Student behavior affects learning, safety, relationships, and how schools respond to individual needs. Recent U.S. statistics show that public-school leaders continue to report classroom disruption and student disengagement, while high school students report bullying, substance use, mental-health concerns, and experiences of unfair discipline. These figures come from different populations and measurement systems, so each percentage should be read with its stated period and scope.
Contents
- What public school leaders report about classroom behavior
- Bullying, conflict, and safety-related behavior
- Substance-related behavior among high school students
- Student mental health, connectedness, and behavior
- Unfair discipline patterns reported by students
- Discipline, restraint, and disability-related responses
What public school leaders report about classroom behavior
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported experimental School Pulse Panel estimates from May 2024. In that release, 80% of public school leaders agreed or strongly agreed that the pandemic and its lingering effects continued to negatively affect students’ behavioral development. The corresponding figure for students’ socioemotional development was 83%. These are public-school leader responses, not direct measures of individual student behavior. NCES, “About One-Quarter of Public Schools Reported That Lack of Focus or Inattention From Students Had a Severe Negative Impact on Learning in 2023-24”.
During the 2023–24 school year, 26% of public schools said student lack of focus or inattention had a severe negative impact on learning. Other reported severe impacts included students being academically unprepared, at 21%; students being disruptive in the classroom, at 19%; and students not doing individual work, also at 19%.
Physical readiness and attendance-related behavior also appeared in the NCES estimates. Eighteen percent of public schools reported that students being physically unprepared, such as lacking sleep or food, had a severe negative impact on learning. Student tardiness was reported at 18%, unauthorized use of cell phones, computers, or other electronic devices at 16%, and students cutting class at 11%.
| Reported issue | Public schools reporting a severe negative impact on learning | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Lack of focus or inattention | 26% | 2023–24 school year |
| Academic unpreparedness | 21% | 2023–24 school year |
| Classroom disruption | 19% | 2023–24 school year |
| Not doing individual work | 19% | 2023–24 school year |
| Physical unpreparedness | 18% | 2023–24 school year |
| Tardiness | 18% | 2023–24 school year |
| Unauthorized electronic-device use | 16% | 2023–24 school year |
| Cutting class | 11% | 2023–24 school year |
These measures describe the share of public schools reporting a severe effect on learning. They do not mean that the same share of students displayed each behavior, and they should not be combined into a single total.
Bullying, conflict, and safety-related behavior
Public-school leaders reported several recurring safety and respect concerns during the 2023–24 school year. Twenty percent reported threats of physical attacks or fights between students at least weekly, while 12% reported that physical attacks or fights actually happened at least weekly. Bullying among students was reported at least weekly by 18% of public school leaders.
Cyberbullying was reported by 30% of public schools at least once a week or more frequently, including incidents occurring at school and away from school. In interactions with adults, 36% of public school leaders reported student disrespect toward teachers or staff, other than verbal abuse, at least weekly. Seventeen percent reported student verbal abuse of teachers or staff at least weekly. These NCES figures reflect school-leader reports and use their published definitions.
The CDC’s 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) provides a student-reported view among U.S. high school students. In 2023, 19% reported being bullied at school, and 16% reported being electronically bullied. Thirteen percent reported missing school because of safety concerns at school or on the way to school. Nine percent reported being threatened or injured with a weapon at school. CDC, “Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2013–2023”.
The school-leader and student surveys answer different questions. A leader report describes what is observed or reported at a school, while a YRBS percentage describes students’ own reported experiences. Neither measure alone captures every incident or every form of conflict.
Substance-related behavior among high school students
In the 2023 YRBS, 22% of U.S. high school students reported drinking alcohol during the past 30 days, and 17% reported using marijuana during the past 30 days. Ten percent reported ever using select illicit drugs. Twelve percent reported ever misusing prescription opioids, while 4% reported currently misusing prescription opioids. CDC, “Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2013–2023”.
The published 2023 breakdown for alcohol use was 24% among female U.S. high school students, 20% among male students, and 17% among Black students. These subgroup percentages are not interchangeable with the overall estimate and do not describe all demographic groups.
An earlier CDC Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES) measured a different period: January–June 2021. During that period, 31.6% of U.S. high school students reported current use of any tobacco product, alcohol, marijuana, or current misuse of prescription opioids. Current electronic vapor product use was reported by 15.4%. The same ABES publication reported current alcohol use at 19.5% and current marijuana use at 12.8%. CDC, “Use of Tobacco Products, Alcohol, and Other Substances Among High School Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic”.
The 2021 ABES estimates and the 2023 YRBS estimates should not be treated as a direct trend line. They come from different surveys, time periods, and published measures.
Student mental health, connectedness, and behavior
Behavior in school is connected to students’ broader experiences, but the available statistics do not establish that one measure caused another. In 2023, 40% of U.S. high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year. The percentage was 53% among female U.S. high school students. Twenty-seven percent of female students reported seriously considering suicide during the past year. CDC, “2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results”.
The same 2023 data included differences among reported groups. Twenty-six percent of Hispanic U.S. high school students reported poor mental health during the past 30 days, and 18% reported seriously considering suicide during the past year. Among Black U.S. high school students, 10% reported attempting suicide during the past year and 2% reported being injured in a suicide attempt during the past year. These are survey estimates for high school students, not measures of classroom conduct.
CDC analysis of the 2023 YRBS also examined protective factors. High school students with high school connectedness had adjusted prevalence ratios ranging from 0.63 to 0.70 for all measured mental-health and suicide-risk indicators. Getting at least eight hours of sleep was associated with adjusted prevalence ratios ranging from 0.53 to 0.67 across all measured indicators. High parental monitoring was associated with adjusted prevalence ratios from 0.51 to 0.74 for all measured indicators except poor mental health. CDC, “Mental Health and Suicide Risk Among High School Students and Protective Factors”.
An adjusted prevalence ratio compares prevalence after statistical adjustment; it is not a percentage of students and does not by itself demonstrate causation. For classroom management, these findings support attention to belonging, sleep, and supportive adult relationships as relevant context when interpreting behavior.
Unfair discipline patterns reported by students
In 2023, 19.3% of U.S. high school students reported receiving unfair discipline at school during the previous 12 months. The percentage was 23.1% among Black students, 18.4% among Hispanic students, and 18.1% among White students. CDC, “Report of Unfair Discipline at School and Associations with Health Risk Behaviors and Experiences”.
Reported unfair discipline also varied by grade. The percentages were 23.6% for ninth-grade students, 21.1% for tenth-grade students, and 16.7% for eleventh-grade students. The figures describe students’ reports during the previous 12 months and do not identify the specific discipline action, incident, or school policy involved.
These results are especially important when reviewing classroom-management systems. A discipline statistic can describe a response to behavior without explaining the behavior’s cause, and a student’s perception of unfairness is a distinct outcome that schools may need to address through consistent expectations, transparent procedures, and opportunities to be heard.
Discipline, restraint, and disability-related responses
The U.S. Department of Education’s cited Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) data for the 2020–21 school year show differences in discipline and restraint involving students with disabilities served by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These students represented 12% of public-school students in the cited data. Their out-of-school suspension rate was 13%, compared with 6% for students without disabilities. U.S. Department of Education, “Disability Discrimination: Discipline, Restraint, and Seclusion”.
Students with disabilities served by IDEA represented 58% of students placed in seclusion or involuntary confinement, 75% of students physically restrained at school, and 25% of students arrested and referred to law enforcement in the cited CRDC data. The categories measure different outcomes and should not be added together.
The Department of Education also stated that more than 50,000 public-school students were restrained or secluded during the 2020–21 school year. U.S. Department of Education, “Secretary’s letter on Restraint and Seclusion”.
The CRDC figures are administrative reports for public schools and the 2020–21 school year. They are not equivalent to the 2023 YRBS student survey or the 2023–24 NCES school-leader estimates. Reading the statistics alongside their population, definition, and measurement period is essential when evaluating student behavior and school responses.