The Paying For Grades Model In Coshocton, Ohio

August 11th, 2008

WATCH: Paying For Grades

Produced by: David Wald & John Tulenko / Duration: 9:43 min

Is paying students for grades a good idea? More and more cities are launching “pay for grades” pilot programs in an effort to increase student motivation and improve performance. But is it working?

We visited Coshocton, Ohio—a factory town that’s been paying students for years and keeping track of the results—to find out.

Download transcript (PDF)

We produced a bonus video in this series, on the individual story of Josh Ackley. Can payment for grades make him a better student? Watch it here:

This program is made possible by the following funders:
Grade Level Reading Fund of the Tides Foundation, The Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Tags: Class size, Economics of Education, families, inner city, PBS NewsHour video, Policy and Programs, The role of teachers

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5 comments

April 15, 2010 at 11:49 pm
Tim Johnson says:

As an educator I find this practice disgusting. They are learning the wrong lesson by being paid to gain knowledge. It is shown that when you take away the incentive the students’ performance plummets. This video of Dan Pink’s TED Talk explains how this practice will fail. http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html

February 25, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Learning Matters content on PBS NewsHour | Learning Matters says:

[...] You can view this piece and a special bonus program right here. [...]

July 20, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Jessica Best says:

I was always given incentive by my parents for earning allowance based on my report card. I was a good student anyway, but this gave me the desire to make the extra push. Once I was in college, I naturally wanted good grades because I was paying good money for my education. I maintained a 4.0 GPA, while working 50 hours/week at a full time job, until my last semester when I got my first B.

I will use allowance as an incentive for my kids (& stepson) to improve their grades, but only pay for A’s & B’s.

October 4, 2011 at 1:21 pm
World Teachers' Day: Celebrate the influence of teachers with us! | Learning Matters: Reporting you trust on education stories that matter says:

[...] Teaching, and The Search For Values — and an Innovation Programs bundle, where you can own Pay for Grades, Brand New Ballgame, and Social & Emotional Learning for the same [...]

October 13, 2011 at 3:00 am
Should we provide extrinsic rewards -- such as money -- to school students? | Learning Matters: Reporting you trust on education stories that matter says:

[...] few years ago, we produced a piece on a “paying for grades” program in [...]

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