Across countries, on average, approximately half of fourth-grade students (52%) attended schools judged by their teachers to be “very safe and orderly,” with almost all of the remaining students (44%) in schools perceived by teachers to be “somewhat safe and orderly.” The small remainder of fourth-grade students (4%) attended schools perceived as “less than safe and orderly.” Fourth-grade students in schools that teachers perceived as “very safe and orderly” had modestly higher average achievement in mathematics and science compared to students in the other two classifications (Exhibit 4.2.12 and 4.2.13, respectively). Internationally, on average, fourth-grade students attending “very safe and orderly” schools as reported by their teachers had an average mathematics achievement of 509 and an average science achievement of 501. The small number of students in “less than safe and orderly” schools had the lowest average achievement (489 in mathematics and 488 in science). Average achievement for fourth-grade students in “somewhat safe and orderly” schools was in between (500 in mathematics and 489 in science).

Less than half of eighth-grade students internationally were in “very safe and orderly” schools– 43% on average across countries. Most remaining eighth-grade students were in schools that teachers reported to be “somewhat safe and orderly” (50% on average across countries) and only 7 percent were in “less than safe and orderly” schools. There was a positive relationship between teachers’ reports of school safety and average mathematics and science achievement in the eighth grade (Exhibits 4.2.14 and 4.2.15, respectively). Eighth-grade students in “very safe and orderly” schools had the highest average achievement in both subjects (484 in mathematics and 488 in science), followed by those in “somewhat safe and orderly” schools (468 in mathematics and 474 in science), and finally, the small percentage of students in “less than safe and orderly” schools (464 in mathematics and 467 in science).