 Rewarding Success
Should You Pay for Good Grades?
By Gina Roberts-Grey
There’s no denying that earning good grades is important to succeeding in school. Achieving academic accomplishments lands children on honor and merit rolls and brings the admiration of teachers and parents alike. While having pride in personal accomplishments and the drive to set and attain academic goals are aspirations we all hope to instill in our children, realistically, some require an added boost.
For some children, receiving consistent praise and having schoolwork prominently displayed on the refrigerator provides the needed additional measure of encouragement. For others, it’s the chance to earn privileges or escape the burden of household chores that motivates them to study hard and finish all homework. While few debate whether to acknowledge a child’s academic accomplishments, many parents feel very strongly when weighing in on whether a child should be paid to earn their grades.
Contemplating the emotional and educational ramifications of paying for grades and the message this action sends to young children is a battle that’s heating up in households across the country.
Will a child still learn how to self motivate? Will he or she have a realistic financial perception of working and earning money? What academic accomplishments should be paid for and which should not?
To pay…
Some parents pay per occurrence for good grades and require payment from their children for bad grades. Others opt for their child earning one larger present such as a new bicycle at the end of the school year.
“I have no problem with paying or rewarding for grades. Since my oldest could care less about her grades, the rewards help to motivate her,” says Porter, Texas mother of three Tenna Perry. Perry is one of countless parents who provide monetary incentives blended with toys and other rewards whose value is based on a grading scale. “They get a surprise valued between $10.00 and $15.00 for earning a perfect score on a test, and an ’A’ on a report card nets between $15.00 and $20.00” says Perry.
Noting that her oldest has yet to score a grade of one hundred on a test, despite the financial incentive, Perry points out that her daughter’s report card has drastically improved. “Last year they came close to breaking me, but it was worth it!” she effuses.
As a teacher, principal, school psychologist and founder of 20 private schools and learning centers in Canada and the United States, Michael Maloney is the senior author of a remedial reading series that has taught thousands of children to read. “I run learning centers that have taught 50,000 children with learning problems to be successful. We use rewards as a way to build the student’s desire to keep trying, as proof that they are making progress, and as a way to thank them for their hard work,” says Maloney.
Citing that the treats can be monetary but they also may be as simple as a certificate of completion, a written compliment about their effort or a small prize from a prize box, Maloney quickly rebuffs the notion that paying for grades equates to bribing children to perform well in school. “Bribery is used to get someone to do something unethical, illegal or immoral. Rewards are earned for responding appropriately,” he notes.
...Or not to pay
“I would not pay my child to get good grades for a myriad of reasons. A huge one is that I will not place that much emphasis on money because it might ensnare them as adults,” says Burlington, Vermont mom of six Brandy Brow. Concerns that children will only exert any academic effort if produces a financial reward, those sharing Brow’s opinion, worry children will not want to achieve any goal unless money is involved. “I don’t want them thinking that money is the only reward for a job well done. Many things are far more important than money and good grades,” Brow adds.
Yale professor and licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Virginia Shiller Ph.D., says “Rewards can play an important role in motivating kids, but the cash-for-grades game isn’t the best way to the Ivy League.” Citing legitimate concerns about what message paying for grades sends children, Shiller points out, “there are also practical problems with this kind of reward plan.”
Most children receive three or four report cards per school year, making it difficult for them to maintain motivation to earn a promised cash payment that can be months away. “If children fail to earn the cash incentive, they may perceive the whole term as a waste of time, totally discounting any skills they did master,” notes Shiller who is also the author of Rewards for Kids! Ready-to-Use Charts & Activities for Positive Parenting.
Agreeing with Shiller’s sage advice, experts like Maloney agree on “the importance of keeping expectations and rewards reasonable.”
“Evaluate your a weekly homework, quizzes and papers and provide short-term rewards for positive progress, not solely for earning an A+,” says Shiller.
“You may need to accept that your child, though talented in many ways, isn’t a regular A student, so reward him at each step he takes toward better study habits and discipline,” adds Maloney.
“Remember rewards aren’t forever but a child’s achievements are,” stresses Maloney. Whatever method you find to be the most beneficial, aim for your child developing a consistent pattern of better work habits and finding results that result in a variety of personal rewards.
Is it realistic?
“If I paid my second grader for a good spelling test, where does it end? Should I pay my pre-schooler for brushing his teeth?’ asks Dana Eshelman of Palos Heights, Illinois stressing one of the arguments of those opposing paying for grades. Coupled with determining what grades should be paid for and what behavior and academic performances is naturally expected within a household, many questions swirl around the main topic of paying for grades.
Dr. Richard Lustberg, Psy.D., has worked with children, parents and educators for more than 30 years. Noting that not all kids do well in school despite the amount of time they study or the amount of money they may potentially earn, Lustberg says, “Effort is something to focus on rewarding. When you reward a child for doing the best they can do, you are able to teach them to try their best by competing with themselves and not others.”
Establishing a reward system based on a child putting forth your expected level of effort, or on the consistent improvement in effort output is one option to help children establish a realistic conception of ’working’ and taking pride in their accomplishments. “In addition to setting prices and guidelines for payment, families need to establish how the money will be spent,” says award-winning author and nationally acclaimed expert on teaching children how to manage money, Lori Mackey.
“The money my children receive for their grades is set aside in an investing account for their future. At the end of their schooling, they will have one lump sum from their effort in school to invest, buy a car or use for college,” Mackey says, illustrating one method to incorporate a lesson in fiscal responsibility with the message of receiving payment for achieving academic success.
Alternative forms of payment
- Offer a few material reward choices such as baseball cards, fancy hair ribbons or magazines.
- Activities like attending a sporting event or a trip to the museum to see a new IMAX movie adds an element of education and activity to the reward.
- Allow children bringing home a score that reflects effort to choose the dinner menu or an appropriate movie your family can watch together.
- Give positive attention as a reward. Show your interest in school activities and homework.
Track progress with a chart
A basic chart which records your child’s work on a daily basis reminds everyone of the plan. Successful task completion can be marked with checks, stars, or stickers. Young children enjoy seeing their photo on the chart, or being able to personalize it with drawings or magazine cut-outs. Avoid comparisons: make sure each child has her own chart.
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