Good Grades

Did you ever ask your parents why you had to go to school? If you have then you probably have heard, “It’s your job.” If that is true shouldn’t you be paid for your “job”? Though students can’t choose their jobs until after college they can be paid for their work in school. There are many positive effects of paying students for good grades, from a rise in attendance, to learning about work, to making kids smarter.One of the most positive results from paying students for good grades is a rise in attendance. When attendance rises there is a direct effect on scores, and it is almost always good. One study by Johns Hopkins University researchers demonstrated that paying students for grades and attendance seemed to improve among both among low-achieving students and lower to middleclass students (Weston).

Paying students also lowers the amount of gangs, drug use, and alcohol use (Wallace). There is also a significant decrease in drop out rates when students are paid for good grades (Wallace). This means there will be higher education for those who need it.Paying students also prepares them for the real world and helps them enjoy usually undesirable activities. Paying students can help them understand why they need to work hard in life.

It can also help them learn how to enjoy frustrating activities like jobs. The definition of enjoyment is “personal benefit, use, or possession (as of rights or property) enjoyment of the marital estates —W. M. McGovern, Junior et al. ;; specifically: the receipt of the fruits or profits of property.” (dictionary.

reference.com). In simpler terms the definition of enjoyment is personal gain, and don’t you want your students to enjoy their school experience?The final, and most important, benefit of paying students is the raise in scores. In Dallas, Texas 10,000 students passed advanced placement tests for a reward of $400, compared to the year before when only about 6,000 students passed (Chan). “In Dallas, a district with a 76% low-income and 93% minority student population. Between 1995 and 2003 the percentage of low-income students in AP incentive non-magnet schools taking and passing AP exams increased more than six fold from 0.

4% to 2.9%; in AP incentive magnet schools the percentage increased more than tenfold from 0.6% to 6.8%. These are population AP exam passing rates, not exam-taker passing rates (Dougherty).” In other words, when students are paid there is a dramatic rise in scores.

Another test in Texas by Cornell economist C. Kirabo Jackson found a 30% in SAT and ACT scores and an 8% rise in college-bound students when schools paid students. A final test by Ronald Fryer Jr. found a 0.4 point increase in reading and math scores. The test was done all around the country and involved over 100 schools(Ripley).

There are many other similar tests and studies that have gotten the same result.Though many people disagree, paying students for good grades is beneficial. Remember, the right choice is the choice that helps your school, your students, and their future. Around the country and around the world many tests have proven that paying students helps with scores, attendance, and learning. Isn’t that the point of school? Think about this: do you want your child to be a successful, happy person or someone who looks back at school and can only remember the bad? Keep in mind how paying students can help the nation’s future.