Viral case against school screens: evidence under scrutiny

Chalkbeat Ideas is a new section featuring reported columns on the big ideas and debates shaping American schools. Sign up for the Ideas newsletter to follow our work.Schools have been struggling for nearly a decade with stagnant or declining test scores. Some have blamed external factors like the pandemic or children’s screen use outside of school. But what if, in a sort of educational horror movie, the call is coming from inside the house?Such is the provocative theory advanced by Jared Cooney Horvath, a Ph.D-holding neuroscientist who runs an education consulting company. Students’ learning and attention have been derailed by the proliferation of screens in schools. “When tech enters education, learning goes down,” he told a U.S. Senate committee earlier this year.Horvath has offered a synthesis of two anxieties of the moment: poor test scores and rising screen time among children, including in school. It’s a message that is resonating with some parents, educators, and lawmakers. Hi