I believe it could apply for the student who wants to go beyond the standards for the course curriculum but can apply to the subject matter at hand. Definitely for the motivated student who wants to know more.
I find that EC assignments can be useful depending on how they are applied. I have a standing EC assignment that has about the same point value as a homework assignement. Overall it has very little impact to the final grade. I like this because the EC assignment I give out requires the student to actually go to a place of business that is in their career field. The effect on the grade is minimal but the point of the assignment is to get students out into the field as it were, and to get to know first off who's out there and what is available to them job and continuing education wise. I think if the point of an EC assignment is to raise a grade its useless. The point of the EC assignment should be to grow the student professionally.
Cynthia,
I'm with you, valuing the existing grading system that accounts for required course assignments.
Barry Westling
I have learned that some students abuse the extra credit points. thinking they dont need to do the given assignments because they can make up points with extra credit. i have eliminated extra credit in my courses.
Toni,
If real assessment of learning is desired, there can little place for giving away points to bolster a grade.
Barry Westling
I do not believe that students should be given extra credit. To me extra credit is a fluff grade and I think that students need to see their real grade.
Travis,
I chose not to offer EC, based on many reasons that have to do with past bad experiences. Clear expectations, and the subsequent grades that are earned are more consistent with the real world. There is no EC in the work setting. But I do appreciate your point.
Barry Westling
I'm not huge on extra credit but I do believe that life happens and there are circumstances where this can be used to bolster a struggling student that is motivated but struggles with time management or suffers from outside influences. Being military, I understand that most of my students have day jobs that sometimes interfere with class work. First and foremost I realize that what I'm teaching is a secondary and volunteer environment.
Lawrence,
Many instructors and institutions would share the same sentiments. I believe our job should focus on student learning. The grading is simply a necessary component to the larger objective.
Barry Westling
I do not feel extra credit is needed in this course. The students are learning a skill for a career field, there will be no extra credit in the workplace.
For me, extra credit should be for students who need a little extra to get from an A to a B or B to a C. It shouldn't be to help them pass the course. I think it should also be given for students who want to study an area discussed or presented in class in more depth. This would give them an additional reward for their extra work.
Abdul,
I want to help students learn, using every method and technique I know of. Then I want to measure retention and degree of learning. For me, I don't allow EC at all.
Barry Westling
Extra credit shouldn't affect the grade of the student greatly. It should be used as a little boost, to increase their grade percentage just a bit.
Tara,
I would suggest you don't even adopt an extra credit policy. This practice can be viewed by stronger students (who don't need EC) as unfair. Also grading may be viewed as subjective. And points earned from EC often skew final grades. It's really a question of "measuring learning" vs "raising grades" (which may have little to do with learning). As educators, I think most would prefer to measure true learning.
Barry Westling
I have not given any extra credit thus far. I am not sure how this will work out with the types of students that I am dealing with. Any suggestions? Tara
Jacqueline,
If students learning can be assessed using a system such as you propose, that would be OK. Many teachers are leery of giving away large portions of grades that are unearned.
Barry Westling
Unfortunately where I work we are not allowed to give extra credit. but what I do believe in is that say you have 4 test and a student fails 1 on of the test I would like to give the option for them to throw away 1 test and do and average of 3 test for their grade. So really 1 test may be a practice test and the other 3 will count for their grade. Well if the student got all A's then great for them, but I think it helps student that may have struggled for whatever reason to get the grade they deserve
Melissa,
To be fair with students is to at least do all we can to assist in their learning, and then accurately reflect that learning in the gradebook.
Barry Westling
Melissa,
This kind of policy and practice seems fair and reasonable, and is not the awarding of unearned points kind of extra credit that many teachers have trouble with. Your example seems very plausible.
Barry Westling
I agree. It seems that this is a form of grade inflation. If we award EC, have we done our best to establish learning? Or, do we want the grades to look good when in reality they may not be.
