cash incentives for passing tests

[mullets suk]

edited:
if any of you live in a maryland and go to high school im sure you've heard of the HSA's. if not, its a standardized test which every kid needs to take to pass high school. because the failing rate in Baltimore city is fairly high the state is now giving kids up too $110 if they past the test.

obviously im a little pissed about it cause it taxes that could be going to a lot better things, like actually getting good teachers to teach.

just wanted to find what all of your views are about such incentive programs, and if there are anything like this anywhere else.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/education/blog/2008/01/financial_incentives_for_hsa_p.html

(unfortuantely the only "article" i can find is a blog)

[ThePinkPanther]

what the hell is the HSA

[Understanding In a Crash]

They get rewarded for doing what they were supposed to be doing in the first place? Cool.

[spitfirejunky]

Can you source the 50-60% failure rate?

[ashman]

We have something similar here (I'm not sure if it's a national thing though), called the Compact Award, where companies donate money to a fund and if a child gets good grades, they get some money from this fund.

http://www.hullcc.gov.uk/portal/page?_pageid=221,134156&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

Apparently, it started in Boston.

That web page also mentions Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), where kids between 16 and 18 from poorer backgrounds get paid £30 a week to attend all lessons at college and have a good report. It seems to work since more and more lower class kids are going to College and getting their A-levels.

[Kage]

Those tests are state-run, so, no, not every American high school kid has heard of the HSA's, you numb piece of ****.

[r1mbaud]

makes sense, if it were out of the schools athletic department's pockets, and nothing else.

[Kage]

makes sense, it it were out of the schools athletic department's pockets, and nothing else.

Brilliant.

[CarnageFairy]

Oy, the HSA. I loved it, was done all 5 after 9th grade so every year after that I would have a week off of school while a bunch of other kids were taking them.

Stupid idea which is brought about by the fact that legislature has been put in place that says that schools will be penalized/lose funding or whatever if enough kids don't pass these standardized tests.

The tests are easy, you have to be pretty lacking in your mental faculties to try hard and still fail several times. But, suprise suprise, the kids in areas like inner-city baltimore tend to not give two shits about the hsa.

It'll probably be incentive for a few kids, but otherwise just a waste of money imo. Not to mention passing the hsa =/= high school diploma, and either way there are easier ways to make $100, especially in baltimore.

[Toaster]

Those tests are state-run, so, no, not every American high school kid has heard of the HSA's, you numb piece of ****.

chill

i wish i had 100 dollars for every time i passed a standardized test :(

[Knifeboy]

I wish I had a 100 dollars :(

[Kage]

I wish I had 1,000 dollars every time I passed a kidney stone.

[Toaster]

you can keep the grand tbh

[mullets suk]

They get rewarded for doing what they were supposed to be doing in the first place? Cool.

the whole awards based on passing a test you need to pass high school seems absolutely absurd.

Can you source the 50-60% failure rate?

unfortunately i cant...ill edit my first post.

We have something similar here (I'm not sure if it's a national thing though), called the Compact Award, where companies donate money to a fund and if a child gets good grades, they get some money from this fund.

that isn't all that bad considering it is private companies that are donating the money, but when it is state money being wasted...

[VomitStainedCretin]

Pass rate may go up but the kids won't get smarter with superficial and bureaucracy inspired incentives like this. Money could be much better invested into education to make ggenuine progress.

[Iscariot]

What a bad idea. Why not promote education for the benefits it offers other than money? This seems like a cheap way to get a few good scores.

[McP3000]

I didn't read the first post carefully, but HISD (houston) schools are known to pass kids that fail these tests to get more grant money. Whenever i hear a school has 100% passing for "math" or "reading" i call huge bullshit.

[Danger Bird]

State-run standardized tests are so phenomenally easy. You shouldn't be rewarded for passing, you should be punished for failing.

[Iscariot]

Seriously. I was a terrible student and I still passed all of my state tests.

[r1mbaud]

State-run standardized tests are so phenomenally easy. You shouldn't be rewarded for passing, you should be punished for failing.

In Texas atleast.

[McP3000]

In Texas atleast.
Where did that come from?
Do you live in Texas or was that some confusingly ignorant remark about Texan intelligence.

[cobert]

This is ridiculous. We shouldnt pay kids for what they should be doing in the first place.

In our high school, if you fail any part of the PSSA test, you have to do this computer based 'skills tutor' thing which is easier than the actual test.

[r1mbaud]

Where did that come from?
Do you live in Texas or was that some confusingly ignorant remark about Texan intelligence.

i live here.

[gregulus]

Kids should want to pass the tests to reap the benefits of doing so. Not because of the money.

The problem isn't "getting good teachers to actually teach," though. The lack of importance or emphasis placed on education in our society is startling. Kids simply don't give a damn.

[Danger Bird]

qft I have like two non-AP classes and it's such a different environment. Absolutely nobody listens to my chemistry teacher. Once in another class the things he was showing them weren't showing up on the projector, but nobody bothered to tell him. He noticed after like 10 minutes.

Although I've had a few teachers who genuinely don't care whether their students are learning.

[McP3000]

i live here.
oh really? I live in Houston...you?

[McP3000]

The problem isn't "getting good teachers to actually teach," though. The lack of importance or emphasis placed on education in our society is startling. Kids simply don't give a damn.
Well, there are a lot of crappy teachers in the public school system, but the infinitely larger problem is getting students to care (like you said).

[r1mbaud]

Well, there are a lot of crappy teachers in the public school system, but the infinitely larger problem is getting students to care (like you said).

plano, near dallas.

[entheogen]

the only thing that people need to understand about education is the one they never will understand - children don't need it

if i was younger i would laugh at attempts to "improve" education ... but i cant laugh all the time ... people would think im crazy ;)

[Smokey D]

You don't need education?

[cobert]

yeah man subsistence farming ftw **** college degrees and success

[entheogen]

thats right. every person should conduct their own research and nobody needs to be educated by the powers in control of their government.

[entheogen]

yeah man subsistence farming ftw **** college degrees and success

we were talking about public education like high school.

colleges ... are going to become extinct ... because people actually learn there

but nobody learns in high schools thats why high schools aren't going nowhere ...

[Smokey D]

But systematic and formalised education allows for much better collaboration and helps ensure that people learn the correct information. Also, you're talking at a university level. You need education up until that point.

[entheogen]

i think internet allows for some pretty good collaboration through things like forums, IRC or meetup groups

some people think the point of school is to teach people how to read ... but i think it should be the responsibility of parents

and 10 years down the line it should be the responsibility of parents to teach kids how to read and how to use internet (imho)

[Smokey D]

i think internet allows for some pretty good collaboration through things like forums, IRC or meetup groups

Yeah, it also allows for things like Stormfront.org



some people think the point of school is to teach people how to read ... but i think it should be the responsibility of parents


What about maths? And what happens if parents don't teach their kids to read? Who will?

[entheogen]

What about maths? And what happens if parents don't teach their kids to read? Who will?

they would have to learn math on their own using PDF textbooks that they would have to steal somewhere online.

and if parents arent bright enough to teach their kids how to read ... chances are their kids are also not bright enough to benefit from education

lol

[Smokey D]

You're an idiot if you think you're going to get children to learn anything on the internet.



and if parents arent bright enough to teach their kids how to read ... chances are their kids are also not bright enough to benefit from education


No, that's wrong.

[entheogen]

the point you're missing is that all kids don't need to know much ...

if only 20% of kids will end up having serious knowledge that is not going to hurt the country as a whole ...

i have friends with college degrees who work as bartenders - whats the point of that ? how would it be different if they held the same jobs without any education at all ?

[Mr. Ron]

the point you're missing is that all kids don't need to know much ...

if only 20% of kids will end up having serious knowledge that is not going to hurt the country as a whole ...

i have friends with college degrees who work as bartenders - whats the point of that ? how would it be different if they held the same jobs without any education at all ?

So you would rather have a massive part of society who have zero education at all, therefore making them a burden upon society?

[entheogen]

why is a person without education automatically a burden on society ?

most jobs require no education. is a bus driver a burden on society ?

[Mr. Ron]

why is a person without education automatically a burden on society ?

most jobs require no education. is a bus driver a burden on society ?
A person with no education usually means they will not have a job. They will contribute nothing and then society has to pick up their slack.


All jobs require a certain level of education. Most jobs require at least a certain diploma or degree to even be considered.

[entheogen]

define "require" ...

is a person *unable* to perform the job without a degree ? or is the degree "required" to obtain the job in the society as it exists today ?

[Mr. Ron]

define "require" ...

is a person *unable* to perform the job without a degree ? or is the degree "required" to obtain the job in the society as it exists today ?

All jobs require a certain amount of well-rounded knowledge of certain areas. Without these, a worker is of little use to anyone. How many jobs, for instance, do you think require knowledge of even basic mathematics? A LOT.


A job that requires a certain level of education usually means they needed to complete those courses to understand the job they will be doing in the first place!


Society as it exists today? What, do you want to turn the clock back a few hundred years?

[Smokey D]

why is a person without education automatically a burden on society ?

most jobs require no education. is a bus driver a burden on society ?

All jobs need an education. Some need more than others. If you think society is going to get by on zero-education, you're wrong.

the point you're missing is that all kids don't need to know much ...


The more they know the better off they are.


if only 20% of kids will end up having serious knowledge that is not going to hurt the country as a whole ...

It'd decimate the economy and ruin innovation.


i have friends with college degrees who work as bartenders - whats the point of that ? how would it be different if they held the same jobs without any education at all ?

I bet more people with college educations get good jobs than those without them.

[entheogen]

information should be made freely available to everybody not shoved down peoples throats

its interesting to note that while we are doing the second we are not doing the first

if we spent even 10% of the money we put into education on making information available to more people the world would be better off.

every child aged 5 or older should have a computer with a broadband connection. and all the textbooks used by all schools and universities should be made available for free online.

i think MIT already did something liek this - making their courses available online for free ... this is commendable

[McP3000]

I bet more people with college educations get good jobs than those without them.
Ya.
But that's a completely different scenario because the better jobs need that type of education. He's talking about general blue collar jobs.
The fat chicks at McDonalds don't exactly reek of an educated lifestyle.