Economists from the United States and China ran an experiment to see whether American students would perform better on tests with cash incentives, compared to Chinese students. The reason for conducting this experiment was because the economists were wondering whether the American students are not as smart as the rest of the world, or if they do not put forth the necessary effort to score well.
First, a group of 10th grade American students from Massachusetts were selected to take a math test. The exam was made up of 25 math problems. At the beginning of the exams, half of the students were given envelopes with 25 $1 bills in them, and they were told they would lose a dollar for every incorrect answer. The other half of students were not given a money inventive at the start of the exam. The students that were given the envelope at the start left less answers blank and answered more questions correctly. The researches estimated that if all U.S. students were given the money incentive the U.S. would be ranked 19th instead of 36th on math standardized test scores. Next, the same experiment was conducted by the same economists with students in Shanghai. The Shanghai students with the money envelopes did not score any better than the students who did have the money incentive.
So, what does this say about the U.S. culture compared to the culture in China? Obviously in America, the students' results showed that they are extrinsically motivated to succeed in the classroom. Meaning, the only way they are motivated, is if they receive something in return (a good grade/money). However, Chinese students' results showed they are intrinsically motivated. So, they are motivated because they want to gain knowledge.
https://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2017/11/27/maybe-american-students-are-bad-at-standardized-tests-because-they-dont-try-very-hard/
Great article and good find. I find this to be very interesting in a day and age where teenage seem "too cool to care". I think this attitude is very sad, because kids are made fun of for 'trying too hard'. American kids should be more intrinsically motivated to do well on standardized tests considering they play a large role in college admittance. Extrinsic motivation could help students, but I do not believe it'll change the lack of intrinsic motivation. This could be fixed at the root, from young teachers and parental guidance.
ReplyDeleteThanks Antonio. I agree that many teenagers have the "too cool to care" attitude in the classroom, but it seems like nothing is being done about it. It is too bad that the kids that put forth effort, are considered to be trying too hard. Maybe parents should start to stress the importance of working hard in the classroom so it becomes standard for kids to put forth their best effort.
DeleteI do not think this is a good idea, the good grade is the reward. I believe that this would negatively effect the mindset of American student. This being said I think more hands on integrated learning with minimal standardized testing would be better because that is what the industry is currently looking for. We need to prepare the next generation to help and make breakthroughs not take tests.
ReplyDeleteI think by giving the American students an incentive they will do better, however, their motivation will not intrinsic. Students should be in school wanting to gain knowledge in order to make money. I do think that giving them a money incentive is relative to real life, and could give upcoming students a greater drive to do well. Although this doesn't work in China, it could still be beneficial for our teenagers.
ReplyDeleteI do not think this is an issue with the kid's personal motivation. I believe this is an issue with the parenting of these kids. The parents are the people who have the biggest impact on the life of their kids and I believe the motivation or drive that the parents have directly impacts the motivation and drive of the kids. Angela Duckworth, an American academic and physiologist, recently wrote a book on her concept of grit. She defines grit as sticking to things long enough to master them, or sort of a perseverance. She has found that there is a direct correlation to one's level of grit and test scores and likelihood of graduating high school. I believe the problem of low test scores is more of a problem of low grit levels than perceived incentives. If educators start from the root of the problem (the parents) I believe the outcome would be more noticeable.
ReplyDeleteI think motivation plays a large role for kids and how much effort they put into their work. However I think most of it comes from a flawed system. Kids are realizing more and more that at their future jobs they are not going to need to memorize ten formulas or definitions. They are going to have to be able to apply them to actual situations. This doesn't give students an excuse to not try on their work but I think it makes sense in regards to efforts.
ReplyDeleteI have always believed that our school systems, at least here in central Ohio, do not test for knowledge. They test for how well can you take a test. If students actually attempted to learn the material, rather than memorizing for a week until their exam, our schooling systems an overall country in terms of knowledge and capability would increase. But I believe that the problem starts with our schools, not the children.
ReplyDeleteI think that their are many great points in this article. I think that one of the key factors that can lead to Americans not doing very well on standardized tests is because they are not prepared mentally. Overall, these standardized tests can be hard to replicate because they last so long. I don't think it is fair to think kids who are not prepared to take these tests, and have not seen tests like this in the past are "too cool" or that they do not try hard. But, with that being said, I do think it is important that the U.S tries to stress how crucial these tests are and make sure that people are more prepared.
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