Schools Waste Billions on IQ Killers

Teacher in a blue dress instructing students in a classroom with hands raised

U.S. public schools poured $30 billion into laptops and tablets, yet Gen Z students emerged dumber on global tests—did screens sabotage a generation?

Story Snapshot

$30 billion EdTech spend in 2024 correlates with plummeting student scores in attention, memory, and IQ across 80 countries.
Neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath testified to Senate: 5 hours daily screen time drops scores by two-thirds standard deviation.
Shift from textbooks to devices since 2010 decoupled schooling from cognitive gains, wasting taxpayer dollars.
Unions and tech firms push more integration despite evidence of harm and e-waste surges.
Calls grow for accountability, school choice, and analog returns to reverse the damage.

$30 Billion EdTech Surge Coincides with Cognitive Decline

U.S. public schools invested $30 billion in laptops and tablets in 2024, replacing textbooks to modernize learning. This 10-times textbook spending fueled 1-to-1 device programs post-pandemic. Gen Z students, spending half their waking hours on screens, scored lower on standardized tests than prior generations. Data from 80 countries via PISA shows declines in literacy, numeracy, and reasoning since 2010 device adoption. Neuroscientist evidence links excessive screen time directly to these drops.

Brutal Numbers: Schools Spent $30 Billion on Laptops… and They Seem to Have Made Kids Dumber https://t.co/kzVdZ4dAdg #gatewaypundit via @gatewaypundit

— wisemom113 (@wisemom113) March 8, 2026

Horvath’s Senate Testimony Exposes Screen Harms

Jared Cooney Horvath testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on January 15, 2025. Students using computers five hours daily in school scored over two-thirds of a standard deviation lower than low-tech peers. Screens undermine attention, memory, executive function, and IQ. Pre-2010 traditional methods tied schooling to gains; digital shifts decoupled them. Horvath urges paper tests, validation studies, and data limits for minors to protect development.

Stakeholders Drive Waste Amid Monopoly Power

Teachers unions like AFT partner with OpenAI in a $23 million July 2025 deal for AI relief, resisting performance accountability. EdTech providers such as Apple, Dell, and Microsoft profit from bulk school contracts dating to 2003 pilots. Districts like San Diego Unified face budget strains and e-waste without outcome incentives. Power tilts to unions and vendors over taxpayers. Heritage Foundation analysis blames this structure for unproven fads, aligning with conservative demands for school choice.

Short-Term Costs and Long-Term Atrophy

Short-term, $30 billion diverted funds from teachers and books, sparking e-waste surges. Gen Z suffers immediate hits: two-thirds score drops from heavy use. Districts absorb maintenance burdens. Long-term, persistent IQ declines stifle creativity and problem-solving. Equity gaps widen as tech substitutes instruction. Taxpayers lose billions; $1.8 billion savings via device longevity go ignored. Political momentum builds for Arizona and Florida-style reforms.

Debates Intensify Without Policy Shifts

Early 2026 sees EdTech spending projected to double by 2033 despite squeezes. CoSN’s October 2025 EdWeek guidelines push sustainable buys, citing San Diego’s $90 million savings over 12 years. AFT deepens AI ties; 1-to-1 programs endure. Horvath advocates thoughtful tech integration, not lazy substitutes. Consensus holds: screens harm deep processing, per PISA inversions. Critics demand evidence; optimists eye personalized tools. Common sense favors accountability over entrenchment.