Cash Incentive Programmes Boost Black Pupils

WHEN a group of New York schools published their latest test results for reading and maths, Cynthia Baptiste had 218 reasons to celebrate. After working hard throughout the year, the 13-year-old Brooklyn student had earned $218 (£111) from an incentive programme that is helping to transform the anguished debate about racial difference in America.

Baptiste’s class at the predominantly black Family academy in Brooklyn is part of an intriguing project aimed at encouraging African-American and other disadvantaged students to try harder at school. Its broader goal is to narrow the notorious gap between black and white education in America, where the average 17-year-old black student has the academic skills of a 14-year-old white pupil.

Read more: The Sunday Times