Charlotte Rayn - Incentivizing Good Grades -04.... -

Charlotte Ryan’s work forces us to confront an uncomfortable truth: grades are terrible incentives because they are lagging indicators. Rewarding a lagging indicator is like giving a marathon runner a trophy only after they cross the finish line—ignoring the months of training, the blisters, the early mornings.

Incentivizing Good Grades: Finding the Right Balance By Charlotte Rayn | April 14, 2026

has provided free kid's meals through their "A is for Applebee's" program, and Krispy Kreme has offered free doughnuts for high marks. Insurance Discounts : Companies like Centerline Insurance Charlotte Rayn - Incentivizing Good Grades -04....

Perhaps Rayn’s most significant contribution is her emphasis on rewarding the process of learning rather than solely the final grade. While traditional programs offer rewards for achieving an A or B, Rayn argues that meaningful incentives should target behaviors that lead to academic success: consistent study habits, timely completion of assignments, active classroom participation, and seeking help when struggling.

A steady, increased allowance based on consistently good grades can encourage long-term academic focus rather than just a one-time reward. Charlotte Ryan’s work forces us to confront an

Teach students to break down large assignments into smaller, manageable tasks ⁠Ascent Funding .

Incentives are useless if students lack the tools to actually achieve better marks. To help students earn their rewards, encourage the development of sustainable, everyday habits. Guidance from Career Prep High School and student resources from DePaul University highlight several foundational tactics: Teach students to break down large assignments into

If the reward is the only goal, the student may feel excessive pressure, leading to anxiety rather than a love for learning.

Classroom-level incentives show positive effects on test scores and engagement, particularly among students across the achievement distribution, not just high achievers. However, many studies find that gains on incentivized tasks do not automatically transfer to official assessments, suggesting that students may direct their effort narrowly to what is rewarded rather than developing broad academic skills.

A field experiment involving over 10,000 high school students found that rewarding behaviors (such as completing homework or attending extra help sessions) was more effective than rewarding grades directly. The researchers concluded that "incentivizing inputs may be more effective than incentivizing outputs if students lack information on how to improve their performance". In other words, telling a student "I will pay you for an A" is less helpful than saying "I will reward you for attending tutoring and completing all your practice problems."