Walberg and Bast demonstrate what may seem to many of us intuitive; that rewards prompt children to learn better and more effectively. The authors show how academic success, while often attributed to intelligence, is more likely related to self discipline," and that discipline, effort and perseverence can all be changed by offering incentives.

"Professional" educators claim the opposite, that their research shows incentives do not work, and that "any approach that offers a reward will fail." However, the authors provide a mountain of evidence that the studies cited by these educators are flawed and their conclusions simply wrong.

For young children, rewards are especially powerful because they teach kids to defer gratification. Children who learn to wait for a larger future reward rather than seize the less valuable, short-term reward tend to achieve greater success throughout their school years and beyond. As children get older, different types of rewards, such as scholarships for higher ACT scores, can motivate students to excel.

The authors show how decades of education fads have left us with a public school system that is essentially broken. They decry the notion of a national curriculum and centralized testing, offering Common Core as an example. They describe how researchers have found that private schools are "more likely than public schools to be effectively organized," with clearer and more academically rigorous goals and curricula. They also give examples of effective programs provided by some charter schools, and they make a compelling case for school choice.

Walberg and Bast believe opportunities for improving K-12 schools are more likely to be found at the state and local levels, "or outside of government altogether." They point out the importance of parental involvement, and note that parents "have a constitutionally protected right to control the education of their children."

While focusing on education, Walberg and Bast also cover the body of literature that shows how incentives influence people throughout their lives, both financially in the workplace and in their personal lives.

Rewards covers a lot of ground and provides a variety of perspectives in a thoroughly researched and, dare we say, rewarding way.

The Education Reporter Book Review is a project of America’s Future, Inc. To find out more about America’s Future, visit AmericasFuture.net.

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