School Cell Phone Bans and Student Achievement (NBER Digest)
9 days ago
- #cell phone ban
- #education
- #student achievement
- A study found that implementing an all-day cell phone ban in a Florida school district led to significant improvements in student test scores two years after the ban.
- The ban required students to keep phones silenced and stored in backpacks throughout the entire school day, including lunch and transitions between classes.
- Test score improvements were particularly notable among male students and in middle and high schools.
- During the first month of the ban, student suspensions increased by 25%, with Black male students experiencing a 30% rise in in-school suspension rates at highly affected schools.
- Disciplinary action rates returned to near pre-ban levels by the following school year, suggesting an adjustment period rather than long-term negative effects.
- No significant changes in test scores were observed in the first year of the ban, but scores increased notably in the second year, especially during the spring semester.
- Improved attendance following the ban may explain up to half of the test score improvements observed.
- The study utilized student administrative data and smartphone activity data to analyze the effects of the ban.