The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given $1.4-million in grants to university researchers to test biometric devices to monitor students’ attentiveness in class, Reuters and Forbes write.

The project, involving wireless biosensor bracelets that measure physiological reactions, could “help students and teachers gain a better understanding of how and when students are most engaged,” the foundation said.

“We need universal, valid, reliable, and practical instruments” to gauge student engagement, said Debbie Robinson, a Gates foundation spokeswoman.

Critics of the foundation’s data-driven approach to education reform approach decried plans, with some noting that the devices cannot distinguish between emotions, such as fear and excitement.

“In high school biology I didn’t learn a thing all year, but boy was I stimulated. The girl who sat next to me was gorgeous,” said Arthur Goldstein, a veteran New York City English teacher.