School cellphone bans don’t boost scores or attendance, study finds
chools across the U.S. are cracking down on student cellphone use, but a new study finds the restrictions bring mixed results.
The big picture: Schools that require students to lock away their phones during class have seen phone use decline substantially, according to the study shared by the National Bureau of Economic Research in April.
Student well-being also appears to improve the longer the rules remain in place.
Yes, but: “For academic achievement, average effects on test scores are consistently close to zero,” the researchers wrote.
And they found “little evidence” those policies affect attendance, attention in class or perceived online bullying.
By the numbers: As of this year, roughly two-thirds of states have enacted legislation limiting student phone access, per the study.
Senate Panel Passes Bill to Reverse Dismantling of Education Department
A Senate committee advanced legislation Thursday aimed at undoing the Trump administration’s efforts to split apart the U.S. Department of Education. The bill delivers the plan the biggest rebuke since Education Secretary Linda McMahon began shifting offices to other agencies last year.
The education committee’s bill would keep oversight of K-12 and services for students with disabilities at the department. It would also keep the Office of Postsecondary Education out of the Department of Labor and the Office of Indian Education from moving to the Department of the Interior.
The legislation leaves “landmark education programs,” like Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act “at the Department of Education where Congress specifically put them and where they belong,” said Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, who along with GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat.
Settling Scores: Experts Debate Why AP Performance Has Soared
A few years ago, education experts noticed that scores were climbing upwards on a number of Advanced Placement tests. The increases, measured on some of the program’s most popular assessments, were as significant as they were unexpected.
In AP Chemistry, the share of students scoring a 3, 4 or 5 (generally interpreted as a passing grade on the famously challenging exams, which are scored on a 1-5 scale) increased from 54% in 2022 to 75.1% in 2023. In AP United States Government and Politics, that proportion grew even more, from 49.2% to 73% from year to year. By one estimate, roughly 100,000 more students hit the passing threshold on AP U.S. History in 2024 than in 2023.
How Schools Are Navigating the English-Learner Teacher Shortage
Recruiting enough teachers certified to teach English-language development has historically been a challenge for schools across the country.
New national survey data from the EdWeek Research Center show this staffing challenge persists as the national English-learner population has grown to more than 10% of the public-school student enrollment.
In a March survey of 1,122 educators who work directly with English learners or oversee instruction for students including English learners, 55% said the number of staff in their district or school who have been appropriately trained to serve those students is insufficient.
Ed tech pushback risks shortchanging students, these school leaders say
ORLANDO, Fla. — As school leaders navigate the movement to reduce screen time and devices in classrooms, some say K-12 policies that outright ban tech use are not always the best approach.
Alana Winnick, educational technology director at Pocantico Hills Community School District in New York, shared how principals can help students and staff improve their digital wellness instead of focusing on device bans altogether. Winnick’s remarks came during a Tuesday session at the National Association of Elementary School Principals’ National School Leaders Conference.
Schools and districts nationwide are increasingly questioning their 1:1 device policies and implementing screen time limits, Winnick said.
Shrinking student populations cause spike in public school closures across U.S.
School closures have spiked 35 percent across the country over the past four years, propelled by a shrinking youth population and the end of covid-19 relief funds that had propped up education funding in some places.
For the fourth year in a row, the number of school closures rose nationally last year, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics released last week. Districts closed more than 1,000 schools in 2025-26, compared with 755 in 2021-22. And more closures are planned, including districts in Houston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Broward County in Florida.
“We call it the big shrink,” said Marguerite Roza, who tracks school funding as director of Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab. “Enrollment at public schools is declining, partly because there are fewer kids in the U.S.”
Can the Prospect of 3rd Grade Retention Improve Early Literacy? Yes, Study Says
Third grade retention policies could lead to better student scores, even before any children are held back, a new study suggests.
The findings, from researchers at American University and Syracuse University, add another wrinkle to an ongoing debate over retention policies tied to reading scores, which require students who aren’t proficient readers by the end of 3rd grade to repeat the year.
Eighteen states currently have retention policies on the books, some part of recently passed “science of reading” laws, according to a tracker maintained by the advocacy group ExcelinEd.
Interactive: School Spending Is Up. Teacher Pay Isn’t. See What’s Happening in 8,900 Districts
School spending is up. So why aren’t teacher salaries?
For example, from 2002 to 2022, per-pupil spending in the Los Angeles Unified School District rose 108%. That’s in real terms, after accounting for inflation.
But that money didn’t lead to higher pay. In fact, the average salary earned by district employees rose just 5%.
These trends are not unique to Los Angeles and are, in fact, playing out in most schools and districts across the country.
We set out to document the disconnect between rising school spending and stagnant salary levels.
Nationally, average teacher salaries have been remarkably flat for a very long time. In inflation-adjusted terms, they’ve been hovering around $70,000 for decades.
How much each US state spends on public school students, ranked
For many students in the US, the ZIP code they live in can shape the quality of education they get.
And while a lot of disparity can exist between wealthy suburbs and under-resourced urban school districts, differences can also show up dramatically when comparing education across US states.
In 2024, US public schools received nearly $995 billion in funding, with state and local sources combined providing nearly 90% of the total, according to Census data. Nationwide, local governments provided $429.8 billion for primary and secondary education funding, while state governments provided $450 billion.
What Will Life Be Like after the Education Department? Look at What Came Before, Experts Say
In 1977, Karen Hawley Miles’ family left Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for Washington, D.C. She was a junior in high school, a particularly rough time to be uprooted from her friends and neighborhood.
Still, she appreciated the reason the Carter administration summoned her father to the nation’s capital. Willis Hawley, a prominent researcher who focused on school integration, was part of a team tasked with creating a new cabinet-level education agency.
The goal was to bring all of the various education programs scattered across multiple departments under one roof.