Test Scores, Attendance Improve After District Bans Cellphones
Test scores rose and unexcused absences fell after one of the largest school districts in the country banned cellphones, a new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found.
“The Impact of Cellphone Bans in Schools on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Florida” compares students’ performance, attendance and behavior at a large Florida school district before and after it prohibited cellphone use during school hours.
The policy, which the district implemented in September 2023, decreased student cellphone usage by about two-thirds, the study found. Just one year later, in the 2024-2025 school year, students’ test scores increased by an average of 1.1 percentage points.
Test scores among middle and high school students — those most likely to have cellphones — increased by 1.3 percentage points on average.
The district’s cellphone ban also correlated with significantly fewer unexcused absences. Researchers believe better attendance could account for as much as half of students’ improved test performance.
This data provides encouraging evidence showing school policies limiting cellphone use can improve student outcomes. Importantly, the study also indicates effective policies may not always yield immediate improvements.
Student test scores didn’t improve during the first year of the district’s cellphone ban. Instead, in-school suspensions increased by 20%.
But in-school suspension numbers returned to normal in the 2024-2025 school year — the same year the district’s test scores started to improve.
Interestingly, male students, who were suspended for cellphone use more often than female students during the 2023-2024 school year, experienced the highest increase in test scores (1.4 percentage points) of any demographic in the 2024-2024 school year.
It’s important for parents and policy makers to understand successful cellphone bans don’t improve student outcomes overnight so good policies aren’t scrapped before they start to work.
“The Impact of Cellphone Bans in Schools” proves what most parents already know: In-school cellphone use decreases students’ performance — not to mention their mental and physical health.
Schools should jump to implement similar policies.
Additional Articles and Resources
Plugged In Parent’s Guide to Today’s Technology
Florida School District Bans Cellphones, Gets Results
More than Twenty States Limit Smartphone Use in Schools
New York Prepares to Restrict School Smartphone Use
Parent-Run Groups Help Stop Childhood Smartphone Use
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Four Ways to Protect Your Kids from Bad Tech, from Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt
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