Initiative Will Pay Students to Pass AP Tests

John Hechinger & Susan Warren:

Jessica Stark, a 17-year-old from Abilene, Texas, earned $600 for some hard work last year. It wasn't flipping burgers or waiting tables. She made the money for passing six of the toughest examinations in high school at $100 apiece.

Ms. Stark is part of a movement that is going national: paying kids to take Advanced Placement tests. Success on these exams, administered by the nonprofit College Board, often gives students college credit and sometimes encourages them to pursue study and careers in the field. Ms. Stark plans to become an engineer and has already been admitted to the Colorado School of Mines. "I do homework all the time," she says. "I don't have too much of a social life. ... Study parties -- we're pretty good at those."

A new initiative, aimed at encouraging careers in math and science, plans to replicate these AP bonuses across the country. Teachers get them, too -- at times, $5,000 annually or more -- for helping their kids pass AP classes in math, science and English. The money is provided by a network of private donors. Along with cash, students in Texas sometimes get gifts, such as iPods, as door prizes for attending weekend prep classes.

The program's proponents say AP incentives have succeeded at getting more students to pass the tests in Texas, and they expect the broader initiative to encourage more students to go on to careers in math and science. But some critics question whether cash bonuses are an appropriate and effective way to engage students in the subjects. Robert Schaeffer, public education director for the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, a critic of standardized tests, calls the approach "basing education reform on a series of bribes to kids and bounties to teachers" and says the money would be better spent on broader efforts to improve instruction.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at March 9, 2007 8:15 PM
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