In the first long-term study of its kind, the National Bureau of Economic Research reports, Texas high-school students who earned cash for passing Advanced Placement exams showed not only better GPAs, but also bumps in college attendance, performance, and the likelihood of earning their degrees. The effects were most pronounced among minorities, with African--American students 10 percent more likely to enter college, and 50 percent more likely to persist through graduation.

Money—late in the game, and paid to students directly— is an effective path to education.

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