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School Dress Codes and Uniforms

By Linda Lumsden and Gabriel Miller

Elder, Deborah L. "Evaluation of School Uniform Policy at John Adams and Truman Middle Schools for Albuquerque Public Schools."

February 1999. 37 pages. ED 453 580. Available from: ERIC Document Reproduction Service, 7420 Fullerton Rd., Suite 110, Springfield, VA 22153-2852. $14.50. 1-800-443-3742

Although many private schools require their students to wear school uniforms, mandatory policies in public schools are relatively rare. The public schools that have pioneered such policies provide learning laboratories for other schools to study the effects of uniforms.

Beginning in the fall of 1998–under a policy initiated by parents–students at John Adams and Truman Middle Schools in Albuquerque were required to wear tuck-in polo shirts and khaki pants or skirts. Elder reports on an evaluation of this policy that used interviews, focus groups, and surveys, along with data on discipline referrals and numbers of students achieving honor-roll status.

During the first semester of the 1998-99 school year, both schools experienced a clear improvement in student conduct from the previous year. At John Adams Middle School, discipline referrals fell from 1,565 during the first semester of the previous year to 405. At Truman, referrals dropped from 1,139 to 850.

Students, teachers, and parents stated in interviews that "uniforms place all students on an equal level," Elder writes. "Students who may be immediately labeled by peers and staff no longer stand out."

The percentage of students who made the honor roll increased at John Adams from 31.4 percent to 43.3 percent. At Truman, however, there was a negligible decrease in the percentage of honor-roll students.

Survey data showed that 75 percent of parents and 89 percent of staff supported uniforms and believed they decrease violence, theft, and gang activity. Although only 15 percent of students supported uniforms, 59 percent agreed that "school uniforms help school officials identify trespassers on campus."

Elder notes that both schools implemented other changes in instruction and administration at the same time the uniform policy went into effect, so is not possible to attribute the positive results solely to the uniform policy. Nevertheless, "perceptions of parents and staff are very powerful influences on a school," she concludes, and "when a school community believes a school to be good, the school improves."

• School Dress Codes and Uniforms
• Do School Uniforms Fit?
  Kerry White discusses arguments for and against school uniforms and summarizes the state of research in this area.
• Dress Codes in the Public Schools: Principals, Policies, and Precepts
  Todd DeMitchell and colleagues report on a survey of principals’ views on dress codes and uniforms, look at sample policies, and outline legal issues related to regulating student dress.
• Evaluation of School Uniform Policy at John Adams and Truman Middle Schools for Albuquerque Public Schools
  Deborah Elder evaluates the implementation and effects of a mandatory uniform policy at two middle schools in an impoverished community.
• School Uniforms: Can Voluntary Programs Work? Experimenting in an At-Risk School
  Richard Daugherty describes the adoption of a voluntary uniform policy at a middle school and the level of compliance over time.
• School Uniforms Redux
  Benjamin Dowling-Sendor examines a recent school uniform case and discusses elements that can help schools survive legal challenges.

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