Immediate rewards for good scores can boost student performance

UChicago News, June 26, 2012

Test performance can improve dramatically if students are offered rewards just before they are given standardized tests and if they receive the incentive afterward, new research at the University of Chicago shows.

Educators have long debated the value of financial and other rewards as incentives, but a series of experiments in Chicago-area schools showed that with the right kind of rewards, students achievement improved by as much as six months beyond what would be expected.