Offering your kids cash in exchange for good grades may not be the best investment.
A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Toronto and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that monetary incentives had only a modest effect on students’ academic performance.
Moreover, researchers found that once cash rewards were discontinued, there was little to no long-term effect on a student’s grades. In other words, parents have to keep paying to make sure their children maintain a higher GPA.
The study was commissioned by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, which wanted to look into whether or not offering additional merit scholarships to disadvantaged students would improve academic performance.
To complete the research, first-year and second-year students on financial aid at the University of Toronto-Scarborough were chosen via lottery to participate during the 2008-2008 school year. Participants were given money for grades above 70%. For each semester-long course, students received $100 for a grade average of 70%, and $20 for each percentage point above that.
The study found that while the incentive program did increase the amount of course grades above 70%, it did little to boost grades much higher than the 70% benchmark.