Australia’s classroom disruption among worst in world, prompting calls for ‘digital detox’

Australia is among 58% of countries that have banned smartphones in schools, indicating other tools, such as laptops and tablets, are causing distractions. Photograph: Lbeddoe/Alamy

Public school students are more than two years behind their private independent counterparts and Australia’s classroom disruption remains among the worst in the world, a global report has found.

The 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results, released on Tuesday by the Australian Council for Educational Research (Acer), tested the literacy of 15-year-olds in 91 countries, including Australia. The tests have run every three years since 2000.