Working Paper: NBER ID: w17337
Authors: Elisabetta Gentile; Scott A. Imberman
Abstract: 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.
Keywords: school uniforms; student achievement; behavior; teacher retention
JEL Codes: I21
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| uniform adoption (Y20) | attendance (I29) |
| uniform adoption (Y20) | teacher attrition (I21) |
| uniform adoption (Y20) | academic achievement (I24) |
| uniform adoption (Y20) | grade retention (I24) |
| uniform adoption (Y20) | student movements between schools (J62) |