As an increasing practice, some American schools pay students who

Some American schools pay teachers more if their students improve on tests. Now, there is a growing movement to pay the students, in some cases, even just for coming to class. Schools that pay students can be found in more than one-fourth of the fifty states. Other schools pay students with food or other rewards. In 2004, the city schools in Coshocton, Ohio, launched a programme. They wanted to see if paying elementary school students as much as one hundred dollars would help in passing state exams. Now, Eric Bettinger of Case Western Reserve University has reported mixed results. Math scores increased, but only while students were able to get paid. And there was no evidence of higher scores in reading, social studies and science. Officials will decide later this year whether to continue the programme.