Why didn't test scores go up?

A major new study on school cellphone bans was released this week by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Over 40,000 schools were analyzed between 2019 and 2026, comparing schools that banned phones with those that didn't.

Here's what they found: Students are off their devices. Teachers report being happier at work. Student well-being improved after an initial adjustment period. Disciplinary problems spiked temporarily in year one, then disappeared by year two. But also: test scores didn't change.

This shouldn't surprise anyone. The study only had at most three years of post-ban data. Academic gains take time, and research consistently shows that what happens at home plays a major role in student achievement. Family support, enrichment activities, screen-free time, and outdoor play come together with a strong in-school environment to lead to student success.

So are cell phone bans a good thing in schools? Absolutely. But the conversation should be bigger than this. Public narratives tend to try to separate complex issues into simple black and white questions. They rarely fit so neatly.

The researchers put it clearly: "Test scores and surveys don't necessarily capture all the outcomes of the phone restrictions." They're right. What matters is what kids do instead of looking at screens.

Phone bans at school clear the path for more productive uses of learning time like outdoor time, nature connection, and physical activity. But it's still up to parents and caregivers to facilitate more screen-free opportunities outside the classroom.

An Arkansas outdoor education manager said it perfectly: "Nature is everywhere; outdoor education can be everywhere, too. It's just sitting there through a 2-inch piece of glass. It's our job to take students on the other side of that window."

Recent research backs this up. A study published this month in the Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education found that forest school sessions showed "consistently higher levels of involvement" than classroom lessons—with particularly notable gains for students with special educational needs.

Phone bans aren't a panacea. Let's not pretend they were ever supposed to be. Otherwise, we risk missing the bigger problem, and we risk losing sight of the interconnected solution that will actually make a difference.

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