US EdTech spend hits $30bn as student cognitive decline emerges
A $30 billion annual investment in US classroom technology has coincided with the first modern decline in student cognitive capabilities, raising regulatory risks for tech firms and labor concerns for employers facing an AI-driven workforce shift.
US schools spent more than $30 billion on laptops and tablets in 2024, but the financial commitment has produced a troubling outcome for the labor market. In written testimony before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath stated that Gen Z is the first generation in modern history to score lower on standardized tests than its predecessor.
Horvath linked dipping Program for International Student Assessment scores directly to increased computer time in schools. The data contradicts the initial rationale for classroom tech, a movement that began when Maine distributed 17,000 Apple laptops to middle schoolers in 2002. By 2016, Maine's program had expanded to 66,000 devices, yet the state's public school test scores had not improved in 15 years, prompting then-governor Paul LePage to call the initiative a "massive failure."
Market penetration for educational technology is now deep. A 2021 EdWeek Research Center poll of 846 teachers found 55% use educational tech one to four hours daily, with another quarter using it five hours a day. However, a 2014 study of 3,000 university students found them engaged in off-task activities on computers nearly two-thirds of the time, destroying the return on investment for school districts.
The cognitive slide carries severe implications for the broader economy. Early data from a Stanford University study found AI advancements have a "significant and disproportionate impact on entry-level workers in the U.S. labor market." Employers are now facing a pipeline of workers with eroding foundational skills precisely as generative AI automates basic tasks.
Liability risks are simultaneously compounding for tech giants. San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge noted that social media and gaming apps are "designed to be addictive." A November 2025 Baylor University study found TikTok requires the least user effort compared to rival short-form video platforms. This design strategy has triggered legal action, with 1,600 plaintiffs across 350 families and 250 school districts suing Meta, Snap, TikTok, and YouTube over alleged mental health harms in children.
Regulatory backlash is accelerating. By August 2025, 17 states had banned cellphones during instructional time and 35 states had enacted classroom limits. Horvath urged Congress to impose efficacy standards for federally funded digital tools and to restrict data tracking on minors.
"This is not a debate about rejecting technology," Horvath wrote. "It is a question of aligning educational tools with how human learning actually works. Evidence indicates that indiscriminate digital expansion has weakened learning environments rather than strengthened them."
