Performance Pay

Baltimore students will get cash to learn.

THERE ARE a lot of good reasons children should want to do well in school. Joy in learning, going to college, getting a better job, living a richer life are tops. Those arguments, though, haven't worked with many -- in particular poorer -- children. Too often they see education as irrelevant, even a waste of time. Would cash change their minds and their habits? That notion is behind a proposal making headlines in Maryland, and, despite all the raised eyebrows, it's worth trying.

Baltimore city schools have gotten permission from the state to spend nearly $1 million to pay students (up to $110 per student per subject) who attend tutoring sessions and show progress. The program targets students who have failed the high school assessments that, starting with the class of 2009, will be needed for a diploma. The financial incentives are but one component of a $6.3 million initiative that is, as the Baltimore Sun reported, a mixed bag of traditional and nontraditional ideas being advanced by new schools chief Andres Alonso. The plan, a first for Maryland and among a handful nationwide, has caused an uproar with critics who see the money as little more than bribes that are unlikely to have any lasting effect on student behavior. They could be right, but it's clear that the traditional methods simply have not worked with some students from low-income families. Besides, it strikes us as a bit hypocritical for people who see nothing wrong with rewarding their children's school performance with dinners out, trips abroad and even new cars to pick apart a program that attempts to deal with the real word of urban education.

The reality of Baltimore city schools is that more than 5,000 students have already failed at least one of the graduation exams. Reality is the nation's third-worst graduation rate, an appalling 34 percent. Reality is many students not being able to get extra help in school because they have to hold down a job or take care of younger siblings. Mr. Alonso is bringing new ideas and energy to this long-troubled system. He comes from New York City, which is piloting a program that gives financial incentives to fourth- and seventh-graders. Both New York and Baltimore will evaluate their programs, and those outcomes -- not any philosophical discomfort -- should determine whether there is merit in the pay plans.