Back in the day before mobile phones were commonly used by teens in schools, we suppose there were less distractions in class, but now that smartphones and tablets have become so ubiquitous, teachers will now have to deal with smartphones and tablets in addition to other hijinks that students typically get up to.Now if you believe that banning phones from being used in class is a sound idea, here’s some evidence that will back you up. The London School of Economics has recently published a study (via BBC) in which they found that test scores of students saw an improvement in schools that banned phones from being used in class.
The study covered schools located in four English cities and based on their findings, test scores have increased by more than 6%. One of the researchers was quoted as saying, “We found that not only did student achievement improve, but also that low-achieving and low income students gained the most. We found the impact of banning phones for these students was equivalent to an additional hour a week in school, or to increasing the school year by five days.”
It is unclear if this can be applied to the rest of the world as different countries and education systems have different stands on mobile phone usage. For example in New York, the mayor lifted a ban on phones in school claiming that it would reduce inequality, whereas over in the UK, different schools will have to make their own policy, but at the same time we have to admit that the evidence is pretty compelling.