Low-income students who receive performance-based scholarships show modest gains in academic achievement, but their retention rates from semester to semester appear unchanged, according to a study released on Tuesday by MDRC, a nonprofit research group.

The study — "Performance-Based Scholarships: What Have We Learned?" — compiles results from the Performance-Based Scholarship Demonstration, a project the group began in 2008 that has extended to 12,000 students in Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, and Ohio. The project, designed to increase financial support for low-income students and give them monetary incentives to progress, is supported primarily by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

In the program, students are paid at various points throughout the semester as long as they take a minimum course load and maintain at least a C average. They can use the money however they want, for books, babysitting, or to pay bills. 

The incentives are meant to encourage students to focus on their studies, which should improve their grades. That, in turn, should help them knock off their degree requirements faster so they can graduate or transfer to a four-year college. And better grades, the thinking goes, should translate to better jobs and salaries....

Full Article