The purpose of this study was to determine the effect extrinsic motivation had on student academic achievement in both English Language Arts (ELA) and math. The study was a quantitative, ex-post facto quasi-experimental design that compared student achievement on a benchmark assessment from one year to another. In this study, the instrument used was the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) growth assessment. Participants in this study were middle school students located in a suburb of Chicago. Data were collected using assessments completed during the 2018-2019 winter term and the 2019-2020 winter term. Analyses compared participant performance in both ELA and math for both assessment terms using projected NWEAMAP growth targets. The assessment was given without the use of an extrinsic recognition component and again the following school year after introducing an extrinsic recognition component. The study found that, while there was a slight improvement in the number of students who met their projected growth target, the use of extrinsic motivation to improve academic achievement was not statistically significant. It would be beneficial for future research to study ways to impact intrinsic motivation. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]