Quick Guide on Student Achievement: What Is Worth a Reward?

It’s important during the learning process to recognize student achievement. Every student deserves to feel special when they make a leap in their progress.

There are various ways and various degrees to accomplish this. What is worth an actual reward and what can be recognized with simple praise? Here are some guidelines.

Should they be doing it anyway?

There are some things that are just accepted tasks that should occur in the typical classroom. These depend on the classroom and the kids, but students simply doing what they should be doing does not warrant a reward. However, praise may be appropriate if a student struggles with a certain behavior.

For example, talking out of turn. Maybe Johnny is very talkative, but today made a concerted effort to control himself. It’s good to acknowledge his effort. But if you let him pick a prize out of the treasure chest, the students who have always been quiet will wonder why they haven’t been treated the same.

How many students have done what this student has?

You will quickly blow through your budget if you give out rewards for every student who raises their hand to use the pencil sharpener. There has to be a threshold to the number of students who receive student achievement recognition for one particular task.

The goal in figuring out this number is to make sure that no one feels slighted. The number can’t be too high, otherwise some kids won’t have an opportunity. It can’t be too low or it won’t feel special. Shoot for something where each student receives a reward once during a grading period.

What is the reward?

There can also be varying degrees of reward. Some things are readily available. Privileges like leading the class to lunch or sitting with their friends would fall into this category. Other tangible rewards are a little more exclusive.

For more materials that can be used to reward student success, check out School Specialty’s online store!