Cell phone use in school studies

 

A recent study reveals that teens spend an average of 1.5 hours on their phones during school, with 25% exceeding two hours. This represents a significant increase from previous studies, which reported only 43 minutes of phone use during school.

Christakis D., et al. (2025). Adolescent smartphone use during school hours. JAMA Pediatrics.  doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.6627

Schools implementing cellphone bans have seen significant improvements in student behavior and engagement. The North Adams school district in Massachusetts reported a 75% drop in disciplinary referrals, while the Bentonville district in Arkansas saw a 57% reduction in aggression and a 51% decrease in drug-related offenses.
Banerji, O. (2025). What schools look like without cellphone distraction. Education Week. 
https://www.edweek.org/technology/what-schools-look-like-without-the-cellphone-distraction/2025/02
 

This report  looks at statewide laws and policies on cellphones in schools. 
Prothero, A., Langreo, L., & Klein, A. (2024). Whit states ban or restrict cellphones in school? Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/technology/which-states-ban-or-restrict-cellphones-in-schools/2024/06

K-12 Digital Transformation report

 A survey in 2023 revealed that K-12 digital transformation efforts are still in their early stages, with nearly two-thirds of respondents indicating they have not yet begun to implement their strategies or technology initiatives for digital transformation. However, around 36% are in various stages of implementation, and only about a third of respondents expressed confidence in their understanding of digital transformation, with IT leaders showing higher levels of understanding compared to non-IT leaders.

Nagel, D. (2023). Most districts still early in their digital transformation journey. THE Journal.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2023/08/31/most-districts-still-early-in-their-digital-transformation-journey.aspx

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/

Teen brain development

According to a new study, one in 4 Americans is a teenager or young adult, and the period represents some of the greatest peril and promise of their lives. Supports or inequities in adolescence are particularly likely to "get under the skin" of adolescents developing who they will be as adults. Emerging research identified adolescence and young adulthood—the period roughly from ages 10 to 24—as a second "critical window" of brain development after the early years. During this time, students become better at social learning, pattern recognition, and more responsive to changes in school and academic climates. Teenagers have been found to gain or lose as many as 20 IQ points during this period, making testing potentially less valid at the exact time it is used for critical decisions about their educational trajectory. Math or reading gender gaps can close or even flip. Teenagers' brain malleability, the research committee found, means that interventions during secondary school can help students overcome trauma or adversity in their early life. But adolescents also become increasingly aware of and damaged by bias, stereotypes, and institutional or social inequities, the report found, which can create "missed opportunities" for learning and becoming more resilient. Instructional interventions considered effective with younger students can suddenly backfire, and adolescents also have the greatest risk for developing mental illnesses or becoming involved in the justice system.

Bonnie, R., & Backes, E. (Eds.). (2019) Youth. Washington, DC: National Academies of Science.

https://www.nap.edu/read/25388/chapter/1#iii 

Types of Students and Learning Preferences

Using results from a nationally representative online survey of 2,006 public and private school students conducted in 2016, the report picks out six dominant categories of students and suggests some ways to help them feel more connected and interested in school. The six dominant categories of students are as follows: subject lovers, emotionals, hand raisers, social butterflies, teacher responders, and deep thinkers. The report states that given that students are motivated to learn via different levers, student engagement and choice—among schools, teachers, courses, delivery options, instructional strategies, and so on—need to go hand in hand. 

Thomas B. Fordham Institute (2017). What teens want from their schools: A national survey of high school student engagement. Washington, D.C.: Thomas B. Fordham Institute. https://edexcellence.net/publications/what-teens-want-from-their-schools

Student Engagement Amongst Grades

Data collected from surveys by Gallup show that nearly half of students say they are engaged in school and such students are 2.5 times more likely to get good grades than their disengaged peers. The data show the engagement is highest among elementary-school students, but it drops off between fifth and 10th grades. Moreover, engagement is strong at the end of elementary school, with nearly three-quarters of fifth-graders reporting high levels of engagement. Also, in the early years of the research, Gallup discovered two items that had a powerful connection to engagement. Students who were able to "strongly agree" with the statements "My school is committed to building the strengths of each student" and "I have at least one teacher who makes me excited about the future" were 30 times as likely to be engaged at school when compared with students who strongly disagreed with the same items. A key to building a culture of student engagement is to have students who partner with caring adults to develop their potential.

Hodges, T. (2018). School engagement is more than just talk. Washington, D.C.: Gallup. https://www.gallup.com/education/244022/school-engagement-talk.aspx

Discipline Disparities for Black Students and Students with Disabilities

This report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office examines (1) patterns in disciplinary actions among public schools, (2) challenges selected school districts reported with student behavior and how they are approaching school discipline, and (3) actions Education and Justice have taken to identify and address disparities or discrimination in school discipline. Findings show that black students, boys, and students with disabilities were disproportionately disciplined (e.g., suspensions and expulsions) in K-12 public schools, according to GAO’s analysis of Department of Education national civil rights data for school year 2013-14, the most recent available. These disparities were widespread and persisted regardless of the type of disciplinary action, level of school poverty, or type of public school attended.

U.S. Government Accountability Office (2018). K-12 education: Discipline disparities for black students, boys, and students with disabilities. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Accountability Office. https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/690828.pdf