School behavior statistics show that classroom management is shaped by more than individual incidents. In 2021–22, 19.2% of U.S. students ages 12–18 reported being bullied during school. Public schools also reported recurring bullying, cyberbullying, and discipline patterns that differed by school level, size, and student group. These figures describe different populations and measures, so they should be read as complementary evidence rather than one single rate.
Contents
- How common bullying is
- Where bullying happens
- How often bullying repeats
- Recurring problems reported by schools
- Discipline patterns and student groups
- Safety and participation
How common bullying is
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported that 19.2% of U.S. students ages 12–18 were bullied during school in 2021–22. The comparable rate was 28% in 2010–11, while the 2021–22 rate was about 19% when rounded. The NCES trend describes students in grades 6–12 and should not be treated as a measure of every behavior incident in every school. NCES, “Student Bullying”
Reported experiences varied across student characteristics in 2021–22:
- 21.8% of female students reported being bullied, compared with 16.7% of male students.
- 27% of 6th-graders and 25% of 8th-graders reported being bullied.
- The reported rates were 18% for 9th-graders, 16% for 10th-graders, 10% for 11th-graders, and 15% for 12th-graders.
- 17% of Black students, 16% of Hispanic students, and 22% of White students reported being bullied.
- 20% of public-school students and 15% of private-school students reported being bullied.
These comparisons describe reported experiences, not the likelihood that a particular student will bully someone else. They also do not establish why the rates differ. Grade, school type, and student-group percentages should therefore guide questions for classroom and school teams rather than serve as explanations by themselves.
Bullying also has characteristics that help distinguish repeated power-based behavior from a single conflict. Among students who reported being bullied in 2021–22, 66.6% said the experience involved both repetition and a power imbalance. Another 10.1% reported neither. The corresponding share reporting both features was 70.4% among female students and 62.0% among male students. NCES, “Percentage of students ages 12–18 who reported being bullied…”
Two commonly reported forms were being the subject of rumors, reported by 13.1% of students in 2021–22, and being made fun of, called names, or insulted, reported by 11.9%. Those measures are not interchangeable with the overall bullying rate: a student can experience a particular behavior without every feature used in a broader bullying definition. NCES, “Student Bullying”
Where bullying happens
Among students who were bullied during school in 2021–22, the most frequently reported locations were ordinary school spaces. The classroom accounted for 39.0%, followed by a hallway or stairwell at 37.5%. A cafeteria or lunchroom accounted for 25.1%, and outside on school grounds accounted for 24.4%.
Other reported locations and channels included online or by text at 21.6%, a bathroom or locker room at 11.9%, and a gymnasium or weight room at 10.8%. Because students could report multiple locations, these percentages are not expected to add to 100%.
| Location or channel | Share among bullied students, 2021–22 |
|---|---|
| Inside the classroom | 39.0% |
| Hallway or stairwell | 37.5% |
| Cafeteria or lunchroom | 25.1% |
| Outside on school grounds | 24.4% |
| Online or by text | 21.6% |
| Bathroom or locker room | 11.9% |
| Gymnasium or weight room | 10.8% |
The location pattern matters for classroom management because the classroom was the leading setting in this measure, but it was not the only one. A response plan focused only on instructional time may miss hallway, lunchroom, outdoor, and online experiences. The figures come from NCES’s School Crime Supplement and refer to students ages 12–18 who reported bullying during school; they do not estimate the number of incidents in each location. NCES, “Percentage of students ages 12–18 who reported being bullied during school…”
How often bullying repeats
Frequency data provide a more detailed view of what “being bullied” meant for students during the 2021–22 school year. Among bullied students, 32% said it occurred on 1 day of the school year, 18% said 2 days, 31% said 3 to 10 days, and 18% said more than 10 days. These categories show that reported experiences ranged from an isolated school day to behavior recurring across many days; they do not measure the number of events within a day.
Notification of an adult at school was not universal. Overall, 44% of bullied students reported notifying an adult. The share was 59% among students bullied on more than 10 days. By grade, 62% of bullied 6th-graders and 57% of bullied 7th-graders reported notifying an adult. NCES, “Among students ages 12–18 who reported being bullied…”
Reported effects also extended beyond the immediate interaction. Among bullied students in 2021–22, 28% reported negative effects on their feelings about themselves and 20% reported negative effects on their school work. These are student-reported effects, not an estimate of grade changes, absenteeism, or academic performance. NCES, “Student Bullying”
For educators, the combination of frequency and notification figures points to two separate questions: how often a behavior is happening, and whether students believe an adult can help. A lower notification rate does not prove that incidents are less serious, and a higher rate among students experiencing more than 10 days does not mean every repeated incident is reported.
Recurring problems reported by schools
The School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) measures what public-school principals reported, rather than what individual students reported. In 2019–20, 15% of public schools said student bullying occurred at least once a week, down from 23% in 2009–10. Weekly cyberbullying moved in the opposite direction: 16% of public schools reported it in 2019–20, compared with 8% in 2009–10. NCES, “Discipline Problems Reported by Public Schools”
Weekly bullying also varied by school level:
- 25% of middle schools reported student bullying at least once a week.
- 16% of secondary/high schools reported weekly student bullying.
- 11% of elementary schools reported weekly student bullying.
The 2019–20 public-school figures also differed by community type and enrollment size. City public schools reported weekly bullying at a rate of 21%, compared with 13% of suburban schools. Among schools with 1,000 or more students, 21% reported weekly bullying, compared with 9% of schools with under 300 students. For cyberbullying, 36% of schools with 1,000 or more students reported it weekly, compared with 9% of schools with under 300 students.
These are reports of recurring problems at the school level, not the percentage of students affected. The 2019–20 SSOCS collection was also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is an important limitation when comparing that period with ordinary school operations.
Discipline patterns and student groups
Discipline data measure administrative actions and representation, not the complete set of classroom behaviors that schools observe. In the 2020–21 Civil Rights Data Collection, students with disabilities made up 17% of public-school enrollment but 24% of students receiving one or more in-school suspensions, 29% of students receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions, and 21% of students receiving expulsions.
The same collection reported that students served under IDEA represented 14% of enrollment but 24% of students receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions. Students served only under Section 504 represented 3% of enrollment and 5% of students receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions. U.S. Department of Education, “2020–21 Civil Rights Data Collection Student Discipline and School Climate in U.S. Public Schools”
The CRDC also reported differences for Black students by sex. Black students represented 8% of boys’ enrollment but 18% of boys receiving out-of-school suspensions. For girls, Black students represented 7% of enrollment and 9% of girls receiving out-of-school suspensions.
Enrollment representation and suspension representation are not individual risk estimates, and these figures do not explain the reasons for discipline decisions. They do, however, provide a reason to examine referral rules, documentation, classroom supports, disability-related needs, and whether comparable behavior receives comparable responses. The CRDC covers public schools, so it should not be combined directly with the private-school comparisons from NCES student surveys.
Safety and participation
The CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey provides a separate view of high school students and safety-related behavior. In 2023, 9% of U.S. high school students reported being threatened or injured with a weapon at school during the previous year. The share missing school in the previous 30 days because they felt unsafe was 13%. In the same 2023 measure, 16% reported being electronically bullied during the previous year and 19% reported being bullied at school during the previous year. CDC, “Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2013–2023”
Several safety indicators increased between 2021 and 2023. The share reporting that they were threatened or injured with a weapon at school rose from 7% to 9%. The share missing school because of safety concerns rose from 9% to 13%, and the share bullied at school rose from 15% to 19%. Among female high school students, missing school because of safety concerns rose from 10% in 2021 to 16% in 2023.
These CDC estimates are for U.S. high school students and use definitions that differ from the NCES School Crime Supplement. In particular, the NCES bullying definition is broader than the CDC measure and changed in 2021–22 to include harmful sharing of private information, photos, or videos. Official sources also use different populations: NCES SCS covers students ages 12–18 in grades 6–12, SSOCS covers public-school principals, the CRDC covers public schools, and the CDC YRBS covers high school students. Percentages may not sum because of rounding or multiple responses. Keeping those scope limits visible is essential when using school behavior statistics to plan classroom routines, supervision, reporting pathways, and student support.