What is the TAPS?
The Toolkit for Assessing Phones in Schools (The TAPS) is a free, ready-to-use toolkit designed to help elementary, middle and high schools evaluate their phone policy. The TAPS was jointly developed by the Stanford Social Media Lab and the Tech and Society Lab at NYU Stern.
How to Use the TAPS
For Schools that have not yet implemented a major change in their phone policy:
For Schools that have already implemented a major change in their phone policy:
All The TAPS Surveys
6 comprehensive surveys designed for evaluating phone policies in schools. Each survey is composed of core questions to be asked annually, and recommended questions to be asked if a phone policy change has occurred that year. Available in online (Google Forms) and print versions (Google Docs). Please make copies of the Google Forms or Docs if you choose to use them. We also have Qualtrics versions available to researchers, school leaders, and legislators who collaborate with the Stanford Social Media Lab. Contact us to learn more.
Student Surveys
Student surveys are designed to capture students' perceptions of how a new phone policy relates to their learning, relationships, and well-being.
Student Short Survey
Student Long Survey
Teacher Surveys
Teacher surveys are designed to capture teachers' perspectives on how a new phone policy relates to their job satisfaction, as well as student behavior and engagement.
Teacher Short Survey
Teacher Long Survey
Administrator Surveys
School Administrator surveys capture administrators' perspectives on how a new phone policy relates to school climate and environment.
Admin Survey
Parent Surveys
Parent surveys capture parents' perspectives on how a new phone policy relates to their relationship with their child and their child's behavior.
Parent Survey
Survey Format Options: Each survey is available in three formats. Google Docs is ready to print and distribute immediately, but requires manual data entry. Google Forms is our recommended option for easy distribution and automatic data tracking. The Qualtrics surveys are designed for researchers, school leaders, and legislators who collaborate with the Stanford Social Media Lab to analyze data. Contact us to learn more!
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Survey Packs
For convenience, we also provide two complete survey packs — one short-form and one long-form — containing the surveys we recommend for implementation. (Note: The parent and administrator surveys are identical in both packs.)
Complete Short-Form Survey Pack
Includes the Short-Form surveys for students, teachers, administrators, and parents.
Complete Long-Form Survey Pack
Includes the Long-Form surveys for students and teachers, as well as the surveys for administrators and parents.
Research Teams Behind the Toolkit
The TAPS is developed in collaboration with leading research institutions committed to advancing research on school phone policies.
Stanford Social Media Lab
Leading research on educational technology policy and student outcomes, with expertise in digital media and learning environments.
Tech and Society Lab at NYU Stern
Generating research to help the public make sense of and navigate the rapid, unprecedented social and technological changes reshaping our lives.
Other Research Projects
Several outstanding school phone policy projects are being led by research labs around the world. We highlight a few of them here, and encourage you to explore their work to see if their approach or resources might be a good fit for your needs.
Research Program: Evaluating and Understanding the Impacts of Phone Restriction Policies
A project led by Dr. Mitch Prinstein, in collaboration with The Phone-Free Schools Movement, the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, and the Winston National Center on Technology Use, Brain, Psychological Development.
Phones in Focus Survey
Phones in Focus is a national research study led by Dr. Angela Duckworth (author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance) exploring how school cell phone policies impact student learning and well-being. The goal: to understand what’s working — and what’s not — based on input from the educators implementing these policies every day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about The TAPS surveys, measures, and implementation.