STUDENTS SHOULD RECIEVE FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
1011
Professor Julie Davenport
English 215
August 5, 2012
WEEK 5 ASSIGNMENT 3
Fatimah leaves with her mother and three siblings. She is now in the 11 grade but her single mother has been laid off and funds are tight. Fatimah needs and lacks the basic necessities for school. She really wants to go but feel that she would be uncomfortable. Also, she is going to have to walk to school which is about 11 blocks away because she doesn't have money to catch the bus. She doesn't want to drop out but doesn't know how long she can deal with this. Her mother's boyfriend is also staying there and he is fighting with her mother. All she wants is a better life. If only she had some money to go to school and she would try her best so that she wouldn't be in this situation again. Should students receive financial incentives for good grades have always been up for a debate. With the pressure on for students in the United States to get better grades - no wonder this is a big issue. Some believe it's unethical while other s believe it's a great way to reward the students and can promote self worth. I believe children should get a financial incentives to help with dropout rates, to ensure compliance with No Child Left Behind and to help motivate poor children to have better academic performance.
There have been many test performed on financial incentives. Most have been shown to work when financial incentives are giving immediately after the test. Financial incentives testing have been done in "Chicago, Dallas, New York City, and Washington DC" (Roland G. Fryer, 2010). United States is ranked at the bottom percentile in high school graduations. High school drop outs increase in areas with Hispanics and blacks with high school graduates at thirty-one percent according to Swanson in 2009. To help with the performance of disadvantaged student financial incentives were tested to see if student's performance would change. This was instructed to help motivate students that lacked "motivation, discount the future or dramatically discount the future, or lack accurate information on the returns to schooling to exert optimal effort, providing incentives for achievement will yield increases in student performance" (Roland G. Fryer, 2010).
The first problem is that children are dropping out of school. According to the Institute of Education Sciences dropout rates have improved from "12 percent in 1990 to 7 percent in 2010" (National Center for Education Statistics). Even though dropout rates have decreased it's still a problem. "One million students annually drop out of high school" according to Education Secretary Margaret Spellings (White, 2012). Lead researcher Donald J. Hernandez, a sociology professor at Hunter College "found that poor children account for 70 % of kids who don't graduate" (Baron, 2011). He also states that children who read well but live in poverty are still likely to drop out at children who can't read. He also mentions how fourth grade students who are receiving school lunch are not reading on grade level. With giving children incentives they are more likely to graduate from high school. The financial incentive can motivate them since they have something to look forward to. This in return can persuade them to get better grades which can lead to them having self worth and might even change their lives. With poor children who has more of a chance at getting bad grades this can effective also as a motivator.
The second problem is that schools can lose funding from the government is they don't perform well. With the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 schools have to meet certain guidelines to continue to get funding. They have to have annual testing for grades 3-8. All schools had to bring student's up to "proficient" on the state test by 2013-2014 (Editorial Projects in Education, 2011). This meant meeting yearly targets that showed progress towards this goal. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan "issued dire warnings that 82 percent of schools would be labeled failing in 2011. Over 50 percent ended up failing that year (Editorial Projects in Education, 2011). With the No Child Left Behind Act critics have claimed that the standardized tests contained cultural biases. This act has also been underfunded by the Bush administration but requires all states to adhere by the guidelines or lose funding. With schools at risk of losing funding financial incentives to help children do better on test would sure give the school better results on test. This could lead to compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act and in return keep funding coming into the public schools.
The last problem is that poor children sometimes have poor academic performance because of their emotional and social challenges, acute and chronic stressors and cognitive lags. Some students are very insecure because of how they are growing up. They may have a young mother who was a teen when they had them and doesn't really know too much about parenting. They may be in a home where a parent is depressed or where they aren't getting the care they need. This can lead to "decreased sensitivity toward the child [as an infant] which can later lead to the child performing poorly in school (Jensen, 2009). For a child under the age of 3 to be "emotionally healthy" they need four things. First to be in a safe and stable environment. Secondly, A reliable parent or caregiver that gives them "unconditional love, guidance and support" (Jensen, 2009) Third, to they need to interact with their parent or caregiver for at least ten to twenty hours in a week. This is especially crucial when the child is between 6-9 months. Fourth, the need to be enriched through activities. Children who grow up in poverty are less likely to have their needs met because of overworked, stressed, and use harsh punishments. They usually don't bond to well to establish a health relationship. Behavior research shows that children can develop "psychiatric problems and have a hard time adjusting to their environment (McCoy, Firck, Loney, & Ellis, 1999)(Jensen, 2009). When children understand their environments they are likely to have feelings of confidence and self-worth which in return can tell predict their happiness and success in life and relationships. Children should have secure relationships to build on their social skills. Lack of relationship can lead to academic performance that can be detrimental and a lack of social skills. Poor children can be exposed to acute and chronic stressors. Acute stress is severe stress that comes from being exposed to violence, abuse and trauma (Jensen, 2009). Chronic stress is stress that happens overtime. Both of these types of stress can have a dramatic effect on the lives of poor children. Poor children usually have a lot of chronic stress which "exerts a devastating influence on cognitive functioning like academic success. Some of poor children stressors are living in an overcrowded home or an area that is not safe, lack of a stove or refrigerator, abuse and domestic violence in the home. Cognitive ability can be shown in different way and if affected in many ways as well. One effect is socioeconomic status. This status is connected with children's IQ, tests, literacy, and grade retention rates. (Baydar, Books-Gunn, & Fustenber, 1993; Brooks-Gunn, Guo & Furstenber, 1993) (Jensen, 2009). With these being some of the issues for poor children. Incentives is a way that could motivate them and make them feel special. It can even boost of their self esteem and show them that they can have a future. An incentive might also be able to help them out financially.
In conclusion, financial incentives can be used to help out with a lot of things. Kids are more likely to stay in school because they could be more motivated. Public schools are more likely to be in compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act. Also poor children are more likely to go to school and get better grades because of the financial incentives. This seems like a win-win situation where students can benefit in a positive way to increase a better future for themselves.
References
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