Gen Z is reportedly the first generation to grow up with screens at the heart of their school life, and early research suggests it isn’t working out in their favor.

As of 2024, the United States has spent $30 billion on educational technology, providing laptops and tablets to public school children to replace textbooks and support digital lessons, Vocal reports. While the goal was to modernize teaching and boost learning, neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath shared his concerns with the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Jan. 15, 2025. During a hearing about children’s screen time, he told the committee that the heavy reliance on screens in classrooms has coincided with declining cognitive performance among students.

Why Gen Z Is The First To Underperform Previous Generations

Horvath explained that Gen Z is the first in modern history to score lower on standardized tests than the generation before it, even though they have more years of formal education.

“A sad fact our generation has to face is [that] our kids are less cognitively capable than we were at their age,” Horvath said during the hearing. “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.”

He continued, “From basic attention, memory, literacy, numeracy, executive function, general IQ, even though they go to more school. What happened around 2010 that decoupled schooling from cognitive development? It cannot be school. Schools basically look the same. It cannot be biology. This hasn’t had time to change. The answer seems to be the tools we are using in schools to drive that learning.”

Horvath noted that data from 80 countries show that once schools widely adopt digital technologies, student performance often declines. Children who use computers for about five hours per day in school for learning purposes score more than two-thirds of a standard deviation lower than peers who rarely or never use technology in class, he testified.

While test scores don’t perfectly measure intelligence, critics note that they do provide insight into key abilities such as reading comprehension, mathematical reasoning, and working memory, which are essential for success in school and beyond, per Vocal.

Experts stress that technology itself isn’t inherently harmful; but, the way it has been integrated into classrooms may fundamentally alter how students learn, the outlet noted.

How Schools Can Respond to Gen Z’s Learning Drop

In an era where everything is digital and technology is constantly evolving, it is more important than ever to implement these tools responsibly, ensuring students benefit rather than suffer unintended consequences.

To address these challenges, especially for Gen Z, Horvath recommended establishing clear effectiveness standards for educational technology funding, requiring validation studies before switching high-stakes tests from paper to digital formats, as well as tightening restrictions on behavioral tracking, profiling, and the secondary use of data involving minors.

“When you know something is wrong, do better. Mea culpa, get tech out of schools, go back to some analog methods,” Horvath said in his testimony. “Or two … we can redefine our terms. Redefine what it means to be an effective learner.”