The findings of a Pew Research Center survey published on Thursday revealed teachers' attitudes about potential school shootings. Researchers looked at concerns about possible attacks, and what teachers believe are the best solutions for preventing tragedies like the ones America has seen over recent years.

The survey found that 59 percent of K-12 teachers “say they are at least somewhat worried about the possibility of a shooting ever happening at their school,” which includes 18 percent who indicated they are “extremely or very worried.”

Only 31 percent said they were not worried about a shooting, while seven percent said they were not worried at all.

Almost one quarter (23 percent) indicated that they “experienced a lockdown in the 2022-23 school year because of a gun or suspicion of a gun at their school.”

High school teachers are most likely to report experiencing these lockdowns: 34% say their school went on at least one gun-related lockdown in the last school year. This compares with 22% of middle school teachers and 16% of elementary school teachers.

Teachers in urban schools are also more likely to say that their school had a gun-related lockdown. About a third of these teachers (31%) say this, compared with 19% of teachers in suburban schools and 20% in rural schools.

A disturbing finding showed that nearly “four-in-ten teachers (39%) say their school has done a fair or poor job providing them with the training and resources they need to deal with a potential active shooter.”

Only 30 percent gave their school an “excellent or very good rating,” while 30 percent indicated that their school “has done a good job preparing them.”

Those whose schools have police officers or armed security in their schools are “more likely than those who don’t to say their school has done an excellent or very good job preparing them for a potential active shooter (36 percent vs. 22 percent).

Overall, 56% of teachers say they have police officers or armed security stationed at their school. Majorities in rural schools (64%) and suburban schools (56%) say this, compared with 48% in urban schools.

Only 3% of teachers say teachers and administrators at their school are allowed to carry guns in school. This is slightly more common in school districts where a majority of voters cast ballots for Donald Trump in 2020 than in school districts where a majority of voters cast ballots for Joe Biden (5% vs. 1%).

It continued with these hopeful statistics on some possible solutions:

Most teachers (69%) say improving mental health screening and treatment for children and adults would be extremely or very effective.

About half (49%) say having police officers or armed security in schools would be highly effective, while 33% say the same about metal detectors in schools.

Just 13 percent say allowing teachers and school administrators to carry guns in schools would be extremely or very effective at preventing school shootings. Seven-in-10 teachers say this would not be too or at all effective.

School shootings continue to be a much-discussed phenomenon in America, with 2023 being a record year for these incidents. The issue has prompted debate over the best ways to prevent these tragedies from happening.

Parents in Perry, Iowa, which experienced a horrific school shooting at a high school, have been speaking out on the issue, calling on the state government to implement heightened security measures in their schools to stop would-be school shooters, which flies in the face of political actors and media figures, who typically use school shootings to push for more restrictions on firearms.

The wave of school shootings in 2023 prompted several states to pass legislation aimed at reducing the number of people killed during these assaults. Blue states have relied on passing more gun control legislation, while red states have implemented policies intended to beef up security in schools.