What Makes Kids Do Their Best?
Public Agenda recently surveyed kids to find out. The nonpartisan New York nonprofit's new report, Reality Check, says that students are clear about what motivates them to work hard in school: accountability.
Listen to Teenage Advice and Ideas
Overwhelming majorities of high school students say that getting into a good college, getting a college scholarship or having to show their transcripts to get a job would motivate them "a lot" to work hard at their high school academics. Fear of being left back or going to summer school also keeps students on their toes.
Getting paid for better grades, though, ranked toward the bottom of the list of motivators.
Exit exams, too, appear to be effective motivators. Half the high school students surveyed (52 percent) say seniors are required to pass an exit exam to graduate from their schools. Of these, two in three (68 percent) say the exit exam makes them work harder.
What Else Motivates Teens?
But the survey also shows that schools, parents and employers may not be pushing the right buttons. For example, almost half the teachers surveyed say social promotion continues to be widespread in their schools, and 44 percent say summer school is "just something kids do because they have to," rather than something they take seriously.
Most employers say they don't have much faith in school grades, and only 16 percent ask applicants for a transcript.
You can read a selection of Reality Check results on the web. Complete questionnaire results may be ordered from Public Agenda for $42.50 by calling 212-686-6610. Reality Check is conducted in association with Education Week as part of its annual Quality Counts report.