Two Georgia public high schools are experimenting with paying students $8 an hour for up to four hours a week to attend after-school study programs. Eighth graders will also get a $75 bonus, and 11th-graders $125, if they improve their math and science grades to a B and improve classroom performance. The "Learn and Earn" program is funded by an Atlanta non-profit organization. Forty low-performing eighth and 11th graders have been selected based on low performance, attendance and qualification for free or reduced lunch. Monetary incentive programs like “Learn and Earn” fuel a student’s motivation and incentive to work harder.                         

        Incentive programs produce higher test scores across the social demographic. Texas pays $500 to students in low-income, largely minority school districts who pass an Advanced Placement exam in any subject. Known as the Advanced Placement Incentive Program (APIP), the practice has been around for more than a decade and has spread to other states. Schools with the APIP showed a 30 percent increase in students who scored higher than 1100 and 24 on the old SAT and ACT, respectively, according to a recent study at Cornell University. The study also found that the number of students admitted to colleges from APIP schools rose by almost 8 percent.
    Programs that help under-performing students by pushing them to change their study habits and become more involved in their education should be applauded. These programs cater to students who may otherwise work after school minimum-wage jobs instead of studying.
     Educators often attribute poor student performance to a lack of encouragement in their home environment. Students who grow up in an environment that does not emphasize education tend to perform poorer than students whose parents take an active role in education. This program is an extension of the rewards system that well-off parents often grant their kids, as the hourly wage parallels the allowances that these parents give their students for higher grades. Instead of shunning the financial incentives as materialistic bribes, opponents of the program should realize that the cash and bonuses run on the same reasoning as allowances. They just target a different social class.
    The school district gets money for student attendance and once the cash incentives guide under-performing students back to the right track, attendance will improve. Consequently, the money that the school raises through higher attendance will be beneficial to the campus, providing funds that can be used to improve school facilities, add elective classes and maintain a healthy staff, altogether making the school more appealing.
    The financial rewards program signifies educators’ growing desire to help under-performing students by taking a more pro-active role in motivating students. Although this may seem like an insult to the high-achieving students who do not get paid to study, the truth is that high-achieving students do not need as much encouragement as the under-performing students. Learning styles differ, and so does motivation.
    Geared towards students who do not have support and motivation to learn at home, these positive rewards programs teach students the subject’s material, help develop sound study habits and instill self-discipline. They also teach that working hard pays off.