The Effects of the Use of Grades as an Incentive

Abstract

Previous research has only tangentially explored the effects of an incentive frequently employed by teachers-grades. To fill this void, 233 students from 14 high school classes were either offered points (ranging from 2 to 12) on their final grade of the term for completing an assignment or threatened with loss of points (ranging from 1 to 7) for not completing an assignment. A control class was asked to complete the assignment without gaining or forfeiting any points. Data suggested that grades used as an incentive elicited greater assignment completion than when no incentive was used, that assignment completion was greater when grades were used as a negative as opposed to a positive incentive, and that as the level of incentive utilized rose, assignment completion tended to increase.