Financial incentives and student achievement
Subtitle: evidence from randomized trials
By: Roland G. Fryer, Jr
Contributors: National Bureau of Economic Research
Series: NBER working paper series -- working paper 15898; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) -- working paper no. 15898.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Description: "This paper describes a series of school-based randomized trials in over 250 urban schools designed to test the impact of financial incentives on student achievement.  In stark contrast to simple economic models, our results suggest that student incentives increase achievement when the rewards are given for inputs to the educational production function, but incentives tied to output are not effective.  Relative to popular education reforms of the past few decades, student incentives based on inputs produce similar gains in achievement at lower costs.  Qualitative data suggest that incentives for inputs may be more effective because students do not know the educational production function, and thus have little clue how to turn their excitement about rewards into achievement.  Several other models, including lack of self-control, complementary inputs in production, or the unpredictability of outputs, are also consistent with the experimental data"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on 4/13/2010.

Includes bibliographical references.

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