Posted on May 1, 2008 by Kathy McManus in All, Education, Ethics, Parenting Comments (10)
Cash for Grades
Education opens many doors.
But should the main one be at the bank?
School districts throughout the country are increasingly paying students for coming to class, taking tests, and improving their scores as part of controversial incentive programs known as “cash for grades.”
In Baltimore, high school students who make the grade can make some money—up to $110 for raising their scores on state assessment tests.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, passing students can turn a school day into pay day, earning $300 if they attend 90% of their classes for the year.
And near Atlanta, eighth and eleventh graders who take part in a special after-school study program are paid $8 an hour—more than the
minimum wage in most states.
Supporters of earning while learning point to increased attendance and higher test scores at underperforming schools where no other form of educational motivation has worked. “We’re in competition with the streets,” said one Bronx junior high school principal of her students. “They can go out there and make $50 illegally any day of the week. We have to do something to compete with that.”
But critics of the programs—many of which are privately funded—say the payments are simply bribes, and that using money as a motivator sends the wrong message to kids about their responsibility to learn.
Would George Washington Carver have come up with his inventions in horticulture if someone had “bribed him?” asked one critic. Would Marie Curie have been inspired to spend long hours in the lab? “What kind of message do we give unmotivated kids,” he wondered, “when we give them something they never earned?”
Tell us what you think: Should schools pay students to learn? Is learning all the way to the bank responsible?
Comments (10)
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Not Such a Bad Idea
At first this seems nothing more than a bribe, as critics note, but in thinking it over, I think it’s not so bad. Learning for the sake of learning and as an investment in their future is not an easy lesson to impart on many kids. And the results are, they learn. After all, would most people have stayed in college or sacrificed to move up in our careers without being motivated by a better career, more money, or whatever motivates one? Would you have done it solely for the reward of learning and self improvement?
I wouldn't have a problem with this
If my child’s school had a program like any of those listed in the article. I think the kids that are scoring higher on tests and are going to school more often must be learning SOMETHING. What this article does not mention is what percentage of the school’s population that DO NOT receives any of these “bribes”. The article focuses on the percentage of increase in number of those who pass the tests or improve their attendance. The article does not state the actual starting point, so let’s say a school with 1,000 kids in it had 200 kids passing the standardized tests, then after the “bribes” the percentage of kids who then passed the standardized tests increased 40% then the number of kids passing only increases from 200 to 280 out of the 1,000. 720 students are still not passing. My feeling is that if “bribes” help the kids learn AND pass so they can graduate, then that is great! But also what needs to be mentioned is “bribing” does not always work. I know there a lot of parents out there who tell their kids I will give X amount for each A, B, C or even D and it still doesn’t change how well the kid does in school.
Perhaps I shouldn't comment
I don’t have any children, on purpose – don’t want any – can’t stand ‘em. Having said that, my parents paid me one dollar for every A on my report card (nothing for anything less than an A). It doesn’t sound like much, but I always looked forward to it. I didn’t knock myself out trying to make straight A’s, but I do think it made me try at least a little bit harder. Also, the article says many of these programs are privately funded, which sounds OK by me. The real question is: When did being smart become a BAD thing, and when did “work” become a dirty word? Come to think of it, when did READING become “work”?
What's the problem?
Each person has his or her own motivation factor within. Some kids will be motivated by money; some will be motivated by learning itself. Children develop their minds and moral boundaries as they grow. If even one child, who wasn’t interested in books or school, is motivated to study and get better grades because of cash incentive, then who knows…that child may realize that he or she really DOES love to learn. That child might have been an at-risk student who graduates and gives back to society what was given, plus a whole lot more. And I don’t quite get this argument: “Would George Washington Carver have come up with his inventions in horticulture if someone had “bribed him?” asked one critic. Would Marie Curie have been inspired to spend long hours in the lab?” Why WOULDN’T they? If they were motivated by the love of what they were doing, why would offering them money for it have been a negative thing? And the last question also makes no sense to me: “What kind of message do we give unmotivated kids…when we give them something they never earned?” If “unmotivated” kids are motivated to get good grades for cash, I think they earned it!
Untitled
Finally someone who looks at statistics instead of listening to anecdotal blurbs. Thank-you B. Ruble and your name sounds familiar…
No Way
Bottom line,children go to school to learn. I never was paid by my parents or teachers for making the grades. And the same went for my kids.It was expected.
Paying Children for Good Grades
hmm…well I think paying children to get good grades depends on a couple of things: the child’s personality, also the parents communication/teaching their children how to responsibly think about this program.
This is what I mean, you do not want your child to pick up on negative habits about money. If a child doesn’t care at all about working hard for their grades well paying them may not be the best motivator for them to learn about “self-discipline”, or the “respect of money”. I also believe you would need an aware parent to guide the child along in teaching the concept of hard work and discipline. And that instant gratification is not always a good thing for the mind and soul.
I am an ADD adult. I’vd had it since I was kid, and teenager. I got poor grades, but in no means was I an dumb person and I knew that. So, someone like me, in the past, trying to get paid for my grades, would have been disappointing since it appeals to higher grades. Why not reward “families” for working to have their kids go to school. I’m not saying in monetary means.
To me I can see a lot parents not teaching the right idea about this program since we seem to be in a culture of instant gratification and greed. But to some, I’m sure there is a lesson and respectful understanding of self that will benefit the ones who REALLY understand.
Seems futile.
The idea of paying kids to do well in school seems rather pointless to me. Certainly, it can boost test scores and attendance records, but what do those mean in the long run?
If the goal of education is learning for its own sake, this is pretty clearly counterproductive. If the goal of education is preparation for college/jobs, it doesn’t seem to do much anyway.
If a child is interested, from a young age or not, in science or math or literature, she will put her own effort into studying that subject. As an adult she will work to obtain and succeed at a job she enjoys. Payment may be appreciated, but is in no way necessary to “make” her try at something she enjoys.
If a child is not particularly fascinated by a school subject, she won’t work particularly hard. If she’s paid, that may function as a short-term motivator, and cause her to perform better by the school’s standards, but it won’t make a difference for her own interest. She’ll go to college or not, but not be interested in a subject or career enough to devote the effort needed to succeed. The odds are that such a person will end up working at one of the numerous filler jobs—things nobody especially enjoys doing, but people work at because they need to earn money. Paying such a child to attend or succeed at school only reinforces the idea from a young age—work isn’t something you enjoy or really try at, it’s something you do so you can get paid.
Certainly it’s nice to get free money, especially if it is well-earned, but if it doesn’t help the students learn, what is its purpose? The answer is simple: school funding. Much of school funding is dependent on the test scores and performance of the students who attend those schools. Paying students to do better, especially if much of the funds come from private sources, can actually be cost-effective for the schools. But while this may be an effective way of solving the school’s problems, it doesn’t do much for the students.
If the schools have extra money, it should be spent on improving facilities, teaching materials, or teacher salaries—whatever makes the learning experience more effective and interesting for the students. While school funding is definitely a problem, the problem comes from the system that punishes struggling schools, and rather than bribing students, we should just fix the system. It may sound harsh, but making school into a boring job doesn’t seem like an effective method of education to me.
Student Responsibility
Students should have to work for their grades without compensation. Compensation comes later through working and getting good grades and accomplishing our goals and dreams.
money is good
I think it’s a good idea. I finished high school in 2004 and I wish they had paid me because I most likely would have gone every day, it’s hard for teens and nowadays kids from 12 and younger than 12 sometimes have kids and its hard for them to go to school, work and take care of the baby so they have to leave school. I know a lot of girls who wish they could have finished but couldn’t because they had a family to raise. With a program like this… a lot of teen moms and dads would love this program and a lot of teens that are on their own would, too. Also I had a lot of friends who where 15 and 16 living on their own and selling drugs for extra money while working a legal job, so if going to school paid they would not take the risk of going to jail to pay for rent or a bill. People nowadays need to realize that a lot of teens and younger kids or taking the role of adults and extra money for doing something we know we need to do is beautiful. I’m a 21yr old mother of 3 and I love it. I have my own house and I’m doing good but if school paid while I was there I might be doing better. So I think this is a good idea because schools bribe all the time, just with different things. In my high school if you had bad grades or bad attendance you couldn’t go to the next school dance, thats a bribe, be here and do good and you can go to the dance. I even had a teacher that we had after lunch and if we got there early he would ask us to do his lunch dishes for an extra 5-10 points on are grade. I think I was there everyday to do dishes and I hate doing dishes. So bribes are going on anyway, why not make the bribe money?