Juan Matienzo
Engl 21B
Incentives
Incentives can help students improve their tests scores, even though it teaches bad values. Schools throughout the United States are encouraging students to do better in standardized tests by paying money in exchange for results. I believe it is a good idea because it helps students study for something that they can see in the short term in combination with the results they will see in the long term from just studying. Since the incentive program started results in classrooms have gone up. Some teachers attribute this to the program. On the other hand students said that getting paid for doing well in a test is a good idea and that it would make doing well more socially accepted.
The main critique is that kids should study just to gain knowledge and not to get money. But, some kind of incentive is what will motivate students to study. This will give them knowledge that will stay with them for life and also, they will get something right away. In some schools they have been trying to motivate students with other things during the years. Virginia Connelly says that “they have been experiencing with incentives for years, like rewarding good behavior, attendance and grades with play money that can be spent at the student store.” It shows that there are always other ways other, than money, to incentivize students, but it helps.
I remember that when I was in High School and my report card came with bad grades my father would motivate me by offering me a deal. It was always the same one, for every A he would give me fifty dollars but for every C, D or F I would have to pay him fifty dollars. This was a great incentive for me because he made me pay him if I had to, so studying was the way to go and I would not stop until...