Cell phones are just a part of life now and seventy-three percent of teenagers in the US carry smart phones. Most schools ban cell phone use during class, but many teachers allow them to be used if all a student’s work is complete. However, smart phones could be dumbing our kids down.
A recent study by the London School of Economics revealed that test scores went up when schools had strict bans on cell phones. Test scores for students who were 16-years-old increased by over six percent. That equals about five additional days of learning for those students. There was almost no effect on 14-year-olds or high achievers.
Researchers believe that is because younger children are less likely to own a phone and high achievers aren’t distracted by their phones. “The results suggest that low achieving students are more likely to be distracted by the presence of mobile phones while high achievers can focus in the classroom regardless of the mobile phone policy,” according to the study.
Richard Murphy, one of the study’s researchers, stated that “Banning cell phones in schools would be a low-cost way for schools to reduce educational inequality…However, these findings do not discount the possibility that mobile phones could be a useful learning tool if their use is properly structured. Regardless, these results show that the presence of cellphones in schools cannot be ignored.”
Do your teens have a cell phone? Do they have a smart phone? What age did you give your child a cell phone?
