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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

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

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 has a very different idea in mind. This school district recently launched the Public School Choice reform, which allows other educational entities to take over failing schools in an effort to produce an institution that gets stellar results through innovation and autonomy.

Schools that do not make the grade each year are put on the eligibility list for Public School Choice reform. At that time, non-profits, teachers or charter operators can apply to revamp failing campuses. These entities can choose to operate completely separate from the school district, or they can work within district guidelines to produce a brand new educational system specifically geared to that school and the children who attend.

This year, according to MercuryNews.com, there are 26 existing schools and 17 new campuses that are eligible for Public School Choice Reform.

The Intercultural Development Research Association describes school choices as follows:

"In reality, school choice means very different things in different contexts. From the many versions of choice, we can construct three broad categories. First, there are choice programs within a single public school district. These local, “controlled choice” plans seek to expand educational options. Second, there are interdistrict and statewide public school plans. These seek to establish a public marketplace of schools through competition