Study: Phone-Free Schools Boost Well-being, But Test Scores Lag

LOS ANGELES, CA – May 05, 2026 – A landmark national study has provided the strongest evidence to date that creating phone-free schools significantly reduces student phone use and improves well-being, validating a model that is rapidly gaining traction with educators and policymakers nationwide. The research, published by the prestigious National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), found that schools implementing Yondr’s system of lockable phone pouches saw an 80% reduction in non-academic phone use in classrooms.

Conducted by a team of economists and researchers from Stanford, Duke, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Michigan, the study is the largest of its kind, drawing on data from over 40,000 schools between 2019 and 2026. The findings offer a detailed look at the real-world impacts of removing smartphones from the immediate grasp of students during the school day, revealing a complex picture of benefits and challenges.

The Sound of Connection

Educators have long lamented the silent cafeterias and disengaged students staring at screens. The study confirms that a strictly enforced phone ban can reverse this trend. In schools using the pouch system—where students place their phones in a locked pouch upon entry that is unlocked at dismissal—phone use between classes plummeted by 53 percentage points. This is nearly triple the reduction seen in schools that rely on less stringent “off-and-away” policies, which researchers noted are often inconsistently enforced and place a heavy burden on teachers.

The most visible change, according to school leaders, is auditory. Hallways and lunchrooms are once again filled with conversation. “At lunch you will see all these kids, they’re talking to one another,” said Brice Beck, Deputy Superintendent of Cape Girardeau Public Schools, a district using the system. “It’s a lot louder, but the good kind of loud.”

This shift from digital isolation to real-world interaction is at the heart of the phone-free movement. “This research is a meaningful milestone,” said Graham Dugoni, founder and CEO of Yondr. “It reinforces what school leaders have been telling us for years: a phone-free school lays the foundation for calmer, more focused classrooms, where teachers feel supported and students have the space to develop the social skills needed in today’s world.”

A Bumpy Road to Better Well-being

The study’s most compelling finding may be its impact on student mental health. After an initial adjustment period, students in phone-free schools reported sustained well-being improvements that, within two years, were nearly double the gains seen in major studies where participants deactivated their social media accounts. This suggests that creating a phone-free environment during school hours has a powerful and lasting positive effect on adolescent mental health.

However, the transition is not always smooth. The NBER data revealed a short-term dip in student well-being during the first year of implementation. This was accompanied by a notable, though temporary, increase in disciplinary incidents, with suspension rates rising by approximately 16% before fading in subsequent years. This suggests an initial period of resistance and adjustment as students and staff adapt to the new rules, highlighting the importance of careful planning and communication when rolling out such a significant policy change.

For educators, the benefits were more immediate. The study, which included survey data from 100,000 teachers, found a significant improvement in teacher satisfaction with their school’s phone policy and a reduction in the stress of constantly policing device use.

The Elusive Link to Academic Achievement

While the positive effects on school culture and student well-being are clear, the study pours cold water on the hope that phone bans are a silver bullet for academic performance. The researchers found that the average effects on standardized test scores were “consistently close to zero.”

The data showed some nuance: high schools saw modest positive effects, particularly in math, while middle schools observed small negative effects. This finding underscores the complexity of measuring academic growth and the multitude of factors that influence it. E. Jason Baron, a Duke University economist and a co-author of the paper, noted in a discussion of the findings that “It's hard to move outcomes like test scores,” suggesting policymakers should temper expectations for immediate academic gains. The primary benefits, the data implies, lie in creating a more focused and healthier learning environment, rather than directly boosting test results.

A Policy Gaining Political Momentum

The study arrives as the movement to restrict cellphones in schools is rapidly accelerating from a school-by-school decision to a matter of state-level policy. Before 2024, no U.S. state had a bell-to-bell phone ban. By May 2025, nine states had enacted such policies, and a total of 20 states had some form of statewide guidance.

This political momentum is creating a fertile market for companies like Yondr, which now supports over 3 million students globally. States are beginning to put money behind the mandates, with New York, for example, allocating $13.5 million to help schools acquire phone storage solutions. Governors across the country have publicly endorsed the measures, signaling a broad consensus that the experiment of allowing unfettered phone access in schools has created more problems than it has solved. This landmark study provides policymakers with a robust dataset, confirming that while the path may have initial bumps, a committed, structured approach to creating phone-free schools can deliver on its promise of a calmer, more connected, and healthier student body.