To give a cash reward to the twin who gets the best GCSE results?

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DS and DD are both in year 11 so have their GCSEs coming up shortly. Both are bright and of very similar if not identical academic ability and are predicted very similar grades.

Both are relatively hard working (although with a tendency to coast) but DH and I would really like them to knuckle down and push themselves to get the best grades possible.

We therefore came up with the idea of an effort-based reward scheme allowing them to earn treats for completing revision- e.g. 75 hours= a meal out, 150 hours= a night away etc.

However, both twins have suggested that instead, the twin who gets the best results should receive the whole cash reward. They are both competitive with each other and have said this would give them greater incentive to work harder.

My concern is that the twin who doesn't do as well will be doubly disappointed on results day as they will also get no reward. Should I go with the twins' suggestion?

The twins original suggestion was not good. They don’t have the emotional intelligence yet to realise impact on the ‘loser’.

This new idea is much better. Nothing wrong with competition, they will be competing all their lives.

No, it's not very different. But you are your children's parent, not their boss.

Yes, because your parents acting like your boss is an ideal family dynamic. Not dysfunctional or toxic at all.

The game we all have to play is the game we all have to play - you’ve got to get good at playing it.

Whether you like or agree with the game is a different (and ultimately irrelevant) question

Absolutely terrible idea.

And of course grades acheived is no meaure of effort...a child can have natural ability and get top marks doing next to nothing or a child can study really hard and still fail which is incredibly disheartening.

Its like attendance awards - a clumsy, discriminatory target which often rewards selfish actions.

i am not keen on the grade based reward.

Obviously you know your kids best, but at this age you REALLY need to be taking their mental health into account too.

I'd be more inclined to reward for effort, then give them both the same reward for results.

Sometimes it doesn't matter how HARD you study, the exam can trip you up. I'm AMAZING at studying, exams not so much.
My coursework i consistently got all A, A*, I only managed 9 Cs and 2Bs in my actual exams.

My twins were in the same GCSE Maths class - teacher didn't realise until parents' evening - when he rubbed his hands with glee and suggested we set them up in competition with each other - that idea didn't go down well with us. The idea of rewarding them to achieve good results at school wouldn't either - they don't get good grades for us - they do it for themselves, their future - they take responsibility for it and in doing so develop the internal motivation necessary to dig down deep and work hard.
We planned to celebrate their exam results (or commiserate with them - because the fancy dinner in London was planned either way) - they got the same overall for GCSE and A-level scores - which was quite a relief in the end.

I knew parents who did this when I was doing my gcses and it blew my mind.

im not sure it’s going to embed the habits you want it to as there is evidence that external rewards for behaviours can reduce the intrinsic desire to do that thing. So cash rewards for revising won’t necessarily establish a good work ethic for A- levels.

i did very well in my gcses after spending most of study leave sat around knitting a jumper. If your kids are predicted 8s and 9s while coasting then they don’t need to be doing all that revision for the sake of it. They could be reading loads of classic literature and would be of as much use. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Worst idea ever. I have twins in year 11 also and this horrified me.

No no no. Not fair to reward either revision or outcome. A frat for both at the end for getting through would be better. My sister and I got very similar GCSE results. I put in a lot of effort but struggle with short term memory and retaining all the information needed to pass an exam. Have always hated exams as they don’t test ability just test memory. I had a lot of help revising too and still struggled. My sister put in zero effort with her revision and got pretty similar results. Some people can pass exams with little effort and other struggle. Encourage them to revise by all means. But then putting them up for competition on results day is just awful too. GCSEs are not a competition. Their results will be whatever they are. They then make choices after results day based on results as to what to do next. We all live our lives following a different path. My current path has been very windy with stops and starts and diversions all over the place. I achieved a masters degree at the age of 45 and some people get them in their 20s. Our journeys to those qualifications were very different and that’s fine.

It is sad really that this is what our education system has come to - and schools are fully complicit in this. It’s not about being clever and having interests it’s about revision.

If you decided to go ahead with this then please get your children to to keep it to themselves. I could never in a million years afford this kind of expense as a reward for exam results and if my children came home telling me their friends would be getting this reward it could potentially cause many more issues. Clearly you can afford to do this, but not all parents can. And clearly you kids have some savings as well as if they flunked their exams and had to pay you the fine for each exam they must have access to it.

You are then setting yourself up for even bigger costs when they do their A levels or what we 16+ qualifications they go for.

What would have happened if one of your twins had a learning disability and would never have been able to achieve those results anyway. What would your thinking be? Are you de valuing anyone who doesn’t achieve high academic grades?

For what it’s worth, I was predicted ABC in a levels and ended up with EEE. I was absolutely heartbroken. It wasn’t due to laziness. I revised a lot. It was down to a combination of things including no one at the time understanding my learning style. My excellent GCSE results (As, Bs, and Cs) did not prepare me for the challenge of A level. An additional pressure of not gaining a financial reward and potentially paying a fine would have tipped me over the edge

All I can say is I am glad your not my mum.i think all your ideas are terrible

Do you compare your twins in other areas too or just academically? It’s awful to pit one child against the other like this. That’s messed up. How about seeing them as individuals and praising their own individual strengths rather than making them compete for your praise?

Paying a fine for flunking their GCSEs? So if they pass 9 they get £100, if they fail 9 that’s £225? Just a note, you can still have a career without your GCSEs, and you can pay to resit them too if you needed one or two for a certain course. The pressure some parents and teachers put on kids for their GCSEs is just awful and damaging. They’re really not the be all and end all. I have 4 diplomas and I didn’t get any GCSEs above a C grade.

You have just said that your kids are predicted all 8/9 grades, but also that they have a tendency to coast, so clearly there is a disconnect between effort and grade. Kids who coast are gcse level but do well tend to have a very hard time when it comes to a level and higher because they don’t know how to work. Ime the kids who have had to bust a hump to get Cs at gcse do a lot better at A level because they have that work ethic.

@Onebelow “Paying a fine for flunking their GCSEs? So if they pass 9 they get £100, if they fail 9 that’s £225”

You’ve misunderstood.
It’s not about 9 GCSEs, but about achieving a level 9 in them.
£100 for every GCSE level 9 (so potentially around £1000).
£25 “fine” for any failed or passed at Level 6 and below.

Although the latter sounds horrendous, it was coming from the kids. I’d say no to them on that!

“Ime the kids who have had to bust a hump to get Cs at gcse do a lot better at A level because they have that work ethic.”

Which sounds great and just the kind of tale that appeals to our sense of justice.
I don’t doubt that some kids are able to coast their GCSEs and get a kick up the arse when they have to learn study skills in Y12.
However, IME - GCSE grades very much correlate strongly with A level grades.
The bust a hump C graders bust a hump and get a C at A level. The lucky coasters learn to work and get an A, or continue to coast and get a C - still no worse than the bust a humpers 🤷🏻‍♀️

There you, that’s 2011 on 3 years of exam data, but I doubt it’s much different today.
You might argue that some of the reason it’s not a perfect correlation is the effect of your bombing coasters who don’t realise that in time… but I’d need the data to be convinced. The best A level students (measured by final grade) are the best GCSE students.

Oh right, I’ve read it wrong. So potentially up to a grand each for doing their GCSEs?! Jesus. Must have more money than sense. I can’t imagine sitting down to do an exam, and making a conscious decision to answer a question correctly so I get the money, and without the money incentive I’d have just answered incorrectly. Surely everyone just works to their own ability?

@Onebelow “I can’t imagine sitting down to do an exam, and making a conscious decision to answer a question correctly so I get the money, and without the money incentive I’d have just answered incorrectly.”

Uh? Why do you think that’s what happens?

No child just decides to not answer a question they know correctly because they’re not getting money. Whether you agree with OP or not (and I don’t) the point is that because of the money, they revise more, so can answer more questions correctly.

If they have suggested this is how they would like the reward to be awarded then they know one of them may miss out but how amazing would it be if they both got exactly the same grades 😀
Maybe have an extra surprise in your pocket that they both get rewarded for their hard work. They don’t need to know this as their push to do well is the competition & both being rewarded for doing well would remove that competition.

You have messed up. You have and continue to reinforce money as a motivator. They don’t value education or hard work. They value money. They’re going to be quite unpleasant when they’re older and in for a huge shock when they enter the workforce and no immediate financial reward for going above and beyond.

This is nuts. A per grade payment doesn't instill a work ethic. All you're doing by incentivising bright children is setting them up to fail at a later date, unless your plan is to bribe them all through university etc. It's one thing to reward them for doing well but this won't have the long-term outcome you need. I say this as someone who got straight A* in my GCSEs and was blindsided by how much discipline and hard work was needed at uni to achieve to the same standard.

If your children are as bright as you say they should be able to appreciate that hard work at this stage will benefit them in future, and that should be incentive enough. If they're planning on going into competitive careers every grade might count. That's the motivation and encouragement you should be providing.

Why are you giving them money for doing something that will benefit their future?!