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

[Stackss]

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?

This
all this payment by grade etc is appalling
give them both a nice treat after the exams and before the results

My friend’s twins are “friendly” competitive too. They’d also draw up a timetable but then want a formula to reward more points for who got the best grades with the least effort 😉

If it was "totally self-driven," money wouldn't even be mentioned!

Can you not see this OP?

Doesn't mean it is healthy or desirable or that the twin that "loses" doesn't have their self esteem knocked.

You should encourage your twins to compete against their own standards and not those of other people (even their sibling).

It's not 'between themselves' or 'self driven' when you are offering them cash incentives!

You are kidding yourself.

I like this idea. They both get a reward then.

@redskydelight

In my view it is no different to winning a race or an art competition. Both twins are of equal ability- if they want to compete against themselves on grades, I have no issue with it.

If it’s helpful I offered to pay a set amount at the end of the study period, prior to exams starting, for good study effort. How this was to be assessed was based on x number of hours daily with no electronics ever in the room -phone etc only to be used on planned breaks and only in the family room.

This was a huge issue as I’d had no success in taking the electronics out before. I offered this money and was told no as the electronic restriction wasn’t acceptable! A few days later it was accepted as the draw of the money was too great. It made a huge difference to the grades as compared to previous performance - the phone had been a huge distraction

Obviously if their work is on iPads etc you need will need work arounds with devices on aeroplane mode etc. But this was our way of ensuring quality of revision and it worked for us.

I would go with the monetary amount per grade. In addition you could have something like the winner with highest grades gets to pick the celebration event. I.e. location of holiday or restaurant to go etc? So interests their competitive side, but both still get something for good grades

I disagree. It is, of course, a bad thing. It has kept your children in some kind of “4 yr old” play patterns. I have a Y11 DC and they have learnt the importance of understanding their own levels vs their friends / cousins etc. And even if they had similar predictions, they understand that their friends or cousins getting 9s doesn’t impact their own ability to get 9s. I feel really sorry for your DC. What do you think your “approach” will deliver beyond GCSEs?

There is a massive difference between having no issue with them competing against each other and actively encouraging it by using money to reward the 'winner' which is what your incentive scheme does.

OP, twins or groups of friends will naturally compete with each other (openly or otherwise). I'm not sure why you think this is so unique to your twins or why you are making such a hoo-haa about it.

What most families do not need to do is pay their DC to revise. Nor di they need to make grades transactional. This element is 100% about you.

I got paid for my exam grades and it did not influence the work I did at all. It was nice to receive some cash but I worked for the grades and not the money.

@Ssmiler

Thanks- that's useful advice. How many hours of revision did you expect per day to earn the reward?

@Stackss GCSEs shouldn't be a competition though.
They are exams to show the person has understood the subject and to lead them on to the next stage in life.

@Needmorelego

GCSEs very much are a competition as they are graded on a bell curve. Only X percentage can achieve a 9 in each subject for example due ti the way grade boundaries work.

But the parent shouldn’t be micro managing revision to the extent that they know exactly how much is done. Also things that paying attention in class etc will have a huge impact. What if the child says I won’t pay attention in class but do an hour of staring at a book tonight instead, from the parents perspective they have done great as it was visible to them but in reality maybe not so much.

Surely that depends on what else they have had on that day.

@LiquoriceAllsorts2

Any parent who does not know how much revision their DC is doing is negligent in my view. It's not about micromanaging- it's about encouraging and supporting teenagers to do their best.

@Stackss well they bloody shouldn't be a competition.
What grade a child gets should be relevant to them and them only.

@LiquoriceAllsorts2

Not really- in our house education always comes first, particularly in the few months before GCSEs.

And knowing that you realise that makes your scheme even more bonkers ... your DC could work every hour of the day and still not get a 9 if it just turns out that they are in a particularly able cohort.

My DD spent most of the Easter holidays before GCSEs working on her Art and Drama portfolios. I got very twitchy around the fact the she was doing scarcely any revision. She told me not to worry. Guess what - it turned out she had a better idea of how much she needed to work and what she needed to focus on, than I did. If I'd insisted on a system like yours she would have felt compelled to work at her other subjects and do worse all round than she actually did.

A thread 9 pages in and you're still not taking on board anyone's reasons why it's a bad idea so just go for it. Offer 2k to the one that gets the highest grade.

@VladmirsPoutine

We aren't going with the idea of only rewarding one if you read my post below.

@Stackss now I feel even more sorry for your twins.
"Education always comes first" - so no Scouts or Guides? No exercise like going swimming or the gym? No going to the library and picking a book just because they fancy reading it?
My niece was a Brownie helper during her GCSE years. She (age 22) is now a assistant manager at a nursery so doing that Brownie leading was very educational.