New study finds phone bans in schools have “close to zero” impact

Tough bans on cell phones in schools have a “close to zero” impact on academic performance and don’t really improve attendance or reduce online bullying, a new study has found. However, some results are encouraging, researchers add.

The study, conducted by researchers from various US universities, including Stanford and Duke, and published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, examined roughly 1,800 American schools in which students’ phones were kept in locked pouches.

Little or no differences in outcomes compared with similar schools without strict bans were found. The report concludes: “For academic achievement, average effects on test scores are consistently close to zero.”

Locked magnetic pouches are usually sealed at central locations and lock students’ phones until schools decide they can be opened again.

Researchers used nationwide data combining large-scale surveys, GPS pings, standardized test scores, and school administrative records, along with sales records from the largest pouch provider.

Perhaps contrary to expectations, in the first year after “pouch adoption,” disciplinary incidents increased and student subjective well-being fell, consistent with short-term disruption.

“For academic achievement, average effects on test scores are consistently close to zero,” the study has found.

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“High schools see modest positive effects, particularly in math, while middle schools see small negative effects. We find little evidence of effects on school attendance, self-reported classroom attention, or perceived online bullying.”

In fact, no measurable improvements were observed, even though the study found a substantial decline in phone activity by the third year of a ban, based on GPS data.

One theory is that students, especially younger ones who have more limited impulse control, may substitute phones for other disruptive behaviors, including peer interactions that could lead to more disciplinary incidents.

All this could be interpreted as pretty bad news for the proponents of phone bans – what’s the point of them if they don’t work, right?

Not necessarily. First, as professor Thomas Dee of Stanford University told NPR, teachers like these bans because it’s easier for them to keep students’ attention and “keep them on task.”

In 2024, 72% of US high school teachers said that students being distracted by phones was a major problem in their classroom.

Besides, “there are some encouraging results in the midst of these mixed findings,” Dee adds.

“They are driving down phone usage, and as schools have longer experiences with phone bans, we're seeing a shift towards more positive outcomes.”

Indeed, the study clearly states: “Effects on well-being become positive in later years, and disciplinary effects fade.” In other words, patience is advised.

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