Advantages And Disadvantages Of Paying Students For Good Grades

Ginger Ninja’s proposition is that “if schools truly want students to be motivated to do well in school, then the schools should be willing to pay students for their hard work,” contains logical fallacies. For example, “but why should students work (learn) for nothing” begs the question. Also, these proponents assert the idea that students are doing job (learning) and should be paid for it does not follow or a non-sequitur fallacy. On the contrary, this proposed reward system will cause problems in the classroom. Rewarding students for good grades will decrease the student’s self-motivation. Paying students for good grades will realize an actual decrease in academic performance. Practical problems in the classroom, a decrease in the student’s self-motivation, and a reduction in academic performance are some of the distinct disadvantages that highlight why schools should not pay students for good grades.

According to the National Education Association (NEA), “Many teachers also say paying students for grades leads to practical problems in their classrooms, including pressure to inflate grades and conflict with students and parents.” These pressures and conflicts can lead to larger problems outside of school. Instead of focusing on learning the subject material, students may focus only on raising their grade rather than learning the academic material. Furthermore, students may become angry if they do not receive a sum of money that they feel equates to their perceived effort. The effect of this discrepancy may cause student-teacher as well as student-family conflicts. Obviously, grade inflation and family conflict will frustrate and discourage the