Jennifer Medina in her article Next Question: Can Students Be Paid to Excel? introduces readers to a pilot program being run by the New York City public school system, the largest public school system in the nation. The pilot program hands out cash prizes to students, teachers, and other stakeholders for improvement in academic performance. In order to avoid the controversy, the pilot program has been funded with private donations and nearly 90 percent of the schools invited to join the program accepted the offer. The program has both supporters and opponents. The supporters believe that cash incentives can motivate students to work harder and also keep them away from distractions on the street which the opponents believe offering cash incentives sends the wrong message and degrades the purpose and real value of education (Medina). The program may or may not be a success as the program’s designer Harvard University’s economist Roland G. Fryer concedes but it is a worthwhile attempt due to the high value of public education system to the society.
Ann-Christin, a student at UMUC, believes it is a great idea because money can be a powerful motivator. Ann also applauds the idea of including teachers in the program because their contributions towards improving students’ academic performance cannot be overstated. Ann believes that the pilot program is especially worth trying because U.S. has one of the worst performance rankings in the public education system in the western world and anything that can help the nation raise its public education standards is worth a shot. Ann is quick to point out the fact that children are preached from an early age that school education increases the prospects of a bright future and cash rewards for good academic performance will help reinforce the message. It will give more credibility to the message that school education has a positive relationship with success in life. Ann also agrees with the argument raised in the article that it is not only important to keep students engaged in school but also to protect them from a life of crime whose appeal is also due to cash incentives involved. By including cash incentives in the education system, the appeal of criminal activities could be reduced. Ann claims the idea may seem novel but in reality it is not. It may be a new system in the formal education system but parents have always used it to motivate their children to do better in school. But Ann is also not oblivious to the fact that the program, despite good intentions, could send a wrong message, thus, the students should be reminded that while financial incentives are nice, they are but one of the many benefits of education.
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Another UMUC student John Hobbie takes more precautious approach towards the system than Ann. John argues that rewards for academic achievements have always existed though they may not always have been in monetary form. Students with perfect 4.0 GPA are activity pursued by a great number of colleges, often with the promise of scholarship. John claims that these reward programs have been instrumental in helping many underprivileged students get college education without financial burden. John doesn’t oppose a reward system in the education system to motivate students but John believes that a reward system should not involve monetary awards. He is concerned that such programs may end up doing more harm than good in the long run, possibly creating an environment of corruption. In short, John supports reward programs to motivate students but in non-monetary format.
UMUC student Henry Coy joins Ann in supporting the program and believes monetary rewards can act as powerful incentive for students to work hard and achieve higher academic performance. Henry reveals that he is the proud father of two elementary school students who are also honor students and have always excelled at academics. Henry has often rewarded them for their academic accomplishments with rewards within a certain price range. But Henry endorses the idea of not giving the money directly to the students but instead putting the students’ earning an account that may be used for future academic endeavors. Henry also suggests putting age restriction on withdraws from the account. Similarly, the accounts could be monitored by parents over time to track its progress. Henry also advocates withholding teachers’ earnings until the end of the school year instead of paying them at regular intervals throughout the year. As compared to Ann and John, Henry takes the middle ground. Like Ann, Henry supports monetary rewards but he seems to agree with John that immediate monetary handout may not be the best idea. Thus, instead of handing out money to students, it should be put into students’ account for future use.
Joseph M. Labrecque, also a student at UMUC, is in favor of the program because like Ann, he is concerned about the failures of the nation’s public education system. Joseph believes that the public education system cannot be improved without focusing on the teachers, thus, he proposes adding performance-based incentives in the teachers’ employment contracts, just as athletes get compensated for achieving certain performance benchmarks. The addition of performance-based incentives may inspire teachers to put in more efforts as well as improve the quality of their instruction. The program may shift the teachers’ focus from merely fulfilling their stated responsibilities to do whatever it takes to lift the students’ performance because their interests will be aligned well with the students’ interests. Joseph believes that rewards can inspire students to work harder because it gives them tangible incentives. It also allows the school to reinforce the message that economic success is indeed tied to hard work. But Joseph does seem concerned that such a system may result in certain students standing out from the rest and exposing such students to adverse consequences such as bullying and stress. Nevertheless, Joseph believes that the benefits of such a program may probably outweigh the potential costs and the increased levels of motivation will lead to significantly greater performance in academics.
The responses from the above group members reveal that most students see the program in a positive light though they would like to implement the program with caution due to potential costs or abuse. There is a shared concern that the public education system needs improvement. The group agrees that any program should also focus on the educators because of their role in the students’ overall academic performance.
- Medina, Jennifer. Next Question: Can Students Be Paid to Excel? 5 March 2008. 9 February 2014
