Cash for Good Behavior Program Yields Mixed Results

New York, NY —

A city initiative to lift families out of poverty by giving them cash for good behavior had mixed results. The two-year pilot program got more people to go to the dentist, and to open checking accounts, but a study of the program shows that it failed to spur struggling students to get better grades or improve their school attendance, according to evaluations by the non-partisan, non-profit firm MDRC.

A single parent with one middle school student and one high school student could earn more than $3,000 per year if she and her children met all the benchmarks, which also included parent-teacher conferences and having a library card.

But the incentives apparently made no difference at all on either test scores or attendance among the elementary and middle school students when compared to a control group.

Researchers found cash incentives did encourage more high school students who were already proficient to earn credits and stay on track for graduation.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says such mixed results should be expected.

“You know you always hope that you've come across a magic, silver bullet, and you never do. Complex problems, if there were simple solutions, someone would have found them a long time ago,” Bloomberg says.

Ed Deci, a psychology professor at the University of Rochester who has studied similar incentive programs, says the mixed results aren't surprising.

“The use of rewards like money distracts people from the very things they want them to be doing. It takes them away from learning and gets them focused on the outcome of getting the money.”

About 2,400 families participated in the pilot program, and received a total of $14 million in privately-raised funds.

The researchers say a longer study may be needed to show whether the program had a positive effect on younger students. The program, modeled on similar programs in other countries, ends in August.