The book fueling a movement against screens in schools

“The Digital Delusion” by Jared Cooney Horvath connects the collapse in standardized test scores to the rise of education technology in public schools.

Parents hand out copies of the book at school board meetings. Administrators are relying on it for guidance on how to reduce the use of technology in their schools. Actor Hugh Grant promoted it and wrote a blurb for the cover.

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Practically overnight, Jared Cooney Horvath went from a relatively unknown educational consultant to the intellectual guide of a grassroots movement to limit screen time in schools, thanks to his self-published book “The Digital Delusion.”

The book, which he released last December, ties the yearslong downward trend in standardized test scores among American children to the rise of schools giving every child a laptop or tablet. With citations to academic research, Horvath argues students learn better on paper and through discussion, and schools are harming children by sticking them behind a screen.