Violence In Schools: How Big A Problem Is It?
When an Ohio high school student killed three classmates in a shooting rampage several weeks ago, it once again brought a national spotlight to a problem widely believed to be epidemic in schools.
The reality, experts say, is exactly the opposite: Violent crime in schools has decreased significantly since the early 1990s.
Dewey Cornell, a clinical psychologist and education professor at the University of Virginia, says incidents like the one in Chardon, Ohio, and the infamous mass shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado and at Virginia Tech have reinforced a perception that schools are dangerous places.
"But that's just not true," says Cornell, who has been examining school violence for decades. "I know on the heels of any school shooting, there's the perception that violence is on the rise. It's not. In fact, there's been a very steady downward trend for the past 15 years."
Safer Than Anywhere ElseResearch by Cornell and others shows that school-age and college-age kids are not only safer but far more secure on school campuses than anywhere else. There's also broad agreement that the zero-tolerance policies popular in some school systems have had little to do with the decrease and may, in fact, have proved to be counterproductive.
School violence in the U.S. reached a peak in 1993, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That year, there were 42 homicides by students in total, as well as 13 "serious violent crimes" — rape, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault — per 1,000 students at primary and secondary schools. By 2010, the latest figures available, those numbers had decreased to two homicides and four violent crimes per 1,000 students.
Statistics on violent crimes committed by students at college campuses are harder to come by. But a 2005 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics took a broader look and found that some 93 percent of all violent crimes against university students ages 18 to 24 occurred off campus.
The reality, experts say, is exactly the opposite: Violent crime in schools has decreased significantly since the early 1990s.
Dewey Cornell, a clinical psychologist and education professor at the University of Virginia, says incidents like the one in Chardon, Ohio, and the infamous mass shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado and at Virginia Tech have reinforced a perception that schools are dangerous places.
"But that's just not true," says Cornell, who has been examining school violence for decades. "I know on the heels of any school shooting, there's the perception that violence is on the rise. It's not. In fact, there's been a very steady downward trend for the past 15 years."
Safer Than Anywhere ElseResearch by Cornell and others shows that school-age and college-age kids are not only safer but far more secure on school campuses than anywhere else. There's also broad agreement that the zero-tolerance policies popular in some school systems have had little to do with the decrease and may, in fact, have proved to be counterproductive.
School violence in the U.S. reached a peak in 1993, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That year, there were 42 homicides by students in total, as well as 13 "serious violent crimes" — rape, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault — per 1,000 students at primary and secondary schools. By 2010, the latest figures available, those numbers had decreased to two homicides and four violent crimes per 1,000 students.
Statistics on violent crimes committed by students at college campuses are harder to come by. But a 2005 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics took a broader look and found that some 93 percent of all violent crimes against university students ages 18 to 24 occurred off campus.
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