Financial Incentives and Student Achievement: Evidence from Randomized Trials / Roland G. Fryer, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fryer, Roland G, Jr.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w15898.

NBER working paper series no. w15898

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Financial Incentives and Student Achievement

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2010.

Summary:

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.

Notes:

Print version record

April 2010.