A 2024 $30 billion investment in educational technology in public schools is seemingly going to waste after a new report reveals the lack of textbooks is pushing a decline in students’ cognitive skills, Fortune reports.
Neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation to prove why technology has stunted Gen Z’s cognitive abilities.
Data from the Program for International Student Assessment revealed a harsh drop in standardized test scores in 15-year-olds around the world in addition to a noticeable correlation in scores and the time spent on school computers.
While admitting the argument isn’t “a debate about rejecting technology,” Horvath pointed the finger at students having unfiltered access to technology.
“It is a question of aligning educational tools with how human learning actually works,” the neuroscientist said, adding more blame on the iPhone. “Evidence indicates that indiscriminate digital expansion has weakened learning environments rather than strengthened them.”
The writing has been on the wall in the United States since 2002, when Maine became the first state
to launch a statewide laptop program to certain grade levels. At the time, former governor Angus King felt the program would put the internet at children’s fingertips. By 2016, 66,000 laptops and tablets were distributed to students.But now, rather than empowering the students with access to more knowledge, technology has done the opposite.
“A sad fact our generation has to face is that our kids are less cognitively capable than we were at their age,” Horvath said, according to AfroTech. “Since we have been standardizing and measuring cognitive development since the late 1800s, every generation has outperformed their parents. Until Gen Z, the first generation in modern history to underperform us on basically every cognitive measure.”
Research from Brookings Institution’s Center for Universal Education seemingly shows support for Horvath’s data. By working with focus groups, including K-12 students, parents, educators, and tech experts in 50 countries, it was found that the use of AI in education can “undermine children’s foundational development.
The “damages” are
labeled as “daunting” but “fixable.” The threat to students’ cognitive development was listed as a “con,” while AI helping students learn how to read and write, while making teachers’ jobs a little easier, were on the pro list.RELATED CONTENT: Winsome Earle-Sears Targeted By Racist Sign, Virginia Leaders Condemn Incident