Survey: School bullying at lowest ebb in 10 years

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 1 in 4 surveyed U.S. students say they have been bullied in school. That's an improvement, but the prevalence reinforces just how difficult the problem is to solve.

The survey from 2013 found that 22 percent of students age 12 to 18 said they were bullied. That's a 6 percentage point decline from two years earlier when 28 percent of students said they'd been bullied. It's the lowest level since the National Center for Education Statistics began surveying students on bullying in 2005, the Education Department said today when announcing the results.

Educators and researchers praised the decline, but said the large numbers of students still reporting that they are victims reflects that the issue is difficult to understand and address, particularly in a world of rampant online social media where malicious statements can be made anonymously and shared quickly and broadly.

Among respondents, 9 percent of girls and 5 percent of boys said they'd experienced cyberbullying either in school or outside of school. Unwanted text messages were the most common way students said they were cyberbullied followed by hurtful information posted on the Internet.

Overall, bullying can be physical, verbal or relational — such as leaving someone out on purpose.