Removing Phones from Classrooms Improves Academic Performance

Our project titled “Removing Phones from Classrooms Improves Academic Performance” is now available as an SSRN working paper, read it here or see abstract below.

Abstract: Smartphones are ubiquitous in classrooms, yet their effect on academic performance remains debated. We report results from a large-scale randomized controlled trial involving nearly 17,000 university students, testing the impact of mandatory in-class smartphone collection. The intervention increased student grades by 0.086 standard deviations on average, with stronger effects for lower-performing, first-year, and non-STEM students. Treated students became more supportive of phone-use restrictions and perceived greater benefits from them, despite a slight increase in fear of missing out. No significant changes were detected in well-being, academic motivation, digital use, or online harassment. Classroom observations showed less chatter and distraction, reduced phone use, and more teacher engagement. These results suggest that restricting smartphone use during class can be a low-cost, scalable policy to improve academic outcomes without harming student well-being.