A study in Columbia, Missouri, revealed that many teacher and student background characteristics correlated weakly but significantly with teachers' perceptions of the frequency of discipline infractions and the effectiveness of disciplinary techniques. The data (derived from school records and from a questionnaire to which 162 elementary teachers responded) showed more experienced teachers as reporting less frequent drug use and fighting. These teachers also held less positive attitudes toward within-school suspension and corporal punishment. More educated teachers reported less bad language from students, less personal use of verbal reprimands and corporal punishment, and more personal use of talk, counseling, or parent involvement and extra assignments as disciplinary techniques. Lower student socioeconomic status (SES) and/or a lower percentage of white students in a school was associated with more frequent reportings of disruptive or violent behavior. Teachers in lower SES and/or white-percentage schools more frequently endorsed physical or verbal punishment or removal of students. Teachers in higher SES and/or white-percentage schools favored extra assignments as a disciplinary technique. Finally, grade or age of students was found to be positively associated with teacher perceptions of more verbal impertinence, failures to do homework, and truancy, and teachers of higher grades were more likely to use suspension than corporal punishment as a disciplinary technique. (KH)