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| Segment# |
| 13 |
| Location |
| |
| Date |
| 2/18/2008 |
| |
| Story Name |
| EARN TO LEARN DOES PAYING FOR GOOD GRADES WORK? |
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| Notes |
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|07:41:08 |
|Prepared by The Transcription Company, , (818) 848-6500 |
|Which takes sole responsibility for accuracy of transcription |
|07:41:08 DIANE SAWYER |
|(OC) And now, this question we've been asking and hope to get some |
|answers about this morning. What about the programs that actually pay |
|children to get good scores on tests? And to attend school? A new |
|educational program is rewarding good grades with cold hard cash. The |
|goal, to close the learning gap between kids in low income areas and their |
|wealthier counterparts. So, is it working, will it backfire? Here's |
|parenting contributor Ann Pleshette Murphy. |
|07:41:33 ANN PLESHETTE MURPHY, ABC NEWS |
|(VO) At recess time, East New York Family Academy looks like any other |
|school. But at test time, it's a different story. Students at this |
|Brooklyn school get paid to take assessment tests, and get paid even more |
|if they do well. |
|07:41:47 STUDENT, FEMALE |
|I made $131.60. |
|07:41:50 STUDENT |
|$106. |
|07:41:51 STUDENT |
|$130. |
|07:41:53 SHEILA RICHARDS, PRINCIPAL |
|At first I was a bit reluctant about having the children participate in |
|the program, but I felt if there was something that was going to help us |
|motivate the students, we would try it. |
|GRAPHICS: STUDENT INCENTIVES |
|07:42:05 ANN PLESHETTE MURPHY |
|(VO) Schools in a dozen states have similar programs. In Albuquerque, |
|students at Cesar Chavez Charter School can earn up to $300 a year for |
|good attendance. In Santa Ana, California, doing well on their math tests |
|can earn up to $250. In Baltimore, students can pocket $110 depending on |
|their test scores. |
|07:42:27 DOCTOR ANDRES ALONSO, BALTIMORE CITY SCHOOLS |
|This is about making sure that students who might drop out, might not be |
|able to get a high school diploma, get it. |
|07:42:34 ANN PLESHETTE MURPHY |
|(VO) Family Academy is one of 60 New York City public schools who |
|volunteered to participate in the SPARK incentive program which is open to |
|fourth and seventh graders for one school year. The program pays seventh |
|graders $10 just for taking required assessment tests. And up to $40 for |
|a high score. That means as much as $500 can be deposited into their very |
|own new bank accounts to spend on whatever they wish. And they have big |
|plans for their earnings. |
|07:43:04 STUDENT |
|I'm going to put my check in my bank account to save up for college so I |
|can get a good education. |
|07:43:10 ANN PLESHETTE MURPHY |
|(VO) SPARK is the brainchild of Dr. Fryer, a Harvard economist whose goal |
|is to narrow the education gap between the haves and the have nots. |
|07:43:20 DOCTOR ROLAND FRYER, CHIEF EQUALITY OFFICER |
|Try to figure out an innovative way to make school tangible for kids. |
|Short-term rewards to do what's in their long term best interest. |
|07:43:30 ANN PLESHETTE MURPHY |
|(VO) The battle lines are drawn. Those who oppose these programs, saying |
|school should concentrate on getting kids engaged in what they're doing, |
|not just how they're doing. |
|07:43:41 ALFIE KOHN, AUTHOR |
|The idea that poor kids can only be bribed with money, rather than |
|authentically engaged with meaningful learning tasks is insulting and in |
|some cases borders on racism. |
|07:43:53 DOCTOR ROLAND FRYER |
|The idea that we shouldn't be giving kids rewards. Come on. Many in |
|affluent neighborhoods they're giving kids allowances. They're taking |
|them out to dinner when they get good grades. Heck, they're buying them |
|shiny new cars at graduation. We've gotta get past this menal block of, |
|it's just wrong, to this is bribery, to - I've heard it all. If it |
|doesn't work, we're arguing over nothing. |
|07:44:16 ANN PLESHETTE MURPHY |
|(VO) What does the research say? Although these programs are too new to |
|be evaluated, research on rewarding children for good grades shows that |
|despite short-term gain, it may do long-term harm by decreasing |
|motivation. What do kids think? |
|07:44:34 STUDENT |
|I'm very inspired. I'm in the fourth grade, and I get money just by |
|taking a test. |
|07:44:41 STUDENT |
|It's just a reward for doing good on a test. And you're supposed to do |
|good on every test. |
|07:44:45 ANN PLESHETTE MURPHY |
|(VO) Principal Sheila Richards hopes the sense of accomplishment lasts |
|not just through this year, but for a lifetime. |
|07:44:52 SHEILA RICHARDS |
|Once a child has learned they can be successful, they can see this is |
|what I can actually do, and I can be successful and get good grades. |
|07:44:59 DIANE SAWYER |
|(OC) By the way, those are not taxpayer dollars. It's privately funded, |
|so far. Parenting contributor Ann Pleshette Murphy is here. Short term, |
|to the extent it's worked for a few months, increase in attendance or |
|what? |
|07:45:14 ANN PLESHETTE MURPHY |
|(OC) A lot of them are rewarded for different things. If they're paying |
|them to get there and show up, it is increasing attendance. It is true, |
|if it's rewarding them for better grades, they seem to be getting better |
|grades, short term. Bit the question is, Diane, and there's a lot of |
|research that says, once the incentive is removed, are you rewarding the |
|right behavior. Are you getting them connected with what they're |
|learning, or is it just, I have to get through this test. |
|07:45:39 DIANE SAWYER |
|(VO) You mean, you remove the incentive and you're no longer working to |
|what they love or for their own future, and you've taken away that |
|component? |
|07:45:48 ANN PLESHETTE MURPHY |
|(OC) Yes. For a lot of critics would say it's like giving them steroids. |
|It's short term. It makes the teachers look good, and the principals, |
|but is it good for kids. |
|07:45:59 DIANE SAWYER |
|(OC) What about if parents do it? |
|07:46:01 ANN PLESHETTE MURPHY |
|(OC) There there's a lot of research that says it's not a good idea. For |
|kids whose parents pay for A's or punish them for C's actually do worse |
|than those whose parents say, why did you ask that question, or what did |
|you learn in school today, as opposed to what did you get on the test? I |
|have to say, when Mr. Fryer says we've got to try things, we really do. |
|There's a major problem. |
|07:46:26 DIANE SAWYER |
|(OC) That's right. It stays with you, where he says let's try anything. |
|If it doesn't work, why the debate. |
|07:46:32 ANN PLESHETTE MURPHY |
|(OC) There's a crisis. Yeah. |
|07:46:34 DIANE SAWYER |
|(OC) Thank you. If you'd let us know what you think, we'd love to hear. |
|Go to . Voice your opinions on paying for grades and |
|attendance. |
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