Part II
The Empirical Question

Of course, the question of whether uniforms actually work is central to this debate. After all, it wouldn't seem right to acknowledge that uniforms don't work and yet still mandate that students wear them - especially given the legitimate concerns of students rights and free speech advocates. Indeed, empirical evidence showing significant reductions in school related problems, while perhaps not a sufficient condition for mandating uniforms, is certainly a necessary one.

Many uniform supporters point to the Long Beach district's data for the 1993-1994 through 1994-1995 school years as proof that uniform requirements work. Such data show that during this time period physical fights in elementary and junior high schools decreased 51%, assaults and batteries fell 34%, weapons offenses went down 50%, and there was a 32% reduction in the number of suspensions (Paliokas). Lower profile districts and schools have also reported decreases in school related problems as a result of uniform implementation. Ruffer Middle School in Norfolk, Virginia reports that fights are down nearly 40% and leaving class without permission is also down dramatically; South Shore Middle School in Seattle, Washington likewise reports a substantial decrease in tardies and truancies (Manual on School Uniforms). Given these numbers, it is hardly surprising that upwards of 70% of school principals believe uniforms will lessen delinquency and contribute positively to the school environment (Paliokas).

However, as Loren Siegel, public education director for the ACLU, has noted, it is far from clear that the uniforms are responsible for the decrease in problems in these schools. For example, Siegel notes that around the time uniforms were enacted in Long Beach schools, the district also increased the number of teachers and administrators patrolling the hallways during class changes (Siegel). Couldn't this, as well as the myriad other changes which accompanied the uniform requirement (including stepped up parental involvement and additional conflict-resolution classes), be the reason for the dramatic statistical changes (Paliokas)? Certainly if uniforms are just one of many initiatives undertaken by schools to reduce violence and delinquency, then crediting them - and them alone - with any statistical change is premature, as any political scientist will attest. Siegel concludes that "no empirical studies...show that uniforms consistently produce positive changes in student behavior over the long run. At best, school uniform policies are purely experimental" (Siegel).

Unfortunately, the relationship between uniforms and the subsequent decreases in school related problems has been proven only to be correlational, not causal. Indeed, although anecdotal evidence exists suggesting otherwise, the question of whether uniforms are the solution to delinquency, truancy, and sluggish student performance remains unanswered. However, given the growing interest in this issue, future studies promise to settle many of these empirical issues once and for all.

Government 375: Educational Reform and Ideology