There is growing acknowledgement that this is related to laptop usage in classroom. Countries are recognizing this and rolling back policies, citing PISA rankings.
The article doesn't really discuss education outcomes at all, that is something you brought up. It sounds like we agree that there is an issue here. I'm suggesting that there are other reasons that explain the performance drop.
My reading of the article is that it criticizes the implementation of this policy and the methodology behind it, which I agree with.
Living in a country that moved quickly from a "social media ban" to an "adult content ban" in the space of 3 months, I feel that these policies are overreach due to how they must be implemented. As in, they require all users to provide verification, not just the targeted cohort.
“Later this year a ban on mobiles in schools – even for educational use – comes into force.”
It’s obvious to most that taking away the laptop while leaving the TikTok will not have the intended effect.