Uniforms are supposed to help students focus on their work.

“It’s official — the largest school district in the U.S. has adopted school uniforms. Over a half-million elementary-school students in New York City will have to adhere to a dress code by the Fall of 1999. The president of the school board said the policy is ‘important to diminish peer pressure and promote school pride,’ but that it’s not ‘an act of magic to transform schools overnight….It isn’t going to replace good teaching, good principals, small classrooms.’

“It’s a fashion trend that’s spreading. From Los Angeles to Louisiana, from Maryland to Miami, public schools are discussing, and in many cases adopting, the old private school idea. School uniforms are designed to help kids focus on algebra instead of high-tops; to make students compete for grades rather than jackets.

Weekend Wear vs. School Wear

“‘It helps to get up in the morning and not have to think about what you’re going to wear,’ said Maria, a ninth-grader who swims, plays soccer, and wears exactly what everybody else does at her high school in Washington, DC. Each school day, Maria dons an all-white oxford shirt, brown shoes, and a gray/maroon plaid skirt that has to be long enough to the touch the ground when she kneels. After school and on weekends, of course, all bets are off. Maria has a simple yet effective strategy: she borrows her friends’ clothes, typically baggy jeans.

“‘I just kind of steal them,’ said Maria. ‘That way, they do the shopping, and I get to wear them.’

“No-nonsense uniforms are what many school are using as weapons in the war against gang-related violence and classroom distractions. Read the rest of this PBS article here.

In the conclusion of a research paper at the University of Houston, the authors stated, “Concerns about school safety and the desire by administrators to try dierent strategies to improve test scores and behavior has led many schools to adopt student uniforms. However, the current evidence on uniforms is sparse and the existing research relies on cross-sectional variation. Since schools likely adopt uniforms in response to poor behavior or achievement the results from this research may suer from substantial bias.”

Click here to read this August, 2011 study, “Dressed for Success? The Effect of School Uniforms on Student Achievement and Behavior“