In this article published yesterday, USA Today surveyed 74 business CEOs to ask whether they think it's a good idea to pay students for doing well in school. More than half said yes. Thirty-three of 66 said they pay or have paid their own kids for grades.

The article contrasted that survey's findings with a Union Pacific Foundation survey of 450 high school principals, only 15 percent of whom supported paying for grades. The 15 percent were typically "in poor communities where almost any experiment is worth a try," the article says.

Baltimore, of course, is one of the cities that's trying pay for performance among students -- those struggling to pass the High School Assessments. The article also mentions a project by the foundations of ExxonMobil, Bill Gates and Michael Dell to pay students at 67 high schools in seven states between $100 and $200 for high scores on A.P. exams.