Study: Cell phone bans improve student test scores
By Amanda Schupak, CBS News
Reactions to bans prohibiting kids from having cell phones in schools have had mixed reactions, with proponents arguing they cut down on distraction and cheating, and parents countering that it’s unsafe to cut off communication between them and their children. Now, a new study shows that there’s academic merit to the bans.
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and Louisiana State University measured student performance in 91 schools in four cities in England before and after cellphone bans were instituted. Their findings showed that average test scores improved post-ban, with students scoring 6.41 percentage points of a standard deviation higher, which made them 2 percent more likely to pass their end of the year exams.
The effect was twice as great for low-achieving and special-needs students.