Of the roughly 12,000 Fort Worth elementary students who filled out the district’s 2012 survey, nearly half, or 44 percent, said they knew another student who had been bullied.
A majority of the district’s students (90 percent of elementary and 75 percent of secondary) completed the survey, which asked them a variety of questions about their experiences, including how often they studied, whether they liked their school and what kind of relationships they had with teachers and fellow students.
More than 36,000 students were surveyed from both elementary and high schools throughout the district.
The complete survey is here, but a news release from the school district picks out some of the more interesting numbers.
Here are some of the other highlights:
- A third of elementary students report being bored with school.
- Over 30 percent of secondary school students said that most students feel it’s okay to cheat or make racist or sexist remarks.
- Secondary school students also said that verbal bullying had decreased somewhat, but the amount of physical bullying was the same, or 54 percent. Based on students’ responses, the district estimated that Internet bullying had increased 30 percent.
A full reading of the survey did not show that students were asked about the frequency of bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender students, which national research by gay rights organizations like the Human Rights Campaign and Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network has shown to be the most at-risk group.
