Student Technology Use Study

 “The vast majority of US public schools now issue devices to every student, according to a 2025 National Center for Education Statistics survey. A new found students putting away their phones didn’t seem to meaningfully improve learning outcomes,.probably because schools are giving students other forms of technology to replace their personal devices, despite a wide body of evidence showing that educational technology generally makes it harder for students to learn. Students who use computers more perform worse academically, neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath documented in his book, ‘The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kids’ Learning — And How To Help Them Thrive Again.’ These results show up in numerous reliable international standardized tests, Horvath explained in congressional testimony.” 

Allcott, H. et al. (2026). The effects of school phone bans: national evidence from lockable pouches. National Bureau of Economic Research. 

Listening Benefit Study

Students who believe their schools are responsive to their needs earn higher grades, according to a study by researchers. The findings, based on data from 12,000 ninth-grade students in Chicago, come as school districts consider ways to better integrate students' feedback.New research has confirmed a link between acting on students’ feedback and their academic success, strengthening arguments for incorporating student voice into school improvement efforts.For students, a belief that schools are responsive to their ideas correlates with a higher grade-point average and better attendance.

Kahne, J., Bowyer, B., Marshall, J., & Hodgin, E. (2022). Is Responsiveness to Student Voice Related to Academic Outcomes? Strengthening the Rationale for Student Voice in School Reform. American Journal of Education, 128(3), 389-415.

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/719121?download=true

Academic success factors study

Curiosity and persistence are the strongest predictors of academic success in math and reading, according to a study of students in 11 countries, including the US. The study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is the first major global assessment of students' social and emotional skills.

Schleicher, A. (2021). Beyond academic learning. OECD.

https://www.oecd.org/education/ceri/social-emotional-skills-study/beyond-academic-learning-92a11084-en.htm

https://oecdedutoday.com/new-approach-social-emotional-skills/

Emotional Self-Regulation Study

Emotional intelligence is an important part of academic success—from kindergarten into college—according to a new study. In particular, students who understand and can manage their emotions earn higher grades and do better on standardized tests.  The findings help bolster the growing consensus among researchers that skills such as emotional intelligence are not just important for future workplace success, but also students' academic success in the here and now. The results are also likely to help schools make the case that investing in teaching social-emotional skills will bring a payoff in improved student achievement.
McCann, C. et al. (2019). Emotional intelligence predicts academic performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 1-36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/bul0000219
https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/bul-bul0000219.pdf

Factors impacting Student Achievement Research

Students in high-poverty school districts learn as much during the school year as their peers in more affluent districts, according to a nationwide study of 3000 students. Researchers found that achievement gaps may be fueled more by nonacademic barriers -- hunger, unstable housing, violence in the home -- that some students face outside of school.
Downey, D.. Workman, J., & von Hippel, P. (2019). Socioeconomic, ethnic, racial, and gender gaps in children's social/behavioral skills: do they grow faster in school or out? Sociological Science, 6, 446-466.
https://www.sociologicalscience.com/articles-v6-17-446/

Screen Time Use and Academics Study

Not all screen time is created equal, according to a review of 58 studies from 23 countries published recently. The review found that time students spent watching television and playing video games -- rather than time spent on the internet and using mobile phones -- negatively affected academics. Watching more TV impacted language and math abilities as well as an overall academic composite for teens; just language and math abilities were impacted in younger children. Teen scores appeared to be worse than those of younger children when the amount of time spent watching TV went up. On average, a typical child plays video games for 40 minutes a day and watches between 1.8 and 2.8 hours of TV each day. Almost a third of children and adolescents spend more than four hours a day on screens, with boys outpacing girls.
Adelantado-Renau M, Moliner-Urdiales D, Cavero-Redondo I, Beltran-Valls MR, Martínez-Vizcaíno V, Álvarez-Bueno C. (2019, Sept. 23). Association Between Screen Media Use and Academic Performance Among Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis . JAMA Pediatrics. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3176
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2751330?guestAccessKey=f02523bb-1adb-4566-8f9f-02bab8189b69&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=092319

Growth mindset counter study

The correlation between growth-mindset interventions and academic achievement is limited, according to a recent meta-analysis by researchers from Case Western Reserve University. They looked at more than 229 studies and found that such interventions had a very small effect overall and had limited benefits for high-risk students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Other education interventions, such as reducing class sizes or increased teacher training, had much larger effects.
Sisk, V., et al. (2018). To what extent and under which circumstances are growth mind-sets important to academic achievement?  Psychological Science, 29(4), 549-571.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617739704

Bullying in Middle School

This study examined the impact of top dog and bottom dog status on bullying, safety, belonging, and academic achievement. This article provides the first credibly causal evidence that top dog status improves the learning environment and academic achievement. We further find that the top dog effect is strongest in sixth grade and in schools with longer grade spans and that the top dog effect is not explained by new students to a school or student height.

Schwartz, A. E., Stiefel, L., & Rothbart, M. W. (2016). Do top dogs rule in middle school? Evidence on bullying, safety, and belonging. American Educational Research Journal, 53(5), 1450-1484. https://dx.doi.org/10.3102/0002831216657177

Importance of Growth-Mindset on Academic Success

In this study, interventions designed to increase students’ growth mind-sets—thereby increasing their academic achievement—have been implemented in schools around the world. In our first meta-analysis, we examined the strength of the relationship between mind-set and academic achievement and potential moderating factors. In our second meta-analysis, we examined the effectiveness of mind-set interventions on academic achievement and potential moderating factors. Overall effects were weak for both meta-analyses. However, some results supported specific tenets of the theory, namely, that students with low socioeconomic status or who are academically at risk might benefit from mind-set interventions.

Sisk, V. F., Burgoyne, A. P., Sun, J., Butler, J. L., & Macnamara, B. N. (2018). To what extent and under which circumstances are growth mind-sets important to academic achievement? Two meta-analyses. Psychological Science, 29(40), 549-571. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797617739704