The Effect of School Uniforms on Student Achievement and Behavior

Here's another NBER paper on in the impact of school uniforms: "we find evidence that uniform adoption improves attendance in secondary grades, while in elementary schools they generate large increases in teacher retention."

Dressed for Success? The Effect of School Uniforms on Student Achievement and Behavior

Elisabetta Gentile, Scott A. Imberman NBER Working Paper No. 17337 Issued in August 2011 NBER Program(s):   CH   ED   LS Uniform use in public schools is rising, but we know little about how they affect students. Using a unique dataset from a large urban school district in the southwest United States, we assess how uniforms affect behavior, achievement and other outcomes. Each school in the district determines adoption independently, providing variation over schools and time. By including student and school fixed-effects we find evidence that uniform adoption improves attendance in secondary grades, while in elementary schools they generate large increases in teacher retention. You may purchase this paper on-line in .pdf format from SSRN.com ($5) for electronic delivery.