The U.S. Spent $30 Billion to Ditch Textbooks for Laptops and Tablets — The Result Is the First Generation Less Cognitively Capable Than Their Parents

The United States has invested more than $30 billion in recent years to replace traditional textbooks with laptops and tablets in public schools — a dramatic shift in educational technology that was supposed to modernize teaching and boost learning. But critics, including leading neuroscientists and educational experts, now say that the outcome has been far from the transformation its backers envisioned. Instead, they argue, the heavy reliance on screens has coincided with declining cognitive performance among students compared with previous generations.
A Digital Education Revolution Goes Mainstream
The trend toward digital classrooms began in earnest in the early 2000s. Programs like the Maine Learning Technology Initiative distributed laptops to students statewide as an early model for tech-enhanced learning. Over the following two decades, school districts across the U.S. adopted similar initiatives, gradually phasing out physical textbooks in favor of internet-connected devices for lessons, reading, assignments, and tests. By 2024, the combined national spending on educational technology — primarily laptops and tablets for schoolchildren — topped $30 billion.
Proponents argued that digital devices would modernize education, make classrooms more interactive, and prepare students for a technology-driven workforce. Early adopters believed that granting students unfettered access to knowledge and multimedia resources would boost engagement and academic success.
Alarming Outcomes in Cognitive Performance
Yet, recent testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and emerging research paint a starkly different picture. Neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath testified that Generation Z — the first cohort raised with screens as a central part of everyday schooling — is the first in modern history to perform worse on standardized tests than the generation before it, despite spending more years in formal education.
Exam scores in literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills have declined in various national assessments. Data cited by Horvath shows a clear correlation between high daily screen exposure — often four hours or more during school days — and lower performance on tests that serve as rough proxies for cognitive ability.
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Critics note that while test scores aren’t a perfect measure of intelligence, they do reflect core capabilities like reading comprehension, mathematical reasoning, and working memory — skills vital to academic and professional success.
Screens vs. Traditional Learning
Experts are careful to underline that technology itself isn’t inherently harmful. Instead, the way devices have been implemented may fundamentally change how students learn. Unrestricted access to laptops and tablets can encourage multitasking, distraction, and shallow engagement with material rather than deep focus and sustained attention — both of which are critical for memory formation and conceptual understanding.
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Research from educational technology analysts suggests that the massive infusion of digital tools has delivered a “negative return on cognitive capital,” where increased spending and device usage have not translated into better learning outcomes. Instead, the emphasis on screens may be undermining the very cognitive development schools aim to promote.
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Educator and Policy Backlash
The findings have sparked backlash from educators, parents, and some policymakers. There is growing concern that schools adopted technology without sufficient evidence for its effectiveness, persuaded by the promise of modernization rather than pedagogical research. Some educators report that students lose focus easily, switch between tasks frequently, and spend significant class time off-task — sometimes even playing games or browsing unrelated content.
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Anecdotal reports from teachers indicate that removing technology from certain lessons can lead to better classroom engagement, and some districts have begun reconsidering screen policies. Internationally, countries like Sweden have even begun to limit screens in classrooms, returning to textbooks and printed materials to improve learning outcomes.
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The Way Forward
Neuroscientists and learning experts argue that improving students’ cognitive development will require a reassessment of how technology is used in schools. Instead of blanket adoption, they propose rigorous evaluation of digital tools, stronger limits on screen time during instruction, and a renewed focus on evidence-based teaching methods that promote deep, attentive learning.
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Some recommendations from Horvath and others include setting efficacy standards for ed-tech funding, restricting tracking and data collection in schools, and reintroducing physical textbooks and written assignments where they demonstrably support better learning.
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Conclusion
The U.S.’s multi-billion-dollar investment in laptops and tablets represents one of the most ambitious education technology experiments in history. Yet early evidence suggests that replacing traditional textbooks with screens may have weakened cognitive development instead of strengthening it. As policymakers and educators reflect on the next steps, the debate over technology’s role in learning remains one of the most consequential issues facing American education today.