Paying for Performance II

Roland Fryer's experiment to pay school children for better grades will go into effect next year reports the New York Post.

Under the pilot, a national testing firm will devise a series of reading and math exams to be given to students at intervals throughout the school year.

Students will earn the cash equivalent to a quarter of their total score — $20 for scoring 80 percent, for instance — and an additional monetary reward for improving their grades on subsequent tests....

Levin said details about the number of exams, what grades would be tested, funding for the initiative — which would be paid for with private donations — and how the cash will be distributed are still being hammered out....

"There are people who are worried about giving kids extra incentives for something that they should intrinsically be able to do," Fryer said. "I understand that, but there is a huge achievement gap in this country, and we have to be proactive."

Thanks to Katie Newmark for the pointer.