What is the best way to improve student performance? In the United States, where student performance in science, math and reading is well below the international average (results from the 2006 Performance for International Student Assessment bear this out), we see a lots of ideas: vouchers, No Child Left Behind, publishing test results, hiring highly qualified teachers, giving the schools more autonomy, and granting incentives to teachers who perform. Now, another idea has dawned: rather than incentivize just the teacher for improving student performance, why not just go to the source of all performance issues, the student, and pay the incentives directly to him or her?