As some schools have pushed phones out of classrooms, a massive new study suggests the payoff is nuanced. Researchers tracking more than 40,000 US schools between 2019 and 2026 found that strict "locked pouch" bans slashed in-class phone use—but didn't lift test scores or attendance, and were paired with an initial rise in suspensions. Schools using Yondr pouches, which keep students' phones sealed until the end of the day, saw cellphone pings on campus drop by about 30% (locked phones can still ping, for instance, when an email is received) and teacher-reported nonacademic use plummet from 61% of students to 13%. (Yondr provided data for the study.)
Yet the academic impact was "close to zero," found the paper published Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Perceptions of online bullying were unchanged. Suspensions jumped an average 16% in the first year, which researchers suspect stemmed from phone-related rule-breaking. Even so, teachers largely welcomed the change, citing calmer classrooms and fewer distractions, and students in strict-ban schools later reported feeling better overall. One Missouri district tells the New York Times the policy is now a selling point for hiring.
A press release notes most of the current research on school phone bans has been conducted outside the US. As such, "The new work provides large-scale, nationwide evidence on the effects of such restrictions."
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