In order to encourage students, an eastern Ohio school district (Coshoctoc City Schools) has been conducting a 3 year experiment where students are paid up to $100 for good performances on state achievement exams.

Coshocton City Schools is in the last year of a three-year experiment run by an economics professor at Case Western Reserve University. Officials of the 2,000-student district will decide after getting Eric Bettinger's final data this summer whether to continue it.

The third- through sixth-graders in the study receive $15 for every score of "proficient" on a state exam and $20 for better results -- so they can collect $100 if they have high scores in all five subjects. The money comes as gift certificates redeemable at a local pizza parlor and Wal-Mart.

Coshocton manufacturer Robert Simpson paid for the project with a $100,000 grant from his family foundation, and says the foundation is ready to take the rewards districtwide if the data and the community support it.

What's the lesson here?  Learning can buy you things from Wal-Mart.  Genius!

[via digg]