Reporting the incidence of school violence across grade levels in the U.S. using the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).

Abstract

School violence has increasingly captured public attention due to deadly school shootings. Controversy on school violence is demonstrated by a mixed picture of school safety and the lack of consensus on the definitions of violence, which makes comparison of findings across studies difficult. This study extended the application of the Rasch model to school violence research using TIMSS data. The results show that school violence occurred at a level much lower than the predictions of the measurement model. Across all grade levels the most frequently reported type of violence is intimidation or verbal abuse of students and the least frequently reported physical injury to teachers or staff.