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Digest of Education Statistics
2020 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 230.50. Percentage of students ages 12-18 who reported being bullied at school during the school year and, among bullied students, percentage who reported being bullied in various locations, by selected student and school characteristics: 2019 
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Student or school characteristic Total bullied at school Among students who were bullied, percent by location1
Inside classroom In hallway or stairwell In bathroom or locker room In cafeteria Somewhere else in school building Outside on school grounds On the way to or from school2 Online or by text
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Total 22.2   (0.85) 46.7   (2.25) 38.9   (2.04) 10.9   (1.28) 25.7   (1.88) 3.0   (0.69) 20.2   (1.94) 9.9   (1.17) 15.8   (1.59)

Sex
                                                     
Male 19.1   (1.04) 47.5   (3.28) 33.6   (3.01) 12.5   (1.88) 25.9   (2.55) 2.4 ! (0.88) 21.3   (2.68) 9.8   (1.63) 7.6   (1.49)
Female 25.5   (1.18) 46.1   (2.80) 43.1   (2.74) 9.7   (1.66) 25.6   (2.68) 3.4 ! (1.11) 19.2   (2.37) 10.0   (1.62) 22.4   (2.37)

Race/ethnicity
                                                     
White 24.6   (1.16) 45.7   (2.83) 41.3   (2.68) 12.1   (1.71) 28.5   (2.54) 3.1   (0.91) 20.8   (2.44) 9.5   (1.43) 17.2   (2.27)
Black 22.2   (2.48) 50.4   (6.33) 34.8   (6.02) 5.1 ! (2.45) 16.8   (4.29)   (†) 18.0   (4.89) 10.2   (3.06) 9.6 ! (3.84)
Hispanic 18.0   (1.32) 47.0   (4.46) 37.6   (4.12) 11.7   (3.36) 24.3   (3.74)   (†) 18.5   (3.51) 11.1   (2.85) 16.6   (3.82)
Asian/Pacific Islander 13.7   (2.67)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Asian 13.5   (2.71)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Pacific Islander   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
American Indian/Alaska Native   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Two or more races 37.1   (5.96) 41.7   (10.73) 37.3   (7.31)   (†) 30.0   (8.69)   (†) 29.6 ! (9.80)   (†) 12.1 ! (5.37)

Grade
                                                     
6th 28.1   (2.68) 56.6   (6.96) 27.5   (5.95) 6.3 ! (2.49) 17.1   (4.50)   (†) 17.8   (4.44) 12.2 ! (3.95)   (†)
7th 28.0   (2.36) 42.9   (5.39) 47.1   (5.44) 11.4   (2.97) 30.9   (4.09)   (†) 28.9   (4.18) 13.9   (2.83) 10.0   (2.59)
8th 26.7   (2.14) 45.3   (3.93) 37.4   (4.63) 9.4   (2.54) 26.7   (3.73) 3.4 ! (1.72) 22.2   (3.64) 8.5   (2.26) 22.7   (3.69)
9th 18.9   (1.95) 38.8   (5.12) 42.4   (5.34) 9.9 ! (2.97) 28.1   (5.01) 3.5 ! (1.75) 15.8   (4.00) 8.1 ! (2.59) 9.7 ! (3.20)
10th 18.7   (1.72) 49.5   (5.65) 37.2   (4.84) 17.6   (3.82) 25.0   (5.02)   (†) 13.6   (3.94) 6.9 ! (2.23) 20.4   (5.13)
11th 21.7   (2.08) 47.6   (5.39) 36.8   (5.20) 10.5   (2.96) 22.3   (4.20)   (†) 16.7   (4.99) 5.1 ! (2.13) 21.6   (3.91)
12th 15.8   (1.90) 52.0   (7.07) 39.2   (6.75) 11.5 ! (4.77) 26.1   (6.75)   (†) 22.4   (6.45) 16.0 ! (4.94) 21.5   (5.32)

School locale3
                                                     
City 22.4   (1.80) 47.5   (3.56) 36.8   (3.72) 7.5   (1.70) 22.1   (3.11) 2.7 ! (1.34) 20.3   (2.90) 9.9   (2.45) 12.4   (2.44)
Suburban 20.5   (1.18) 44.5   (3.38) 39.1   (3.15) 10.4   (2.31) 26.0   (3.23) 2.7 ! (1.07) 18.6   (2.90) 8.6   (1.66) 18.0   (2.94)
Town 21.7   (2.37) 51.6   (7.42) 43.9   (6.47) 14.7 ! (5.21) 21.9   (5.43)   (†) 26.3   (6.07) 11.3 ! (4.38) 18.2   (5.28)
Rural 27.7   (1.89) 46.5   (4.54) 37.4   (4.27) 12.5   (2.31) 30.0   (3.75) 3.1 ! (1.27) 19.4   (3.60) 10.7   (2.46) 15.9   (2.84)

Control of school3
                                                     
Public 22.7   (0.90) 47.3   (2.35) 39.1   (2.12) 10.9   (1.37) 25.3   (2.04) 3.0   (0.73) 20.1   (2.01) 9.9   (1.23) 15.2   (1.69)
Private 21.7   (3.86) 35.3   (8.56) 28.3   (7.05)   (†) 30.7   (6.44)   (†) 18.3 ! (6.20) 8.7 ! (4.05) 27.3   (7.98)
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1 Includes only students who indicated the location of bullying. Excludes students who indicated that they were bullied but did not answer the question about where the bullying occurred.
2 Examples provided to the respondent include on a school bus or at a bus stop.
3 Excludes students with missing information about the school characteristic.
NOTE: The 2019 survey included a split sample design to compare two versions of an updated questionnaire on bullying. Approximately 60 percent of the sample received version 1, which was consistent with prior years; the remaining 40 percent received version 2, which included changes such as removing the word “bullying.” Estimates in this table are based on the 60 percent of the sample who received version 1 of the questionnaire. For more information, see Methodology Report: Split-Half Administration of the 2019 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCES 2021-016). "At school" includes in the school building, on school property, on a school bus, and going to and from school. Students who reported being bullied at school were also asked whether the bullying occurred "online or by text." Location totals may sum to more than 100 percent because students could have been bullied in more than one location. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey, 2019. (This table was prepared December 2020.)

2020 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest