A changing environment
Over the past decade, laptops and tablets have become a mainstay in education. Many schools now issue devices to students as early as junior high—and sometimes even upper elementary—while traditional textbooks are used less frequently. Class assignments, research, collaboration, and even testing increasingly take place on screens rather than on paper.
With the recent surge in artificial intelligence tools, students are beginning to rely on laptops not only to complete required homework, but also as a primary resource for acquiring information about the subject they are studying. A student can quickly type a topic into a search engine—often enhanced by AI—and within seconds have a large amount of information displayed in front of them. This makes completing assignments easier and gives students rapid access to information that might otherwise take much longer to locate using traditional materials.
Laptops also allow students to work simultaneously with classmates on group projects through platforms such as Google Classroom or shared documents. These tools offer flexibility in scheduling and allow group members to see progress in real time. In addition, many STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs are readily available through laptops, giving students exposure to coding, simulations, and other digital tools that may connect to future careers.
While these benefits are clear, the increasing reliance on laptops raises an important question: are digital devices actually improving how students learn?
Are laptops in grade school and college here to stay?
The short answer is yes. Technology is deeply integrated into modern classrooms, and it is unlikely that schools will fully return to a textbook-only model. However, recent academic performance trends have caused educators and researchers to question whether heavy reliance on digital devices may be contributing to declining learning outcomes.
Testing data across the United States has shown a concerning pattern. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—often referred to as the nation’s “report card”—reading and math scores have declined in recent years, with several categories falling to some of the lowest levels recorded in decades. ACT scores have also dropped to roughly a 30‑year low. The COVID‑19 pandemic accelerated this decline as many classes shifted to fully virtual environments, making it more difficult for schools to maintain consistent engagement and accountability.
Beyond these broad trends, research suggests that digital devices may change how students process information. A widely cited study by Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) found that students who took notes on laptops performed worse on conceptual questions than students who took notes by hand, largely because typing encourages more superficial transcription rather than deeper processing of information. Similarly, a large-scale analysis by the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD) found that students who used computers very frequently at school often showed lower performance in reading and mathematics compared with students who used them moderately (OECD, Students, Computers and Learning, 2015).
Other research points to the potential cognitive effects of heavy screen use. Studies referenced by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have suggested that extensive screen exposure in children can be associated with differences in attention, memory development, and reading comprehension. While the research is ongoing and does not suggest that technology alone causes academic decline, it raises concerns about replacing traditional learning methods—such as textbooks, handwriting, and sustained reading—with constant digital interaction.
Taken together, these findings suggest that laptops can be valuable tools, but they may also encourage distraction, shallow information processing, and overreliance on easily accessible answers.
What to do?
Laptops are clearly a valuable resource for education, and eliminating them entirely would likely remove useful opportunities for research, collaboration, and exposure to modern technology. At the same time, replacing textbooks and traditional study methods with nearly exclusive screen use may create unintended consequences for learning.
For parents and teachers, the challenge is determining how technology should be integrated without allowing it to dominate the learning process. The rapid advancement of AI and machine learning has made this balance even more difficult. Students can now generate summaries, essays, and solutions within seconds—tasks that once required careful reading and sustained effort. As a result, educators often struggle to determine whether assignments reflect genuine student understanding or were largely produced with the help of AI tools.
Many education researchers now suggest a more balanced approach: using laptops as supplements rather than replacements for traditional materials. Textbooks, handwriting, and focused reading may support deeper comprehension, while digital tools can provide collaboration and access to information when used intentionally.
Technology will almost certainly remain part of modern education. The key question is not whether laptops belong in classrooms, but how they can be used without weakening the fundamental skills—reading comprehension, critical thinking, and sustained attention—that education is meant to develop.
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