SARAH HOYT’S SHOCKED FACE IS LOUNGING ON THE LIDO DECK: Students learn more, fight less after smartphone bans.

Test scores rose modestly when an urban Florida district banned smartphones, concludes a working paper, reports Erica Meltzer on Chalkbeat. In the first year of the all-day ban, more students — especially black males — were suspended. By the second year, students were learning more and suspensions returned to normal. Attendance improved.

Researchers compared schools with the highest cell phone use before the 2023 ban and those with the lowest. Test scores went up more in the high-use schools, especially for middle and high school students, and boys.

The test score increases were “meaningful but not game-changing,” said David Figlio of the University of Rochester. He thinks smartphones contribute to test score declines, but may not be the primary cause.

Well, then keep digging.