Perfect Participation Payout

There seems to be a trend emerging in education. Whether it's an outstanding idea whose time has come or one which should be abhorrent to educators and parents everywhere remains to be seen. I rather suspect that, like posting the 10 commandments, each side has great reasons for its belief.
Here's the deal: school districts across the country and across the economic spectrum are paying kids to attend school. Some perfect attendees get a new bike; some get $25 for each term of perfect attendance; some get a larger monetary prize in a raffle; in Chicago, kids can win $500 in groceries or $1,000 rent money; Forth Worth schools offer use of a suite at a Texas Rangers' game; iPods are a popular reward, and some place in California gives out Disneyland trips; some have even gotten a new car that I cannot afford! This is not small potatoes nor is it confined to one or two school districts across the country. This is a phenomenon.
I think it probably began in a relatively poor district with a high rate of absenteeism, and it probably started in an elementary school where even a sticker can be a big deal. The fact is, it has mushroomed, and educators are taking sides.

IT'S A GOOD THING
The reasoning here is that anything which keeps students attending school is likely to result in higher test scores (and we know where THAT carrot got its start!). It stands to reason that this would be true. (After all, a whole generation began reading when the Harry Potter series began. I suspect they continue to this day). It also provides an incentive for students to show up even though they don't feel the best. Test scores have shown improvement in many cases. In the business world, so they tell me, rewards/perks are common for high achievers who meet stated goals.
This is not a new idea, I suppose. Mom and Dad offered me $1 for each "A" I earned on a report card during the later grade school years: this was a LOT of money to me at that time when the minimum wage was somewhere south of $2. The problem was that I could not remember the carrot in front of my nose for nine weeks. My folks seldom had to skip a meal to make a grade payment to me! So, let's look at the other side:

THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA
Purists will argue that gaining knowledge is a reward unto itself. These same folks argue that rewarding students for basic behaviors will lead them to expect even greater rewards for, say, finishing homework. Soon, the reasoning goes, studnts will be unwilling to do anything unless there's something tangible in it for them. How will these students do in college where the professor doesn't even know who they are and questions are answered by TAs? In one study, the $25 reward idea failed to generate any buzz because, as one student said, "What's $25 to a kid today?" Test scores in schools with the $25 reward did not show any improvement. There is also fear that once perfect attendance has been shortcut by illness, there will be no incentive anymore...or even worse, kids will come to school with all sorts of really communicable diseases. At the very least, sniff these poeple, we should be offering education-related prizes...say, laptop computers, instead of money and cars.

So why is it so important to keep kids in school? Learning, of course, comes to mind; there is a more compelling reason, though: money. School districts get state aid based on the number of students who attend school. The more kids in attendance, the more state funds received. This is especially important since the number of home-schooled students and charter schools has exploded in recent years. Face it: if it wasn't broken, people wouldn't be trying to fix it. Don't get me wrong, more money is not the solution to a great education. Is paying students to attend? Home schooling? Charter schools? Not for me to decide, but every day I get a great opportunity to help the ones I see sitting in front of me, and I'm thankful for the opportunity.