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Students are often given rewards by parents when they bring home a sound report card. High school students who excel in academics, sports or other activities are often given monetary incentives to attend particular colleges through scholarships. Why not pay students in primary and secondary schools for making the grade as well?

Studies have recently been conducted to determine whether monetary rewards by the school district would motivate at-risk students to achieve better in school. While the results of these studies have been mixed, the debate over the idea is unmistakable. Although some believe that any method of enticing kids to perform well in school is fair game, others see paying cash for grades as an unnecessary way to encourage students to do what they should already be achieving. Who's right? Let's take a look at both sides of the debate to see.

The Four-City Study

Harvard economist Roland Frye recently conducted a test to find out if offering students monetary rewards for performing well in school could bring up scores on standardized tests. Frye's research results were published in Time last spring. The study looked at schools in four major cities across the United States: Chicago, Dallas, Washington, and New York.

In New York, fourth through seventh-grade students were paid for their grades on tests. In Chicago, ninth-grade kids were paid for the grades on their report cards. In Washington, middle schoolers earned money based on five different metrics, including

The New Haven public school system, like others across the country, is dealing with a high drop-out rate that leaves many students unable to climb out of their current poverty trap. To help combat the problem in this New England state, Yale University has pledged a large amount of money over the next four years to help high school students in Connecticut go to college without worry over how bills will be paid. Yale has recently announced the New Haven Promise. This new program will allow public high school graduates in Connecticut the opportunity to go to college for free if they qualify for admission and keep their grades up during college.

This video explains how financial aid works at Yale University.

New Haven Promise

New Haven Promise is a scholarship and support program created by the city of New Haven and Yale University. It is designed to reduce the public school drop-out rate by allowing many more New Haven students to attend college.

According to the New Haven Promise website, the organization hopes to accomplish the following:

• Cultivate an aspiration for higher education among New Haven public school students
• Build a community of support and parental engagement
• Grow the economic development throughout the city of New Haven

The organization wants to be the catalyst that reduces not only drop-out rates but poverty, crime, and incarceration rates in New Haven

Most individuals appointed as superintendents of school districts have a background in public education. However, some districts have found that sound managerial experience in the business sector can be just as advantageous – and sometimes more so – than those with a strict background in teaching.

On the other hand, superintendents that come straight from the business world may lack the educational knowledge necessary to properly lead a district in the best interests of the students. Which philosophy is correct? According to two major school districts currently involved in this very debate, the answer isn't terribly clear.

Management Experience vs. Education Training

According to a report in Bloomberg Business Week, New York is one city that appears to put sound managerial experience over an education background when it comes to choosing a superintendent for the nation's largest school district.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg came into the political arena with no experience in government and is now serving his third term as mayor. His appointments of New York schools chancellors also seem to reflect his commitment to finding individuals with business and managerial experience to lead the district.

This video outlines the qualifications for a school superintendent position.

Bloomberg's recent chancellor appointment, Cathie Black, "seems to be a continuation of Mayor Bloomberg's predisposition toward choosing people that he views as good managers regardless of their expertise in education," Aaron Pallas, a professor at Columbia University's

What do you do with a school that consistently fails to maintain quality standards in educating students? Some school districts might opt to pull funding or close the school down completely. However, Los Angeles Unified School District launched a very different idea through Public School Choice reform, which allowed other educational entities to take over struggling schools in an effort to produce institutions that achieved stronger academic results through innovation and autonomy.

Schools that did not make the grade each year were put on the eligibility list for Public School Choice reform. At that time, nonprofits, teachers, or charter operators could apply to revamp struggling campuses. These entities could choose to operate separately from the school district, or they could work within district guidelines to produce a brand-new educational system specifically geared to that school and the children who attend.

While the original initiative has changed over time, Los Angeles Unified School District still describes the Public School Choice initiative as part of its work with schools and partners. The Intercultural Development Research Association describes school choice as a concept that can include controlled choice plans within a single public school district, interdistrict and statewide public school plans, and voucher plans that include private schools.

For additional background, parents can also read Public School Choice, Magnet Programs & Charter Options: What’s Best?.

Why Public Choice?

According to the original Public School Review article, the Public School Choice motion was designed to