Cash for Grades
Each country takes a different approach to education which places them at distinctive ranks, such as how the teaching in another country can be more vigorous and strict than in the US. Out of fifty countries in the world, America is ranked number seventeen for education; while countries such as Finland is at the top of the list (“Best Education In The World”). Behind the curtain of education are the students, considering that the educational system depends on these bright minds. The students’ grades not only reflect the educational rank, but also the future of the country as a whole because these students are the next generation of entrepreneurs and doctors. In order for the rank of education to excel in the US, the Cash for Grades Program must be used in schools to aid low-income students, to motivate, and allow focus on school for all of the students.
Some parents reward their child for the outstanding grades on their report card; nowadays schools have programs which reward the students instead of the parents. The Cash for Grades Program is a program which rewards cash incentives to all hard-working students in the school system. This program is “jointly funded by public money and private donations” (“Cash for Grades”). People from the community or successful companies financially support this program because they understand the role of education in a child’s life, even if it will cost them to donate money for the children. “At each evaluation, they can earn $50 for every A they receive, $35 for each B and $20 for every C” (“Cash for Grades”). The goal of the program is to reach out and help children from all social classes, either by cash or motivation. Many programs like the Cash for Grades Program such as Gr...
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Students and education have a direct connection; if students are failing, then the educational system is going to decline. In order for the education system to prosper, the nation has to consider the needs of the students. This country consists of students that have a bright future ahead of them, but the only downfall is trying to get the students to their future. The Cash for Grades Program solves this issue by rewarding students for their grades, so that they will work very hard to be successful and fulfill their bright future. If America is the fastest growing economy in the world, then why is the education rank so low? America’s strengths should reflect the education that is offered, because this is the key factor that is associated with a top notch country. A country with prospering education has bright students that can lead the country to a better place.
The teachers use a currency in order to reward the children in a way of “cash” rewards. Nearly 100% of the students in the school are living in poverty at home, are African-American, and are without a preschool education. Older students have been required to fill out applications with references for classroom jobs, followed by attending an interview. Although many adults feel the children are just being trained as robots, principals have explained it is simply to teach students that they have an opportunity to succeed, regardless of their past. Children at these schools are constantly being “incentivized”, which is quite common in America, making this situation
“Making the Grade” by Kurt Wiesenfeld Newsweek magazine, June 27 1996 brings to light an issue that has been glazed over by society for some time, grade inflation. It’s highly disturbing that “we lament that schoolchildren get “kicked upstairs” until they graduate from high school despite being illiterate and mathematically inept, but we seem unconcerned with college graduates whose less blatant deficiencies are far more harmful, if their accreditation exceeds their qualifications”. The issue of grade inflation is not simply an issue of students feeling entitled to higher grades than they have earned, it is a problem that directly impacts our society in a multitude of negative ways. Perhaps the “gold star” mentality started out with the good intentions of creating children with positive self-esteem, however, a direct result is lazy adults with a sense of entitlement for no reason, who lack qualifications to adequately and safely perform their jobs.
In “Grades and Money,” Steven Vogel makes it clear that he is disappointed and frustrated with what grades have become. He believes that grades have become commoditized and that students’ grades suffer because of their relation with money. Vogel also believes that students no longer take any risk with their education. I agree with Vogel that grades are being equated to money by students, that students’ work suffers because of grades, and that students no longer take risks in their educational process.
“More than one million High School students fail to graduate high school each year. This not only affects the individual and his or her education but also takes a toll on society and the economy”.-Unknown. Today’s education cap affects society in many ways. Education is one key element that is needed throughout everyday life. It is needed for critical thinking, problem-solving, and great independent decision making in our lives. Without education, we wouldn’t be able to communicate with one another or make something out of ourselves. So we might ask ourselves how can we make education better for us and the future generations? In the book “Smartest Kids in the World”, Amanda Ripley gives an explanation of the difference between the education system in U.S. and in countries like Finland, Poland, and South
“Beginning in 2007, his [Roland Fryer Jr.] project paid out $6.3 million to students in 261 urban schools...from low-income families” (Sandel 52). As a result, paying students for good grades has an impact on many people, not only students but teachers as well. Students should be paid for good grades because they will be able to save the money they earn for the future, it will motivate them to do well in school, and it will increase their scores on AP exams. With the money that students earn for their good grades, they can save it for their future. According to student Brett Upperman, “‘Kids need money so we can save it for college.
A key to ending the cycle of poverty, is educational equity. In America today, public education is unequal racially and socioeconomically (Honda 11). Internationally, America is not excelling academically. When looking closely at American student’s Program for
In The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way, Amanda Ripley investigates the education systems of three of the world’s highest performing countries offering insight into the components necessary to raise education in the United States from its current mediocre place on the world stage. By involving three teenage American exchange students, Ripley gained access to firsthand experience of the familiar US system as compared to the highly competitive systems in Finland, South Korea and Poland. The author proposes that, although the systems vary greatly, commonalities in cultural valuation of education, rigor and teacher quality have made students from these three countries the “smartest kids in the world.”
In today’s society we feel the need to be graded in order to learn. The topic of the grading system has sparked three essays, by three different authors, about the pros and cons of the grading system. First, Jerry Farber, professor at University of California at San Diego, wrote A Young Person’s Guide to the Grading System (333). Next is Steven Vogel, professor at Denison University, who wrote Grades and Money (337). The last two authors in this compilation are Stephen Goode and Timothy W. Maier. They both are journalists for Insight on the News. While each of these authors have their own point of view on the grading system, all three essays talk about how being graded affects learning.
Education is one of the cornerstones and pillars to the establishment and preservation of democracy. In history, countless scores of philosophers and political thinkers believed that only an educated citizenry can take on the quintessential task of upholding democracy. Thomas Jefferson, the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, stated that “an informed citizenry is the only true repository of the public will.” A renowned defender of public education, Jefferson proposed plans for an education system that included grammar schools in his presidency. As a result of these relentless policies for education, the United States expanded on the concept of public instruction through the establishment and upkeep of a practical education system. The United States continued this tradition and established a reputation as one of the best education in the world. Currently, this is no longer valid as other countries such as Finland, China, and South Korea are competing for the dominant position through rigorous reforms that aim to boost student performances (“Best Education”). Meanwhile, the American system is inefficient, inhibited by political obstacles and gridlock while Finland, the top ranked country in terms of schooling, is continuing to improve. According to the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) examinations that tested pupils across a variety of subjects such as reading, mathematics, and science of 2009, Finland’s students were ranked among the top (“PISA 2009”). The American students were ranked below average for industrialized countries in the world, revealing the reality of the educational crisis in the country. Finland’s education system, compared to the Americans, offers major differences that greatly ...
Funding inequalities has been an issue from past to present, especially in the low-income communities. In fact, students in urban areas with less funding have low attendance, score lower on standardize testing, a low graduation rate. Also subjected to outdated textbooks, old dilapidated buildings, Students in the inner cities need to compete with their suburban and wealthy counter-parts for this reason funding inequalities must end and more money should be directed to these communities from: federal, state, and local governments.
...he United States. With funding for this policy, there came a desire to prevent student loan interest rates, for college students, from increasing further. This goal is in the favor of college students who are, working towards, or who are hoping to work towards, an affordable degree. However, feedback from teachers throughout the country suggest that the aims of the policy itself are not effectively resulting in higher test scores and are instead causing greater problems within schools. With all of this being addressed, one could determine that the total effectiveness of Obama’s Race to the Top reform is limited in its successfulness on improving the United States education system. Despite this, future policies should continue to be implemented in an active attempt towards making necessary adjustments to the problems centered around the United States education system.
Students should be paid for having good grades. According to Psychology Today, the United States has fallen behind other nations in education. In addition to this, approximately one in four students in the U.S. drops out of school before graduation. The main reason for this is that students have little to no motivation. Students are either bored with school, or they are distracted by the other things that go on in their lives such as sports, jobs, friends and their own family life.
The public high schools began a grading system as a way of telling an individual how they were performing. There was no interest by the public in reporting the school’s progress at teaching. Teachers, in an effort to recognize outstanding performers, looked for a way of rewarding hard-working students for their efforts The grading structure changed from superior and excellent to A’s and B’s. This placed much of the burden of recognizing academic talent on the high schools.
Education is the backbone of most nations. Proper teaching to students ensure things such as better technology, better fund distributions, running operations like businesses, military training, and the government. Sadly, our nation is very low on the ladder when it comes to education. Students First has pointed out that most children are reading below their grade level, are respectively the 20th and 27th best nation when it comes to Math and Science, and there is no signifigant change. Americans are however getting an education, though lower than against other nations America still are able to make a living with their lives. There is much needed improvement, but at least Americans are not completely ignorant. Citizens can make a living with their lives and though not as intelligent as someone from Korea or Japan there is no way to dispute that our education system is doing
Many people believe that “having an economy that places a greater value on skills and education is a good thing” and that is the thing that is needed to improve people’s lives and futures (Baicker, Lazear). If what our economy is trying to do a good thing they why are so many students still suffering? The main issues are the low-income education that many students have. Many schools are getting money from the government but that is not enough to pay for everything students need. Educational standards have continued to increase throughout the years but that does not help the students who are unable to pay for the better education. These students who cannot pay for the better education are stuck barely getting by with a low education. A low-education can affect many areas of regular schooling. The students who are at low-income schools do not know what type of disadvantage they have compared to other students across the country. These students believe that they are getting the best education, but there are many students who are getting a better education at a school that has the funds to pay for everything their students need. Low-income students are suffering due to the environment they are in at school and they continue to suffer throughout their life due to it. These students will continue to suffer unless something is done about the low-income schools and improve them for the future. Improvement has to come from all areas, not just one aspect of schooling but from all aspects. Although education has improved along with technology many low-income students still suffer from the vast inequalities. These inequalities will take many years to find a way to fix and even more years to actually fix, until this happens the students will...