The Un-uniformed.

• Author: Zernike, Kate
• Position: Education

School uniforms, popular in the mid-1990s, are becoming a fashion of the past. Uniforms were seen as a cure-all: If students looked more orderly, schools would be more orderly. Security would improve, and noise and discipline problems would decrease.

Yet in many places, the promises have not panned out. In California, where the trend took off, at least 50 schools have abandoned uniforms in the last two years. Schools in New Hampshire, Florida, and Kansas...