The federal government’s latest national school crime survey shows that during the 2009-10 school year, rates of violent incidents were higher in middle schools than in high schools.
Middle schools reported 40 such incidents for every 1,000 students that school year, while the rate for high schools was 21. Violent incidents include rape, sexual battery, a physical attack or fight, a threat of physical attack, and robbery.
The bullying rate was also higher in middle schools, with 39 percent of them reporting it happening daily or weekly.
The survey of more than 3,000 public schools is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics in the spring of even-numbered years.
