Bullying Is Hiding in Plain Sight: Nine Facts School Leaders Should Know

Summary for Educators

Based on Katherine Schaeffer

9 Facts About Bullying in the U.S.

Pew Research Center | November 17, 2023

An analysis drawing on Pew Research Center surveys and federal data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

🔵 THE BIG IDEA

Bullying remains a significant part of the experience of many American children—and much of it may never reach the attention of adults.

Katherine Schaeffer's synthesis provides school leaders with an unusually useful picture because it examines both in-person bullying and cyberbullying.

Among the findings: 22% of students ages 12–18 reported being bullied at school during 2019–20. Meanwhile, 46% of teens ages 13–17 said they had experienced at least one of six forms of cyberbullying measured by Pew.

Perhaps most troubling for educators, fewer than half—46%—of students who experienced bullying at school said they notified a teacher or another adult.

The leadership implication is unmistakable:

The bullying administrators know about may represent only part of the bullying students actually experience.

🔵 KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR EDUCATORS

• Parents are deeply concerned. Thirty-five percent of parents with children under 18 said they were extremely or very worried that their children might someday be bullied; another 39% were somewhat worried.

• Cyberbullying is widespread. Forty-six percent of teens ages 13–17 reported experiencing at least one cyberbullying behavior. Offensive name-calling was the most common, followed by false rumors.

• Older teenage girls face particular online risks. Among girls ages 15–17, 54% reported experiencing at least one of the cyberbullying behaviors measured.

• Bullying isn't confined to hallways and cafeterias. Among students who reported being bullied at school in 2019–20, the classroom was the most commonly reported location, cited by 47%.

• Many students don't tell adults. Only 46% of bullied middle and high school students said they notified a teacher or another adult at school.

• Some students experience disproportionate risks. The data showed significant differences associated with age, gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other characteristics.

◻️ WHY IT MATTERS

School leaders sometimes judge the prevalence of bullying by counting discipline referrals or formal complaints.

Pew's findings demonstrate the weakness of that approach.

If fewer than half of students experiencing bullying tell an adult at school, administrative records cannot provide a complete picture of school climate.

That's why great schools don't simply wait for students to report bullying.

They ask.

Anonymous climate surveys, student focus groups, advisory conversations, counseling data, and careful supervision can reveal patterns traditional discipline reports miss.

And because the classroom itself is a common location for bullying, prevention cannot be assigned exclusively to administrators, counselors, or hallway monitors.

Bullying prevention is an instructional and cultural responsibility shared by every adult in the building.

🟢 LEADERSHIP ACTION STEPS

✓ Survey students anonymously about where, when, and how bullying occurs.

✓ Compare student perceptions with discipline data. A large discrepancy may indicate significant underreporting.

✓ Teach students exactly how to report bullying and what will happen after they do.

✓ Examine classrooms—not merely hallways, buses, cafeterias, and locker rooms—as potential locations requiring greater adult awareness.

✓ Train teachers to recognize relational aggression, rumors, exclusion, harassment, and other behaviors that may be less visible than physical bullying.

✓ Address cyberbullying explicitly. Students' social lives don't stop at the schoolhouse door simply because the behavior occurs online.

✓ Ask students regularly: “Is there somewhere in this school where you don't feel safe?”

Then listen carefully to the answer.

🟡 LEADER REFLECTION

One statistic deserves particular attention:

More than half of students who experienced bullying at school did not report it to an adult there.

That should prompt every principal to ask:

Why wouldn't a student tell us?

Perhaps students believe nothing will happen.

Perhaps they fear retaliation.

Perhaps previous reports weren't taken seriously.

Perhaps they don't know whom to approach.

Or perhaps no adult has ever explicitly communicated:

“If this happens to you, come to me. I will listen. I will take you seriously. And I will help.”

A successful anti-bullying program isn't measured simply by how effectively administrators respond when bullying reaches the office.

The stronger measure may be whether students believe adults will respond before they ever need them.

Great schools create environments where kindness is taught, belonging is protected, cruelty is challenged, and students know they don't have to face bullying alone.

Original Source: Katherine Schaeffer, 9 Facts About Bullying in the U.S., Pew Research Center, November 17, 2023.

© Michael Keany +AI 2026

Original Article

Katherine Schaeffer, "9 Facts About Bullying in the U.S.," Pew Resarch Report, 2023 - https://tinyurl.com/ybe5axjh

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Prepared with the assistance of AI software OpenAI. (2026). ChatGPT (5.2) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com