I'm pretty much just pasting the review for the "Dickies Boys 8-20 Flat Front Short - School Uniform" since I had the exact same problem with these. They ran so small my son could not even button them up.
Title to other review "Ran a bit small".
Well, probably more than a "bit". He could not even button them. I purchased a 14 in these shorts for my son who normally wears a 14 or 28ish waist. I purchased some uniform kahkis at Target in 14 last week that fit him perfectly and some Volcom Frickin Chinos in 28 here on Amazon that also fit him perfectly. Otherwise, they would probably have been great shorts. They were exactly as shown in the picture, no elastic in waist. I would have to say they were sized like a 12 that may have ran a bit small. They were even looking really short. Needless to say, since these were for my youngest, I sent them back.