A couple of years back, we did something that seemed kind of radical for Teen. We stopped giving her a flat allowance and started paying her to read and play musical instruments.
I always felt a bit defensive about it. But now comes some scientific proof that that sort of thing works. A researcher studied five different ways to improve student performance. For each method, there were matched control schools. Success was measured by performance on standardized tests.
The most successful method: “Paying second-graders to read books significantly boosted their reading-comprehension scores on standardized tests at the end of the year — and those kids seemed to continue to do better the next year, even after the rewards stopped.”
Other efforts had more mixed success. These including paying for better grades, better test scores and better behavior.
Adults are motivated by money. Would many of us work at our jobs if there was no pay? Why should kids be any different?
Read more about the study here.
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