An education initiative called “Education Pays” passed the House Education Committee on Wednesday, winning approval from representatives from both sides of the aisle.
Rep. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown), the bill’s sponsor, said he was "extremely pleased that the Education Committee is thinking outside the box."
THe said the Education Pays Act creates a pilot program to give financial rewards to encourage academic achievement among at-risk students. Students who finish each semester in the top quarter of their class earn $100 rewards for themselves and $50 rewards for their parents.
The pilot program would be placed in one grade level at each of one Memphis high school, one Hamilton County high school, one Davidson County middle school, and one Knox County elementary school.
The bill now moves to the House Finance Committee.
“I wish that every parent could afford to give his children a car upon graduation or another type of financial reward for academic achievement, but not all parents can. This bill allows for a small reward for those students whose parents can’t afford it,” said Rep. Kelsey.
“In an ideal world, all parents and students would value education, but unfortunately not everyone does, so this pilot project is an attempt to value it for them,” stated Rep. Kelsey stated.
Jackie Cushman, daughter of former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and co-founder of the Learning Makes a Difference Foundation, testified in support of the proposal, emphasizing that the results of a similar program funded by the foundation in Georgia have already been realized. She stated that the extrinsic reward of cash was leading to the intrinsic reward that learning can take place among disadvantaged students.
A similar program in 10 high-poverty schools in Dallas to pay students to pass AP tests in math and science increased the number of students who passed the exam from 156 in 1996 to 877 in 2006. The program also increased the number of students who went to college by 8 percent and increased the number of students scoring 24 on the ACT or 1100 on the SAT by 30 percent.
“This idea has worked in Texas and is being tried in 12 other states. I think we should give it a chance to succeed in Tennessee, as well,” concluded Rep. Kelsey.