 percent of schools seem to use sound planning structures when deciding on what types of 

prevention measures to use. These analyses also found that planning structures were much more common

at the school level. That is, prevention programs and activities were stronger on a school-wide, rather 

than on a program-specific basis. 

In this chapter, we elaborate on these results by examining the planning processes used by 

six schools that were found, in the aforementioned survey, to have sound planning processes. The goal is

to try to characterize more specifically how these schools operate, how planning relates to specific 

prevention activities and some of the reasons these particular schools seem to be more successful in the 

planning process. 

The first section describes the methods of sample selection and data collection. The next

section describes the characteristics of the planning structures or processes that these schools have 

implemented, including their functions, outcomes and level perceived of success. In the third section, 

similar patterns across schools are described. In the final section we summarize the results and draw out 

some general conclusions about the methods used by these schools for planning prevention activities. 

65 
The study team developed a general definition of planning, which is as follows. 

The application of a school management structure or process to reduce 

problem behavior in schools. Sound planning entails the use of information in

the ongoing systematic (a) assessment of needs, (b) development of goals and

objective, (c) selection of prevention activities, and (d) evaluation of those 

activities. 

For our examination of planning, we selected a purposive sample of six secondary schools

that reported sound planning practices related to prevention in the national survey and conducted 

telephone interviews with a staff member in each school. (These six schools are in addition to the schools 

that we visited.) The six schools selected included three high schools, two middle schools and one 

combination middle school and high school. Two of each of the schools were urban, suburban and rural 

respectively. Their populations ranged from 690 students to 1,600 students. In regard to the nature of the

schools’ curricula, three of the schools were “specialty” schools (such as magnet or technical schools), 

and three of the schools were nonspecialty schools. 

Characteristics of Planning Structures 

The kinds of school-level planning structures or processes implemented varied across

schools. The schools reported having leadership/administrative teams (principal and vice-principals), 

safety committees, discipline committees, school advisory councils or site-based management teams and a 

few miscellaneous committees initiated to deal with specific safety or discipline issues. Regardless of the 

variability between schools, all of the schools reported at least one school-level planning structure that 

addresses the prevention or reduction of problem behavior. 

The main functions of the majority of the planning structures are to assess school needs, to 

develop goals based on needs and objectives to meet these goals. This may or may not result in the

selection and implementation of prevention activities. Some of these planning structures are specifically

focused on school safety. As such, these safety-focused planning structures are primarily concerned with

issues such as fire safety, evacuation procedures, and how to prevent outside intruders who might pose a 

threat to the school. Substance abuse and delinquency prevention do not appear to be the current main 

focus for most of these schools, although the respondents acknowledge that their planning structures 

would address these issues if the need presented itself. 

Several commonalties were noted across school-level planning structures. In particular, four 

main themes emerged regarding the characteristics of school-level planning structures. One theme was 

66 
that prevention was not the main focus of the school-level planning. Although all of the schools reported

having planning structures that deal with prevention programs, this does not appear to be the primary

function of most of these structures. The main function of the majority of the planning structures is the 

ongoing assessment of school needs and the development of goals and objectives to address these needs. 

Other functions include: (a) review of safety and security procedures; (b) development of the School 

Improvement Plan; (c) discussion of current school issues; (d) evaluation of school services; (e)

organization of campus activities; (f) review and revision of school rules and polices; and, (g) in the case 

of the administrative teams, overall management of the school. 

A related theme was, when a “prevention program” concern did exist, school-level physical 

safety and security was more likely to be stressed than individual-level activities (e.g., curricula designed

to build resistance skills). The focus on physical safety could be a reaction to recent publicity involving

school shootingsone respondent noted that the “media hype” contributed to several safety reforms 

initiated in that school. As a result, most safety-oriented committees focus on security and safety issues 

such as crisis management related to natural disasters and outside intruders. Other prevention issues (e.g.,

preventing student substance abuse or other problem behavior) are incorporated into the goals “to the 

extent it’s considered a need.” Most of the schools do not recognize this as a current need but asserted

that any district policies on the issue were being implemented (usually education). For example, when

asked about the extent to which school-level planning structures focus on substance abuse issues, one 

respondent reported, “to the point of making sure we have adequate education on it. It hasn’t been a big

problem in the past, so it’s just something we have to be made aware of and make sure we keep the

students educated.” 

A third characteristic of the structure was membership diversity. Most of the schools 

reported that their planning structures not only included administrators, but also teachers, students, 

parents and/or community members. 

A fourth characteristic is using multiple sources of input when making final decisions. For 

the most part, the selection or discontinuation of prevention activities is a process involving a variety of 

concerned individuals. In most cases, selection or discontinuation involves input from a variety of outside

resources (e.g., research, solicitors, resource centers, and consultants) as well as from members of the

school and surrounding community (e.g., students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community

members). Even in those cases where the principal makes the final decisions, input is solicited and 

considered from a variety of sources. 

67 
When asked about the outcomes of these planning structures, respondents were remarkably

similar in the nature of their responses. Rather than noting specific programs or activities, most of the 

respondents expressed the major outcomes of these structures in terms of perceptions. Most noted

increased perceptions of safety on the part of students, parents and teachers. As stated by one respondent, 

“our kids feel safer. Parents think their kids are in a safer environment and I feel everyone is in a win-win

situation from it (the implementation of a planning structure).” 

For the most part, the respondents reported that most students, faculty, parents and

community members appear to be pleased with the outcomes of these planning structures. Several of the

respondents noted that school community members were satisfied because they see these planning 

structures as an avenue to express their concerns and suggestions for improvement. For example, one 

respondent reported, “I think they (the school community) are very much satisfied because they know that

if they have any concerns, they can address them here...they are a vital part (of the planning process) so

they feel good.” Not surprisingly, the majority of the school-level planning structures rely on the 

members of the school community and surrounding community as either members of or advisors to these 

planning structures. 

Factors Associated with Development of Planning Structures 

Across these six schools several themes emerged that seemed related to their success. 

Freedom. Most schools stated that their districts give them the freedom to develop and 

select their own prevention activities as long as they are not in conflict with any district policies. Some 

mentioned that requests for money often invite more district involvement. One respondent reported, “the 

school sites are left to a great degree to what they need to do...typically, we’re free to choose our own 

(activities).” This conclusion is important when considered in relation to the finding from the national

survey that programs implemented by school personnel, rather than those mandated by an outside entity, 

tended to be better implemented (Gottfredson, et al., 2000). 

Budget. Surprisingly, budget constraints were not listed as major factors affecting the 

implementation of prevention activities. However, all respondents noted that increased funding could 

provide additional opportunities currently not available due to budget constraints. 

Formation of Structure. Three reasons were reported as factors leading to the formation of 

school-level planning structures. A few respondents made reference to recent media coverage of

68 
incidents of school violence (“media hype”) as a factor contributing to the perceived need for prevention 

planning. Other respondents noted a state or district mandate as a catalyst for the formation of these 

planning structures. Still others reported that the development of their planning structures was related to

safety concerns (or assessed needs to improve safety) which may or may not have been based on real 

incidents of violence that were occurring on these school campuses. 

Level of Safety. All six respondents reported that their schools were safe and noted that 

incidents of disorder were few and most were of a minor nature. Serious threats of violence or other 

safety issues were reported as few and far between and considered the exception rather than the rule. 

Principal Management Style. All of the respondents indicated a similar management style 

of their principals. Although these principals tend to delegate a great deal to their vice-principals, most of

the respondents reported that their principal was well informed and in touch with the climate of the 

school. Most of the principals had very little daily contact with students and teachers, but were still open

to suggestions from all members of the school community with regard to prevention issues. 

Non-Quantitative Outcomes. Most of the schools do not look at quantitative outcomes,

noting size and level of safety of the school as contributing factors to their approach. As one respondent 

noted, “to have a quantitative goal in a school of 1600 kids (is unreasonable)...and they (the goals) are 

event-driven. It’s driven by the kids, not by any (quantitative outcome)...You’re sort of in a reactionary

mode, so everything is a prevention and, of course, we react when we need to.” 

Meeting Frequency. Our content analysis revealed that most of these planning structures

meet regularly. Some meet as frequently as once per week and a few meet as infrequently as once per

school year. A few meet only when the need arises. 

Needs Assessments. All of the schools have planning structures that conduct needs 

assessments of some form or another. These range from reviews of school data (number of incident 

reports) and informal discussions with interested parties to lengthy surveys involving students, faculty, 

and/or parents. In turn, these assessments are used by the planning structures to develop goals and

objectives, and contribute to the selection and development of prevention activities. These planning

structures ensure that prevention activities are evaluated and that goals and objectives are adjusted in 

order to meet changes in need. 

69 
Summary and Discussion 

This chapter has described the process by which some of those strongest in school-level

planning engage in sound planning practices. Although the kinds of planning structures that have been

implemented may vary across these six schools, similarities between these structures and between the 

schools themselves are evident. All six schools have ongoing school-level planning structures that assess 

the needs of the schools and develop goals and objectives to meet these needs. In addition, when

appropriate, these structures select prevention activities and evaluate those activities on a regular basis. In 

general, we found that the manner in which these planning structures operate is consistent with sound

planning as defined by our study team. 

Aside from these similarities in process, these planning structures also demonstrated similar

structural characteristics. All the respondents reported that their school’s planning structures address 

prevention, but indicated that prevention was not the main function of the structure. When prevention is 

addressed, security and safety, rather than the substance abuse or delinquency prevention seem to be the 

main focus. In addition, these structures have diverse membership and consult a variety of resources

when selecting or discontinuing prevention activities. 

As for similarities between these planning-strong schools, these schools tend to be allowed

by the district free to select their own prevention activities and are not burdened by budget constraints. 

These structures formed as a response to disorder (a result of incidents of violence within the school or

incidents reported in other schools), or as a result of a state or district mandate. In addition, these schools 

are perceived as safe and exhibit similar styles of principal management. Furthermore, respondents noted

a lack of emphasis on quantitative outcomes. 

This chapter does not attempt to make generalizations about the extent to which all schools 

practice sound planning. However, it does describe the extent to which those schools identified as 

strongest in the area of school-level planning are using sound planning and information on school

prevention options to improve school management. All six schools have ongoing planning structures that 

assess the needs of the schools and develop goals and objectives to meet these needs. When appropriate, 

these structures select prevention activities and evaluate those activities on a regular basis. 

In summary, the extent to which schools use sound planning and information on prevention 

options to improve school management is related to the level of a perceived need to do so. In the case of

the six schools selected for this portion of the study, each of them has at least one school-level planning 

70 
structure that regularly assesses (through formal or informal need assessments) the need for reduction or 

prevention of problem behavior. If a need is uncovered, the schools (through these school-level planning 

structures) further engage in sound planning and use of information on prevention options. 

71 
Chapter 

6 

Distinguishing Middle Schools with Different 

Levels of Disorder 

In this chapter, we address the study question on characteristics and processes that 

distinguish safe and unsafe schools. We identified a limited number of schools based on a measure of

disorder that enabled us to array schools on a continuum from high to low disorder. Drawing on all of the 

findings from the previous chapters, we compared these two sets of schools to identify policy-relevant

differences. Although the study method limits the extent to which we can assert causal relationships, 

these differences suggest approaches that policy-makers and school personnel may wish to pursue to 

increase school safety.

The analysis discussed in this chapter is restricted to middle schools. This was done because

of the limited variation in safety across the high schools in the sample. 

Method 

In answering the study question on characteristics and processes that distinguish schools 

with different levels of disorder, we relied heavily on the quantitative information gathered from the 

surveys of students and teachers at the intermediate level. Several measures of school crime were created. 

The measure that we used to distinguish schools was the percent of students reporting that they were the 

victim of a serious crime (threatened with a weapon or robbed) in school during the current school year. 

We recognize that the schools in our groups represent different points along a continuum. 

We conducted analyses across all schools. Separately for the middle schools and senior high 

schools, we identified the three schools with highest percentages on this measure and the three schools 

with the lowest percentages. 

72 
Analysts then sought to identify any characteristics or processes that differentiated schools in the two 

groups. The characteristics and processes on which we compared the schools are covered in Chapters 4 

and 5 of this report: 

• School characteristics: size, urbanicity, student demographics; 

• Community characteristics: crime and safety in surrounding community, risk factors for 

violence (poverty, unemployment, single parent, mobility, age, race); 

• Programs: number, type, and quality of programs and strategies used to prevent

violence and other problem behavior; 

• Security: security staff, police involvement, and security devices; 

• Discipline: procedures to administer, record, and report disciplinary action; types of 

disciplinary actions, zero tolerance policies, and rules; and consistency of rule

enforcement;

• Climate: staff/student relationships, goals, rules and procedures, physical environment; 

and 

We also performed a similar analysis within the original selection cells that, based on the

intensive level study data, yielded a sufficiently large difference between schools on the disorder measure. 

This analysis allowed us to control for some of the background characteristics that may affect disorder.

Again, we sought to identify any characteristics or processes that differentiated schools in the two groups. 

As mentioned in Chapter 2, as a whole, the 40 schools in our sample tended to have 

relatively low levels of disorder. In addition, middle schools tended to have higher levels of disorder than 

high schools. For the high schools, less than five percent of students in the low disorder schools had

experienced being robbed or threatened with a weapon; approximately 16 percent of students in the high

disorder schools were victims of such violent incidents. This range (11%) was exceeded by the range for 

the middle schools (33%). Between 28 and 37 percent of students in high disorder middle schools 

experienced one or more violent incidents. 

Because of the small variation in our sample across high schools, the results described in the 

remainder of the chapter are restricted to middle schools. For high schools, we decided against 

comparing and contrasting schools with “high” and “low” levels of disorder because clearly 

distinguishing among schools on school safety was impossible. 

73 
Describing Middle Schools with Different Levels of Disorder 

We present overall findings by levels of disorder. In exhibits, we provide more detailed

information on specific schools. 

Low Disorder Schools 

Although these schools varied considerably along a number of characteristics, they shared

some important principles in their operation and atmosphere. They had a clear consistent approach to

maintaining order and discipline. They did not merely react to problem behavior, they worked to ensure 

that problem behavior did not occur or that small problems did not escalate. In these schools, teachers 

and administrators had internalized this ethos and seemed to feel that maintaining order was a shared

responsibility. School staff conveyed clear expectations for behavior to students that went beyond 

publicizing rules. 

• The schools all had strong principals. Their leadership styles differed but they were 

clear leaders and were active and involved in the life of the school.

• School staff, especially teachers, viewed themselves as working on a team. Teachers 

supported each other and all shared a sense of academic mission. 

• Whether required to or not, teachers were actively involved in maintaining order both

inside and outside the classroom. Teachers monitored hallways between classes, shared

lunch duty, and were generally observant. 

• Relationships among students, teachers, and administrators were generally positive and

characterized by respect and collegiality. In the one case where relations between 

teachers and the principal were strained, other factors compensated for the problem such

as collegiality among the teachers, good relationships with the students, and the strong

academic mission of the school. 

Exhibit 6-1 

Profiles of Low Disorder Middle Schools 

School A 

School and community characteristics: This is a small magnet school in an urban area. It has an enrollment of about 

200, almost all of whom are African American. About 20 percent qualify for free or reduced price lunch. Enrollment

is competitive. Students come from a wide area of the city and are accepted based on grades and test scores. The

school is located in an urban neighborhood with moderately high levels of unemployment and poverty.

Programs: The school participates in a gang prevention program, which is district-wide. Some students are involved

(on a voluntary basis) in support/discussion groups for boys and girls that deal with issues of growing up and

adolescence. School A has block scheduling and no bells. 

Security: The school employs no security devices save for walkie-talkies. All doors except the main entrance are

locked. No specific staff are responsible for security, but teachers and administrators keep on the lookout for intruders. 

The school also participates in a citywide “safe corridors” program, which uses parent volunteers to watch students as

they make their way to and from city bus stops before and after school. 

74 
Discipline: No administrative staff are responsible for discipline. Teachers are expected to handle most issues in the

classroom. In addition to handbooks and assemblies, many rules are posted throughout the school. Everyone is aware of

the rules and students feel that they are mostly reasonable. 

Climate: The school is very academically oriented and students are highly motivated. Relationships between the

students and the teachers and counselor are very positive. Students get along well with one another and teachers are

collegial and feel they are part of a team. The principal is a strong leader, but some teachers chafe at her rather 

authoritarian style. 

Disorder: Disorder is extremely low with only minor incidents. School staff are more concerned with neighborhood

disorder than disorder within the school. Cars are occasionally vandalized and a student was recently in an altercation 

with someone from a neighborhood middle school. 

School B 

School and community characteristics: School B is a suburban school with an enrollment of about 900. Students are

mostly white with about 30 percent qualifying for free or reduced price lunches. The school reflects its surrounding

community. 

Programs: The school has a building-level SDFSCA coordinator. The prevention programming consists mostly of

classroom presentations and special days devoted to presentations. The school offers an anti-peer pressure club that 

sponsors various school-wide activities. Troubled students can be referred to a district program for delinquent youth. 

Security: A video camera (inoperative at the time of our site visit) is installed near a public phone and camera boxes 

(but not necessarily cameras) have been installed on all school buses. The school has log books for signing in and out of

classrooms and staff wear ID badges. The school also has a security plan in case of a serious incident. 

Discipline: Rules are clear and generally understood. Teachers are expected to handle most discipline issues within the

classroom including documentation and calling parents. Standards for behavior are high and communication with

parents is good. The school attempts to nip problem behavior in the bud. It also uses in-school suspension. 

Climate: School B is a friendly, supportive environment. Relationships among staff, students, and administration are 

good. The principal is a strong leader. Turnover among teachers is very low. 

Disorder: Disorder consists mostly of tardiness and “disrespect.” Most roughhousing occurs on school buses. Staff

maintain a constant presence in the hallways. The building is old, but clean and well maintained, although school staff 

reported that the back doors are outdated and in need of replacement. 

School C 

School and community characteristics: School C is rural with about 300 students. A little over three-quarters are white

and about 40 percent qualify for free or reduced price lunch. The school is located in a small racially segregated

community. 

Programs: The school has two mentoring programs, one that pairs gifted and talented students with those having

difficulty and one that uses high school mentors. Grade levels are physically separated and the school employs block

scheduling. The school has a crisis prevention team. 

Security: The school is equipped with motion detector alarms, and each classroom has a 2-way PA system. 

Administrators have walkie-talkies. Doors are locked during the day and staff monitor hallways and the lunch room. 

Discipline: School C has clear rules and a strict dress code. Students generally feel the rules are common sense. Both 

teachers and administrators are responsible for discipline issues. The school uses corporal punishment and in-school 

suspension. The district has an alternative school. 

Climate: The school and community are small—everyone knows everyone. Relationships within the school are 

generally good. The school was described as “conservative but caring.” The principal is a strong and authoritarian 

leader who garners respect from staff and students. Teachers work in a team atmosphere. Students and teachers hold a

strong respect for authority in the school. The building is newly renovated. Students do well on the state tests. 

Disorder: Disorder is low. Most problems revolve around tardiness. Rules are strict, well known, and enforced.

75 
High Disorder Schools 

These three schools also varied considerably along a number of characteristics. In addition, 

two had clearly improved greatly in recent years. Nevertheless, they shared at least some of the same

types of problems. These schools lacked a clear approach to discipline (or staff had not yet internalized 

the approach). Some had strict rules, but they did not convey clear behavioral expectations. 

Staff in these schools tended not to function as a team. Communication between teachers 

and administrators was sometimes poor. A sense of shared responsibility was relatively weak. An

example of this was the school where teachers and the campus police pointed fingers at each other over

between-classes monitoring. Similarly, teacher involvement in discipline outside the classroom tended to

be inconsistent. 

Perhaps because of the problems mentioned above, students in these schools have more

opportunities to get into trouble than students in low disorder schools. 

Exhibit 6-2 

Profiles of High Disorder Middle Schools 

School D 

School and community characteristics: School D is a large school in an urban area. It enrolls a little over 1000 

students, the majority of whom are from low-income families. A little over 50 percent are Hispanic and about 40

percent are African American. Students are bused in from many problem neighborhoods. 

Programs: The school has a peer support group for at-risk students. It is a district-wide program. It also offers

tutoring, mentoring, and counseling to at-risk students. School D has instituted professional development dealing

with classroom management as well as common planning time for teachers. The school uses in-school suspension. 

Security: Search wands (hand held metal detectors) are mandated but rarely used. The campus is surrounded by a 

fence with locked gates; however, the fence has gaps through which anyone can pass. Administrators have walkietalkies and classrooms have intercoms that may or may not work. The school employs a campus police officer. 

Discipline: Teachers and administrators are responsible for enforcing discipline. The school has general rules and a 

code of conduct. Rules are posted. The school monitors incidents through individual records as well as a database

of referrals. The district allows troublesome students to be transferred to other schools. The school has recently

instituted school uniforms. 

Climate: The school is working on changing its reputation, which used to be terrible. It has a new principal who 

has instituted new policies and hired many new teachers. The school also has a new focus on academics.

Relationships are improving but tension and finger pointing continues between the campus police and teachers

regarding laxness in monitoring students between classes. 

Disorder: Disorder has decreased recently with the new principal and new policies. Most disorder involves 

roughhousing, fighting, and theft. Recent serious incidents included an attempted rape9 and a student who brought a 

gun to school. Disorder is more likely in the lunch area and in bushes outside the school. 

 

9

 The principal voiced his suspicion that the incident being investigated was a consensual encounter between two students.

76 
School E 

School and community characteristics: School E is a small rural school with about 200 students. Almost 70

percent are African American and about 80 percent qualify for free or reduced price lunch. The community is

poor and agricultural. It has few activities or outlets for youth and is experiencing an increasing drug problem.

Programs: The school participates in a drug abuse resistance program (although the instructor, a police officer, 

was described as not reliable). A peer mediation program was not being implemented during the year of the

study because of lack of staff time. The school also uses a character-focused curriculum and has a family

literacy program that deals with academic and social problems of students. 

Security: Doors are locked, and the school plans to install motion detectors in computer labs. Staff use a oneway intercom. The school has emergency plans for tornadoes and nuclear accidents. 

Discipline: Rules are posted and are well known. Some of the many rules are ignored. Teachers are responsible 

for discipline but can send students to the principal. The school uses corporal punishment and has access to an

alternative school. 

Climate: Rules are fairly strict and staff are involved in students’ lives in and out of school. The principal is 

active and involved but sends inconsistent messages to students regarding behavior (for example by paddling and 

then hugging students). The building is shabby and run down 

Disorder: Some students felt fighting was a problem. The most common problems were foot traffic across

school grounds by outsiders (school campus not fenced), and boys throwing rocks and dirt clods. 

School F 

School and community characteristics: School F is in an urban area. It enrolls about 900 students, about 80

percent of whom qualify for free or reduced price lunch and about 60 percent are identified as at-risk;

approximately 54 percent of the students are African American. The surrounding community (which is the

catchment area) is a very poor neighborhood characterized by high unemployment and drug activity. 

Programs: The school has a building SDFSCA coordinator. Prevention programming consists of classroom

presentations and activities throughout the year. The school also offers an athletic club designed to foster 

positive behavior. Students who have serious problems can be referred to a behavior modification program.

Security: Staff have walkie-talkies and classrooms are equipped with emergency buttons. 

Discipline: Rules are published and posted. Teachers are the primary enforcers of discipline. The school has 

instituted corporal punishment, in-school suspension, and school uniforms. Block scheduling limits the time 

students spend at lockers. Teachers are required to monitor hallways but many do not.

Climate: The school has serious academic problems and a relatively new administration. The principal is also

principal of the feeder high school so is not much of a presence at School F; an assistant principal is largely 

responsible for school discipline. Relationships between teachers and students are generally good, but teachers 

did not exhibit much evidence of caring. Communication problems exist between teachers and the

administration. The school lacks a cohesive team atmosphere. 

Disorder: Disorder has decreased with the new administration. Most disruptions occur in the classroom.

Teachers feel students have few social skills. Not much fighting occurs on campus; students fight after school

instead. The most recent serious incident at the school involved a student who was caught with codeine in his

possession. 

77 
What Makes a Difference? 

We examined the domains that guided our review of the high and low disorder schools to 

identify whether they made a difference in overall school safety and order and if so how. 

School and Community Characteristics 

Although we focused on policy-relevant factors, community characteristics such as poverty,

unemployment, and exposure to violence clearly affected the general safety and levels of disorder in the 

schools we visited. With one exception, the high disorder schools served students from communities 

where the risk factors for disorder were higher and the low disorder schools served students in 

communities with fewer risk factors. The one exception was a magnet school with competitive 

admissions and a low level of disorder that happened to be located in a neighborhood with higher risk 

factors. 

Census data indicate that the low disorder schools in our study are located in more affluent 

locations. For example, the census tract surrounding the high disorder schools is more than twice as 

likely to have individuals on public assistance and twice as likely to have families living within the census 

poverty classification. 

Research indicates that in neighborhoods plagued by problems of high unemployment and

poverty, children are more likely to be taught to be violent by exhortation, witness violent acts, and have 

role models who do not adequately control their anger (Prothrow-Stith, 1991; Wilson, 1995). Because 

youth violence occurs within a context, understanding the ecological settings is of critical importance 

when describing school violence. 

Programs 

The number and types of prevention programs and activities did not seem to be related to

school safety and disorder. We also saw no evidence that prevention programming made a difference, but 

this was primarily because so few of the schools evaluated the effectiveness of their programs. We found 

anecdotal evidence that the quality of program implementation and the appropriateness of a program for 

the specific needs of a school made a difference in its effectiveness for individual students or groups of

students. 

78 
Schools that were ranked as low disorder schools had less prevention programming than 

schools that were rated as high disorder. Our hypothesis about this difference is that schools increase 

programming based on level of need. Hence, the low disorder schools do not allocate their resources 

towards these preventive programs, as their problems do not warrant these measures. The low disorder

schools were more likely (3:1) to use architectural changes (fencing, lighting, windows, opening up

hallways and gathering areas) than were the high disorder schools. This approach is more systemic and

expensive, and it may be related to financial resources and overall school climate. 

 

Security

Appropriateness was key to school security measures. Having security devices, personnel, 

and strategies that were adequate to the situation of a school made all the difference. For example, the 

low disorder schools had few security measures but they did not need more and they consistently applied 

those that were in place. The high disorder schools reported three times as many security interventions

(emergency buttons for teachers, walkie-talkies, police presence) as the low disorder schools. However,

these security measures were sometimes incompletely implementedfor example, intercoms that did not 

work or a fence with gaps. 

Discipline 

Specific discipline structures within schools (e.g., specific staff responsible for in-school

suspension versus out-of-school suspension) were less important than clear expectations for behavior and

a general respect for school rules. The low disorder schools had a variety of discipline structures but all 

set clear expectations for student behavior. High disorder schools were twice as likely to report being 

inconsistent in their discipline procedures compared with low disorder schools. 

The approaches toward handling various problematic behaviors varied. For example, high

disorder schools reported much more use of “zero tolerance” policies as compared with low disorder

schools (5:1). (See the section in Chapter 4 on the consequences of violating or complying with rules.) 

School Climate 

School climate was assessed along the dimensions of relationships, goals, rules, and 

environment. We found subtle differences between low and high disorder schools regarding 

relationships. Generally, both types of schools had good relationships reported between students,

teachers, administration, and community members. However, more communication problems (strained 

relationships, unclear messages) were found in the high disorder schools. Regarding the goals of the both 

79 
types of schools, students reported feeling safe more often at the low disorder schools than at the high

disorder schools. Relating to the rules of the schools, the high disorder schools reported a lack of 

consistency of leadership more often than did the low disorder schools. Finally, regarding the physical 

environments of these schools, the high disorder schools were consistently described as older, in more 

disrepair, dirty, highly secured; and residing in neighborhoods described as poor, with high 

unemployment, and with drug, prostitution and gang activity. The low disorder schools (except for 

School A, which is a magnet school) were consistently described as clean, new, and located in areas of

low crime, with resources such as new computer facilities often cited as examples. 

As discussed earlier, the factors that seemed to most affect school safety and disorder were 

related to school climate and management. These include: 

• Clear, consistent, proactive approach to maintaining discipline; 

• Strong, active, and involved principals; 

• Sense of teamwork and shared responsibility among staff; 

• Active involvement of teachers in maintaining order in and out of the classroom; and 

• Positive relationships characterized by respect, collegiality, and open communication. 

80 
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APPENDIX A 

Methods

The intensive level study gathered extensive qualitative and quantitative information from a 

purposive sample of 40 schools. In this chapter, we briefly describe the methods used in this study. We

cover school selection, data collection, and analysis. We also discuss the strengths and limitations of our

methods. 

Intensive Level School Selection 

In selecting schools for the intensive level study, we sought to identify schools that differed 

on school safety, but that were similar on background characteristics including number of students 

enrolled and metropolitan status of the area in which the school was located. This approach was designed 

to permit us to answer the study question on the policy-relevant characteristics and processes that

distinguish safe and unsafe schools; it also ensured that the schools would vary on safety and 

characteristics, which would make for richer descriptions. 

We drew a purposive sample of schools, with the objective of including 40 schools (20 

middle and 20 senior high schools) in the intensive level study. All of these schools were among the over

230 intermediate level study schools that achieved relatively high levels of participation in the student and

teacher surveys conducted in 1998. We limited our selection to public secondary schools. The criteria 

for selecting the schools included the following: 

• Instructional level – middle schools and senior high schools; 

• Number of students enrolledsmall and large schools; and 

• Metropolitan statusurban, suburban, and rural schools. 

The result was a 12-cell matrix: two levels of instructional level by two levels of size by three levels of 

metropolitan status. In addition, we included a thirteenth cell for vocational education schools. 

After categorizing each of the schools from the intermediate level study into these cells, we 

ranked them within cells according to their safety. We developed and combined several measures of

safety based on the results of the principal, teacher, and student surveysfor example, on teacher and

student victimizationconducted as part of the intermediate level study.

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Since we intended to contrast comparable schools that differed on safety, we sought to match

relatively safe schools and relatively unsafe schools within each cell. The matching variables included

school poverty (e.g., based on percentage of students eligible for the Free or Reduced-Price Lunch 

Program), student race/ethnicity, and measures of social disadvantage within the communities 

immediately surrounding the schools (e.g., percent of single parent households and percent of households 

under the poverty level in the census tract). Based on previous experience we expected a 75 percent

response rate at the school level. We purposively selected four primary candidates (two safe and two

unsafe), and two back up candidates (one safe and one unsafe) from each cell. In three of the senior high

cells, after applying the selection criteria, we had only three primary candidates. We also selected two

primary vocational schools and 1 back up. 

We attempted to recruit all primary candidates. Initial efforts were successful with 19 of the

24 middle school candidates—at least three in each cell. However, one middle school had to withdraw its 

offer to participate as we were preparing for data collection activities. We contacted two back up schools

in the affected cells, and both agreed to participate for a total of 20 middle schools. We were able to 

reach our recruitment goals in four of the six senior high school cells. Two of the primary candidates in 

one cell were unable to participate. We recruited our back up candidate. In addition, two of the schools 

in another cell were unable to participate. Because our original sampling efforts had not identified any

back up candidates for that cell, we reexamined all of the previously unselected candidate schools. Of 

those candidates, we selected and recruited the two schools with the most similar background 

characteristics. The reasons for school nonparticipation include the unavailability of school staff to 

coordinate data collection efforts and competing school activities (e.g., state testing and building 

construction).

Data Collection 

We collected qualitative and quantitative information from diverse sources at each of the 40 

schools in the intensive level study. The primary vehicle for collecting this information was one round of

three-day site visits to each of the schools. After successfully recruiting schools, project staff coordinated

closely with a school staff person at each school (school coordinator) who was responsible for identifying

appropriate information sources, scheduling appointments, and making other arrangements. While at a

school, a senior site visitor and a junior site visitor made systematic observations; reviewed records on 

incidents of violence; and conducted in-depth interviews with district officials, principals, and school 

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staff. With the assistance of the school coordinator, we also conducted surveys of all teachers and a 

sample of students. 

The topics covered by the intensive level study overlapped with those covered by the

intermediate levelbut in somewhat greater depth and from additional sources (e.g., police and school

security staff)and other topics that are difficult to capture well in surveys, such as local dynamics (e.g., 

youth gang activity) that contribute to school violence, and the development of community and school 

prevention strategies that are intended to change these dynamics. The information sources are as follows. 

• Interviews with the school principal, program providers, head of security/facilities,

district administrator for school safety issues, and police officer for school/community 

relations; 

• Focus groups with students who have and have not been victims of school violence; 10

• Survey of all teachers and a sample of students; 

• Information from school and police records; and 

• Site observation forms. 

Wherever possible, the data collection drew from extant instruments and design strategies. 

Survey items have built on an established research base to ensure the study’s ability to measure 

implementation and school climate. Many questions were drawn from studies previously conducted in

the areas of school safety and discipline, and youth violence, victimization, and drug use. These studies 

include the Safe Schools Study, Monitoring the Future, the National Household Education Survey, and

the Schools and Staffing Survey. We discuss each of the data sources and instruments used. 

In-depth Interview and Focus Group Guides. These instruments covered different, but 

overlapping, topics. In all, the data collected describes violence prevention efforts, evaluation efforts 

related to violence prevention projects, and school climate. For example, interviews with program 

providers covered the following topics: (a) interviewee background, role, and activities in the program; 

(b) history of, and initial impetus for, the program, including how it was started and who was involved;

(c) organization, staffing, and funding of the program; (d) degree, level, and type of collaboration among

the school, police, and community; (e) strategies and approaches to the program design and perceived

successes of different activities; (f) barriers to implementing the program and what was done to overcome 

them; and (g) assessment of strengths, weaknesses and overall quality of the program. We selected 

 

10 We carefully selected students who had been victims of school violence, based on consultations with school mental health staff. No students

who had experienced severe or traumatizing events were selected for these focus groups. We obtained parental permission for the participants. 

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program providers to interview based on the five or so activities that school coordinators identified as the 

most important ones for preventing or reducing problem behavior in their schools.

Teacher and Student Surveys. These surveys collected information from all the teachers

and a sample of students in each school on their experience with violence prevention efforts and with

school disorder. The information on teacher- and student-reported school disorder provided valuable 

information on how school characteristics may be related to the selection and implementation of

prevention efforts. At each school, we drew a stratified random sample of approximately 400 students;

the strata were defined by grade levels and gender. At schools that had fewer than 400 students, exactly 

400 students, or slightly more than 400 students, we surveyed all students. We obtained passive parental

consent for student participation in the surveys. Following study procedures that guaranteed 

confidentiality (as approved by the Westat Institutional Review Board), school staff surveyed the students 

in intact classrooms. 

The self-administered questionnaire for teachers focused on school safety, victimization,

school climate, and level of implementation of prevention programming. It collected information in the 

following areas: (a) background information, including years of teaching and years teaching in this

school; (b) amount of in-service training in classroom management, instructional methods, and prevention 

of problem behavior in the past two years; (c) student behaviors in class; (d) personal safety; (e) school 

climate, including the relationships between administrators and teachers, how these teachers perceive

administrators and the rest of the teaching staff, and ability of staff to collaborate and work together 

towards shared goals and objectives; and (f) information on the school’s programs and practices to

prevent problem behavior or to increase school safety or orderliness. 

The self-administered questionnaire for students covered the following topics: (a) 

demographic information; (b) educational plans and efforts; (c) school safety; (d) victimization; (e) 

students’ access to, and experiences with, drug use, violence, and other delinquent behavior; (f) school 

climate, including fairness of rules and their enforcement; (g) correlates of problem behavior, such as 

“risk and protective factors;” and (h) participation in prevention programming activities. 

Abstract Forms. These forms recorded data on criminal and noncriminal disorder from 

school and police records. Data were collected for each serious incident reported. This included, for

example, location of the incident within the school, day and time of day the incident occurred, and

situations that led up to the event. A school record abstract form also collected enrollment information, 

student characteristics, staff information, instructional information, and discipline data. 

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Observation Form. This form recorded signs of disorder on the school campus and in the

surrounding community. It also captured information on the physical security of the school, including

how well lit the parking lot is; presence of adults on school grounds, in hallways, and in other nonclassroom areas before, after, and between class periods; and whether or not students loiter on these 

grounds during the time that school is in session. In addition, the form described aspects of classroom 

management, such as the extent to which students were “on task.” 

Analysis

We conducted within-school analyses for the 40 individual schools as well as cross-school

analyses. The site visitors conducted within-school analyses as they developed case study reports based

primarily on the qualitative information that they collected on site. These reports conformed to a detailed

report outline that has tied to the data collection instruments. The analysts combined information across 

sources to address topics in their reports. As needed, the site visitors or other project staff recontacted 

respondents to clarify information or to collect additional information. 

In addition, we processed the quantitative data collected for each of the schools. These data

included the student and teacher survey data, and incident report data and other data collected on the

abstract forms. The quantitative data typically were unavailable to the site visitors while they were 

preparing their reports. We used them in the cross-site analyses. 

The cross-site analyses involved iterative combing of the case study reports and quantitative 

data. The analysts typically reviewed the available information within the context of answering a specific

study question. For example, the analysts assigned to the question on types of prevention efforts focused 

on the parts of reports that dealt with this topic. Although they collected some information on practically

all prevention activities within a given school, the analysts tended to rely most on the information on the

limited number of activities that they collected in interviews with program providers. (As mentioned,

these interviews were on activities that the school coordinators nominated as the most important ones for

preventing or reducing problem behavior in their schools.) 

In the iterative review of the qualitative information, the analysts sought to identify themes 

and patterns of findings. They typically created electronic spreadsheets based on information extracted 

from the case study reports. This approach permitted the analysts to reduce the information to a

manageable level for the purposes of review. Although the analyses were largely descriptive, some of

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them compared schools that differed on some important characteristic, such as the extent to which they 

relied on police officers or other personnel for security. 

In answering the study question on characteristics and processes that distinguish safe and 

unsafe schools, we relied heavily on the quantitative information to categorize schools on safety. We 

developed several measures of school crime from the student and teacher survey results. The measure 

that we used to distinguish safe and unsafe schools was percent of students reporting that they were the 

victim of a serious crime (threatened with a weapon or robbed) in school during the current school year. 

With the safety measure in hand, we conducted analyses across all schools. Separately for 

the middle schools and senior high schools, we identified the three schools with highest percentages on 

this measure and the three schools with the lowest percentages. Analysts then sought to identify any 

characteristics or processes that differentiated schools in the two groups. 

We also planned to perform a similar analysis within the original selection cells, based on 

the intensive level study data. This analysis would have allowed us to control for some of the background 

characteristics that may affect school safety. However, because we found that the differences in school 

safety between schools within cells were relatively small (typically less than 10%), we decided that the 

analysis would yield little useful information. 

Strengths and Limitations 

The intensive level study is the first study in over 20 years to examine in detail what schools 

are doing to promote school safety. One of the greatest strengths of this study is that it combined

quantitative and qualitative information. The quantitative information, mainly the student and teacher

survey data, offered strong broad information that represented each school with fairly high precision. The 

qualitative information complemented the quantitative information by offering details and insights that 

are typically unavailable with surveys. 

Another strength of the study is that it captured a broad range of perspectives and topics 

linked to the study questions. At a given school, we collected information from over ten different 

sources. Each source offered a unique lens on complex school safety issues. 

A limitation of the intensive level study is that we are unable to generalize findings from it to

other schools. The nonprobability selection of schools and sample sizes underlie this limitation. Another

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related limitation is that the assignment of schools to cells was imperfect. As mentioned, we based our 

measures of safety on survey data from a previous component of the study. Student survey data, one of 

those sources, were based on relatively small sample sizes that limited the precision of the measures.

Hence, we found thatusing more precise measures based on larger samples of studentssome schools 

were misclassified on safety. Perhaps more importantly, despite our best efforts, a very large percentage

of the schools included in the sample did not vary much along measures of disorder. This may be the 

result of the relatively high non-response rate associated with the intermediate study. The schools that 

complied with the survey requests tended to be safer better-managed schools. As a result, the site visits, 

which were based on the intermediate sample, did not include as wide a range of schools along the 

disorder dimension as would have been ideal for this type of analysis. 

A final limitation follows from our approach of having the site visitors conduct the withinschool analyses. While we gained strong summary reports that facilitated the cross-site analyses, we lost

some of the detail that we potentially could have had in those analyses. In the cross-site analyses, we

would have had stronger analyses had we relied on, for example, interview transcripts, rather than 

summary reports. With many different site visitors, we also inevitably introduced some error into the 

within-school analyses that carried over to the cross-site analyses. 

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