Teachers have long said that success is its own reward. But these days, some students are finding that good grades can bring them cash and other gifts.
In at least a dozen states this school year — including Connecticut — students who bring home top marks can expect more than just gratitude.
The most ambitious experiment began in September, when Connecticut and six other states won spots in an ExxonMobil-funded program that, in most cases, pays students $100 for each passing grade on advanced placement college-prep exams.
Gregg Fleisher of the National Math and Science Initiative, which runs the program, says the effort is modeled on a program adopted by Dallas in the 1995-96 school year that saw AP course-taking jump substantially.
Fleisher says the idea is simple: “It’s an incentive to get them to basically make the right decision and choose a more rigorous class.”
An analysis of the Texas program last month by Cornell University economist Kirabo Jackson found that it linked to a 30 percent rise in the number of students with high SAT and ACT scores and an 8 percent rise in college-going students.
Some critics say the payouts undermine kids’ motivation to do high-quality work when they’re not being paid.
“It’s a strategy that helps only around the edges,” says Thomas Toch, co-director of the Education Sector, a Washington think tank.
Most students in AP classes “are already internally motivated, and the opportunity to earn college credits for passing AP tests is a bigger motivator than small cash awards,” Toch says.
Bob Schaeffer of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing is more blunt.
“Bribing kids for higher test scores — or paying teachers bounties for their students’ work — is similar to giving them steroids,” he says. “Short-term performance might improve, but the long-term effects can be very damaging.”
