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: BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog

Show me the mon-ayyy!

Do you get paid a bonus for completing the tasks in your job description? How about a big screen TV for showing up for work on time every day? Does your boss slip a 20 into your in-box for saying 'please' and 'thank you?' It seems that some schools are taking this approach as more and more stories break into the news with "academic incentives" that pay students for good grades. BoardBuzz finds it confusing, to say the least. We've covered this before here, here, and here) and our friends at USA Today bring it up yet again. In an article and an opinion piece, they talk about students getting paid for grades. Clearly, the idea is catching on, especially in large districts. The article points out that students in Baltimore, New York City, and outside of Atlanta are getting paid between $100 to $500 if they earn good grades. Other districts pay $8 an hour to stay after-school for extra help (not to teach, just to stay). This trend started in another large city, Dallas, more than 10 years ago. What was a pilot program has grown into a trend and the areas that need to make up the most ground on test scores are willing to try anything to bridge the achievement gap. Most of the money being used comes from philanthropic efforts or corporations that know they have a stake in education down the road -- but at what cost? Some call this a short term solution, some compare it to steroid use, others think it solves the motivation problem that exists in many large districts. Is this the miracle pill many districts are willing to swallow, regardless of risk? It's clear that motivation is a factor in American schools today. As you've heard before, there are no stupid questions, but if we motivate our society with tangible benefits and scores rise due to these rewards, is it helping our education system as a whole? Does it help our future? What's next? One day it's M&Ms to aid in potty training and a few years later it's crisp $20 bills. What's the difference? And as we've pondered previously, BoardBuzz still wonders just how many of these programs come with any sort of financial responsibility training for those receiving the incentives. Wouldn't it be nice if the issues of responsible spending, investing, and perhaps even credit were addressed as a condition of the rewards? Weigh in and tell us what you think.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on January 28, 2008 (boomark / email).