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Rewards and consequences for grades

Whether you pay or reward for grades, reward effort, only praise, or give consequences for poor grades.

Should we reward or punish our child for grades?

In short: Parents choose between 5 main approaches: Cash for grades; Rewards for effort or inputs; Praise only; No external rewards; Consequences for poor grades. Evidence: evidence leans one way. Research or guidance points in a direction, but it's thin, small or correlational. Best settled: school age.

Evidence
Evidence leans one way
Best settled
School age
Part of
Learning & the wider world

Rewards and consequences for grades: what are the options?

Parents usually land on one of these 5 approaches.

  1. 1. Cash for grades

    The child is paid for good grades.

  2. 2. Rewards for effort or inputs

    The child is rewarded for studying or reading, not for the result.

  3. 3. Praise only

    Good grades get praise and nothing more.

  4. 4. No external rewards

    Grades bring neither rewards nor penalties.

  5. 5. Consequences for poor grades

    Poor grades lead to lost privileges.

Rewards and consequences for grades: what does the evidence say?

Evidence leans one way. Research or guidance points in a direction, but it's thin, small or correlational. (Leans against paying for outcomes)

Paying for grades had no effect on test scores; paying for reading books did

Sources

What else is worth knowing?

Some families pay for grades or remove privileges for poor ones. Studies of paying for results have found little lasting effect, while rewarding effort or reading has done somewhat better. Others prefer to keep rewards out of learning.

Questions to ask each other

  • Would we ever pay for grades?
  • What would we praise instead?
  • What would we do after a bad term?

More in School and academics

First published 2026-10-03. Last updated 2026-10-05. General information, not medical advice.