But according to a new study published in Behavioral Sciences, cell phone bans may not help raise test scores. Those with phones took two reading comprehension tests, one with their phone present and one with their phone taken away. In other words, school cell phone bans may not make a difference, if these findings hold. AdvertisementSo the jury’s still out on whether cell phones are bad for kids’ test scores, and if so, how bad. But with the number of states embracing school cell phone bans, the sample size of these natural experiments is certainly growing.