To think that the reward in exams is the exam grade and does not require a cash payout?

[Sk8r]

Friends are rewarding their 'A' level stage kids with £100 for each A grade, £50 for B and £20 for C.

GCSEs are being rewarded with £50 for A*, £20 for A, £10 for B

School summer exams are being rewarded with £10 for each subject scored over 60%.

I feel slightly guilty for not rewarding my kids the same way their peers are, but I feel that the exam grade is the reward for the hardwork not cash. AIBU?

Yep, doing a cash incentive for a child with no intrinsic motivation - was part of a bigger package

And it's linked to grades because they were on track for good ones meaning that they had to keep putting the effort in. - the effort was rewarded as they will get the grades if they put the effort in.

Hope yours works Laurie, I'd redo my gcses if someone offered me dosh, dss thought girlfriend time was more appropriate. Argh!!

I'd reward effort & doing their best - not grades.

I couldn't afford to give my DS1 or DD any money for passing exams,as much as I would have liked to. DD was quite scathing of people who did get money because, as she said,"Its what you expect of me,I don't need bribing!"but I think she secretly felt a bit envious...which in turn made me feel bad.

The trouble is,some kids brag big time about it,but what can you do?

YANBU.

However, given that DSS1 is bright but lazy I can totally see DH and I bowing to this trend. I've already paid him with a Horrible Histories book he couldn't afford (they get pocket money) to deep clean his room.

Success is its own reward

I agree, OP. I think I would value the development of intrinsic motivation more highly than the actual grades.

I was one of the few kids at my school who didn't get any reward for good reports or good grades. I got better exam results than anyone in my year. As someone else has already said, success was its own reward.

For those who are feeling guilty about not doing this, by the way, it never occurred to me to feel resentful or hard done by. My mum and dad explained their reasoning, and it made perfect sense.

I don't think I got anything for my A-level results, but I got given two kittens for doing well in my GCSEs. Best present ever... They died a couple of years ago aged 18, within a week of each other, having provided me wi much love and companionship.

Yanbu

I was given a financial incentive. This was because in many subjects my parents were told I could do better if I actually applied myself.

With hindsight they were right, I got 2 B's and 3 C's the rest D's. That was better then my mocks. It was the push I needed. I didn't get any reward for college or uni, but I never expected it.

I don't know if I will ever be able to afford this kind of reward for my own children, but it worked for me.

...creeping in guilty as I bribe my son with a gift to get to the next book band....nothing else works apart from a bribe...but I'm talking pound shop not hundreds but I better stop or I'll be fleeced when he's older!

It doesn't bother me when parents do this. I can see that some kids might need the extra motivation, and really, what skin is it off anyone else's nose?

I was taken out for a meal after my GCSE, AS Level and A Level results.

I did well, but looking back strongly suspect I would have been taken for those meals anyway. As a consolatory thing.

I had friend who had cash gifts and I found that odd. As in, they didn't want to do well to say they did. They were just doing it for presents.

There is research to prove that extrinsic rewards like this actually reduce attainment for example here
I like to reward DD for extraordinary effort, whether or not that translates into grades. She needs certain grades to go to University to train for her chosen career, so that gives her motivation. She might still miss, though, as the grades needed are very high, and I wouldn't want to make it worse!

One of my daughters was buying a saxaphone, putting money down for it every fe weeks or so. When her GCSE results came out, I went to the music shop and paid off the balance (I think it was over £100, 17 yrs ago) but I didn't tell my daughter. I wrote a note for her which I left with the shop. She got a lovely surprise when she next went in. I would have done it whatever grades she'd got as a well done for working hard.

I don't think there is anything wrong with rewarding grades and my parents did do this for me when I was younger, albeit with much smaller amounts. Those figures are crazy - I would have made about a grand! The real reward is obviously the results themselves but I don't see the harm in parents giving cash rewards or other treats to celebrate a student's hard work and achievement.

What if you have two children who have both worked really hard, spent hours and hours on revision, but one is naturally more academic than the other? Should you just give the one with higher grades more money anyway? Or is that totally unfair?

The plan here is to go out for a really nice meal the night before results, as a treat for working so hard. The actual results won't be rewarded in any financial way.

I really don't see the issue.

If my eldest gets a majority of A*/As in his GCSEs, he gets an Xbox One.

He goes to a shit school which has an ingrained culture of low achievement and encouraging kids not to aim too high , anything I can do to boost his chances of success (and he really wants an Xbox One) has to be beneficial to him.

I never gave money for grades at GCSE, AS or A2. I have 6 DC and thankfully all have worked hard for their exams......They all did the best they could. For some it was a string of A* and As and for others it was getting the necessary 5 A to Cs including English language. For all mine the reward for finishing their last GCSE was a tv for their bedroom.

We celebrate on results day by going out for a family meal.

DS5 did come and hug me today after sitting his final AS level exam (maths). I gave him 2 cans of Thatcher's Gold. He seemed quite happy with that. DS has one more A2 exam on Friday .He will be able to go to the pub to celebrate........I'll give him the cash.

If I were doing this, I think I would base it on meeting predictions, not a A* to C. e.g. something like £20 for each grade met, £10 for any pass lower than prediction, £50 for any pass higher than prediction.
OR Reward after exams based on how hard I think she's worked, not linked to results at all.

That research is interesting cardibach.

The problem with the reward-as-incentive system is how it works for children who do badly when it's unexpected. Not only have they had the disappointment of the low grade, they then get another kick in the teeth by not getting the reward.

The grading is more than a bit distasteful.

What if you have one child who sails through school effortlessly and scores 10 A* and another child for whom academics is a struggle and really worked hard for their collection of B/Cs?

Are you really going to reward the higher scorer more than the one who put in the effort? Hasn't life rewarded them sufficiently enough??