Due to declining student interest in academia and learning, American student achievement scores are the lowest in recorded history. School uniforms have reduced distractions that prevent students from learning in school (R. Ryan and T. Ryan 82). In a 2010 study, the University of Houston found that elementary school girls' language test scores increased significantly by about 3 percentile points after uniforms were introduced at their school (ProCon). Students also see clothing as a symbol of identification, self-expression, and a regulator of expected behavior. The authors of “The Students Dress Code Debate” say that because adolescents communicate values ​​and validate themselves through dress, it is “reasonable to assume that values ​​may be related to behavior.” A teenager's clothing choices are “a reflection of his or her abilities, personal qualities, or performance” (Swafford, Jolley, and Southward 10). Enforcing a dress code policy also reduces additional distractions and makes the class more serious