VA Beach Schools offer money to kids to pass; I rant

An article in today's Virginian Pilot caught my eye with it's headline.

Program in Va. Beach schools awards cash for grades
By Mike HixenbaughThe Virginian-Pilot
© November 7, 2011
VIRGINIA BEACH
Students at two Beach high schools can take home hundreds of dollars this school year for earning passing marks on Advanced Placement tests. Their teachers will be rewarded, too.
The cash incentives at Salem and Green Run high schools are part of the Initiative for Military Families, a Navy-backed public-private partnership aimed at boosting student achievement in military-rich communities.

Has our education system really gotten so bad that schools are now offering what amounts to bribes for students to pass?  If that's the case, it means our schools are due for some long overdue reform.

St. Thomas More, patron of students, pray for us!