This Tween Tuesday, Liz Atwood discusses the recent research that shows paying kids for their school work can actually pay off:

A story caught my eye in Time magazine last week about studies that show it is sometimes beneficial to pay kids to do well in school.

The story featured research by Harvard economics Professor Roland Fryer Jr., who studied the effectiveness of financial incentives at schools in Dallas, Chicago, Washington and New York City. Fryer found that while paying kids to do well on tests had no effect, second graders who were paid to read books showed dramatic improvements in their reading comprehension. Middle school students in Washington who were paid for a variety of actions, including attendance and behavior, also seemed to show improvement in reading.

Some Baltimore schools have tried financial rewards as well, but in my son’s elementary school, the only reward is a key chain and a pep rally for good behavior every quarter. Sadly, he has yet to make it an entire 10 weeks without some blemish on his record.

Paying kids for doing well in school is controversial. Many parents and educators believe children should work for the love of learning, not the love of money. Part of me agrees, but then, I’ve sometimes tried financial incentives to get my sons to master some of their school work—memorizing multiplication tables for example.

What do you think? Have you paid your kids for good grades or test scores? Have you had experience with schools they pay children for performance?

(Photo from istockphoto)