There is a lesson that is taught to children: their hard work is rewarded in the end. But when children don't see these rewards, material or otherwise, their incentive to work hard diminishes. Why work hard when there are no rewards?, they ask. Could it be the solution to the laziness that seems to spread like the bubonic plague to pay our nation's students based on their academic scores and achievements? Could it benefit everyone involved? Or could it create a financial crisis for our schools? When students work hard, they expect immediate results, and when they don't get the results they expect, it causes great upset. But there is hope, says Mary Flannery of the National Education Association. Paying your children for their high academic scores has been a tactic used by parents for a long time, now schools are catching on. Psychological studies show that incentives, such as money for grades, have inspired less engaged students since the 1970s (Geewax). So the method obviously has been working for over forty years. Even former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg agrees. Bloomburg had a plan to pay seventh graders all the way for exceptional grades on standardized tests (Bander). Stacey Priestly, a teacher from northern Indiana, says, “My son gets money for his grades. We tell him that going to school and getting good grades is his job; if he does his job well, he gets paid just like his job in the real world” (Flannery). This trend has spread from high school to college. A number of scholars are earning money by getting high scores on SAT and Advanced Placement tests at educational institutions from Massachusetts to Texas (Flannery). Marilyn Geewax, author of the article “Paying for Good Grades Detracts E...... middle of the paper......, then they shouldn't do it. Instead the potential dropout could graduate with honors and get a great job so that the student can actually support and provide for their family. If every school across America paid for their students to go to school, it would be more beneficial than counterproductive. There are so many ways it could help children's futures, their current families, and their education as a whole. A student will grow up with the knowledge and understanding that if an employee works hard and perseveres, they will be rewarded and the amount of work done will be worth the effort. And with this attitude, the young scholar will enter society and the world of work with a positive attitude. Hopefully the cycle will continue and, in theory, create a large, prosperous society where hard work and determination are the most valued characteristics of its citizens.