Imagine a company that offers to pay students for their good performance in school. A company that would give students rewards for every A in their chosen subject area. Imagine no more, reality is here.

The reality is that a new reformed company has been born, Grade Fund. Creators and brothers Michael and Mathew Kopko have developed a website that will help students earn money for every A they obtain.

The purpose is to help college and graduate students, even those as young students from middle school, as an incentive to do well in school and encourage them to pursue a higher education. 

            This community is based on corporate sponsors and individuals who choose to collaborate in different grade levels and sponsorship amounts. The student’s task is to create a profile and invite friends or family to collaborate with anything they would like to offer for each A, as low as from $1 or more.

They can also choose to donate to a specific subject area such as film productions or veterinary medicine.

Eventually students are able to upload their transcripts every semester, after they reach the amount of $100 in rewards they’ll receive their check by mail and can retire the money in advance.

The website also helps individuals in the search of internships and jobs, for a student’s life after school. Hopefully this will be a future incentive to motivate learning, improve student’s performance and also challenge them.

Kopko’s principal mission is to help students that find themselves under financial stress, however according to an article in Times magazine he mentions that “Our service doesn't solve the problem, but it's a step down that path.”

There is a high-accumulated rate from it wilk give risestudents’ debt starting from $20,000 and up, the website will minimize that effect. The number of members is higher every time, the website already has more than 5000 people who have sign up.

            School districts across the country have also been implementing other types of motivation programs, rewarding pupils for obtaining high scores in cities such as Texas and Georgia.

In Texas, High schools students were qualified to win as much as $500 for the pupils who got top scores on Advanced Placement exams of Math, Science and English. In Atlanta, Georgia they implemented a new after school study program, “Learn and earn”. In which students get paid $8 per hour for attending tutoring classes. 

Although in this case cash does pay off for motivation, educators and critics are hoping that this will motivate especially low income and minority students.

This will help as an effort to push students who are not willing to challenge themselves with college level courses.

Senior, Elizabeth Grass mentioned “I believe that specially cash rewards will motivate many who have a low performance in school and might even try harder courses to obtain the rewards”.

            Websites such as GradeFund use cash as a motivator; and the programs in some schools are growing nationwide. Students will eventually return home with more enthusiasm when bringing good grades, they will pursue higher expectations in school and life.