Friday, June 8, 2007

wcbstv.com: NYC Considers Rewarding Good Students With Cash - Mayor Keeping Details Of Program Close To His Vest...

NYC Considers Rewarding Good Students With Cash

Mayor Keeping Details Of Program Close To His Vest

Watch video report...

(CBS) NEW YORK Mayor Mike Bloomberg says New York City is currently working to raise money for a plan that will give cash incentives to students who perform well on exams.

Cash incentives are one of the ideas being considered by the city in an effort to raise the graduation rate, which is currently at 60 percent, according to the NYC Department of Education.

One student welcomes the idea.

�I think honestly, money would motivate kids to get better grades,� said seventh grader Abbey Finer.

Some parents feel differently.

�My daughter has always wanted to do well for other reasons,� said Marianne Skolnick. �Not for money. I�m not in favor of that.�

The President of the Teacher�s Union, Randi Weingarten, feels incentives should not be limited to exam performance, but also include other things like attendance and literacy.

�Why don�t we have incentives for things like reading 25 books,� said Weingarten. �Literacy is important. Why don�t we have incentives for great attendance?�

Bloomberg told CBS 2 the cash incentives idea is a possibility but did not talk in detail about this plan because it is a work in progress. He said he�ll be prepared to talk about it more when the details are fine-tuned.

CBS 2 has learned the cash incentive will be available to students in the city�s empowerment schools program. The program is for fourth and seventh graders who will be taking the city�s new assessment tests beginning this fall.

There are talks about paying every test taker, and for a perfect score the reward is greater -- $25 for fourth graders and $50 for seventh graders.