Update: Whatever Happened To Roland Fryer (& Cash Incentives For School)?

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News that Harvard economist Roland Fryer has been named to MA State Board of Ed (h/t Rotherham) is a great opportunity to play this memorable interview he did with Stephen Colbert, talking about the achievement gap and kids and parents' responses to financial incentives. 

In the interview, Fryer puts a bill on the table as an incentive for Colbert to ask good questions.

Of course, the idea of financial incentives has lost much of whatever luster it held, based on both squeamishness about the idea and disappointing results.

 

More interest and attention these days seems to be going towards low-tech reminder and engagement efforts using cell phones to communicate with parents. See examples here, here, and here.

But the cash payment idea hasn't gone away, domestically and elsewhere. The PBS NewsHour recently ran a segment about a cash payment program operating in Brazil. Other less direct ways of helping low-income parents help improve their kids' education chances include raising the minimum wage and expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit. 

Related posts: Roland Fryer Wins MacArthur "Genius" Award; Fryer To Colbert: "You're Black Now, Aren't You?"; The Rise And Fall Of Cash For Grades;  How Parental Fears Might Shade Views Of Roland Fryer;