School phone bans have little impact on academics or behavior, new study finds
A new study of 4,600 schools found that banning cell phones during the school day reduced phone usage, but had little impact on academics or behavior. The study found that while teacher surveys showed a significant decrease in phone usage, there were minimal improvements in standardized test scores and no significant changes in attendance or bullying.
A study of 4,600 schools that adopted cell phone bans in 2022, 2023, and 2024 found mixed results. Teacher surveys showed that the share of students using phones in class for personal reasons fell from 61% to 13%. GPS data also indicated a roughly 30% drop in device pings during school hours by the third year. However, the bans had little impact on academics or behavior, with minimal improvements in standardized test scores and no significant changes in attendance or bullying. Suspension rates increased by 16% in the first year, but this effect faded in subsequent years. Student well-being dipped initially but rebounded by the second year. Researchers noted that the findings were 'somewhat disappointing', but suggested that it may take a couple of years to see results.
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