Why Are School Uniforms a Good Idea?

School uniforms have many benefits.

School uniforms are a controversial topic. People who don't like them say that uniforms take away a child's right to express himself. The older the student gets, the more resentment he might have about the school forcing him to wear a uniform. On the other hand, many school districts have achieved positive results after implementing a uniform policy.

History

The U.S. Department of Education discovered in 1996 that only 3 percent of public schools required students to wear uniforms. President Bill Clinton believed that uniforms would make schools more orderly and disciplined, according to Elisabetta Gentile and Scott A. Imberman of the University of Houston. Because of the encouragement from the Clinton Administration, by 2005, 14 percent of public schools required students to wear uniforms.

Safety Considerations

Uniforms potentially make schools safer. Unauthorized visitors are easy to spot. Gangs cannot instigate fights by wearing their gang colors or insignia. Thefts may decrease because students can no longer wear expensive clothing items.

Social Benefits

In particular, girls who can't afford to dress in the latest styles can suffer from low self-esteem, say Gentile and Imberman. Uniforms take away this pressure because everyone is wearing the same clothing.

Attendance

Attendance rates for middle and high school girls significantly increased after their schools adopted school uniforms, according to Gentile and Imberman. Some girls believe that a uniform allows them to get ready more quickly in the morning. As a ninth-grader, Maria, interviewed for PBS.org, said that wearing a uniform helped her in the mornings before school since she didn't have to think about what to wear.

Test Scores

Gentile and Imberman studied the relationship between uniforms and test scores and found that test scores for elementary school students dramatically increased after uniform adoption. Scores somewhat increased for the higher grades, too.

Better Behavior

Wearing uniforms instills a certain sense of authority in students, according to Gentile and Imberman. When students are wearing uniforms, they tend to behave better and disrupt the classroom less. Requiring uniforms also opens a venue for rewarding good behavior. A teacher or the entire school can have a T-shirt day as a reward.

Theories/Speculation

Uniforms have a positive impact on keeping students at the school. Prior to a school's adopting uniforms, more students were leaving public schools for charter or private schools at a higher rate than they were after the school adopted uniforms. Gentile and Imberman speculate that this could be because parents view a public school's adoption of uniforms as a sign that the school is working toward making improvements.

References

• University of Houston: Dressed for Success?
• Family Education: School Uniforms--Pros and Cons
• PBS: School Uniforms