Melissa smith-chapman CHEP

I do not offer Extra Credit anymore. I found that when I did offer Extra Credit it, the students that did it where my A students and not the ones that really needed it.

Barry Westling

Hi Cambria:
If your school allows EC, that's great. Problems can occur when there are not clear guidelines and teachers get blamed for showing favoritisism. Also, good students who do all of their work (don't need EC) can be offended by classmates they see getting grades for less effort than they had to put in.

Nothing wrong with extra work, as long as it is clear at the beginning of a course, and all students have the same opportunity. What's most important is student learning

Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Hi Van:

Some institutions have moved away from allowing the use of extra-credit due to some issues that arise.

If a student can pass a course without demonstrating an understanding of the primary concepts, that may end up resulting in angry feelings from other students who have worked hard to earn a solid grade.

Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Hi Adarian:
A lot of institutions are moving away from the use of extra credit due to the fact that a student might be able to pass a course without demonstrating an understanding of the main ideas.

Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Hi Albert:
And, some institutions are going towards a "no extra credit"...period approach. This is due to the possibility of allowing a student to pass the course via the extra credit when they can not demonstrate an understanding of the main ideas.

Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Hi Amy:
A lot of institutions have a similar attitude due to the fact that extra credit might allow a student to pass a course when they can not demonstrate an understanding of the main ideas in the class.

Regards, Barry

Cambria Cappos

The extra credit I give is for more in-depth analysis and work regarding the course content or subjects which we touched on but could not, due to time or interest, get into at a depth which the students may have wanted. I make extra credit work worth half of a regular assignment and only available enough that it would move a grade only slightly (like between a high B and an A). I do, however, give a full assignments extra credit value for a cheating and plagiarism essay and definition because I think it is an area that can go overlooked. My students who are astute enough to take advantage of the extra credit opportunities aren't always the students who can best benefit from the extra points. I have found that my best students are the ones with the highest extra credit tally at the end of the term regardless.

Van Reese

I have had students ask for extra credit, but I am very leery of allowing it. Most of those asking are the ones who just want an easy boost. I do give a small amount on tests, but it is usually a challenging question, and is only enough to change their grade by a few percentage points.

Albert Magdaleno

I agree extra credit should not be a freebie. Extra credit should be given to a student who has turned in EXTRA work, of work that is supposed to be turned in. In other words, the material being covered, should also be covered with the extra credit work.

adarian barr

Extra credit can work two ways; one is for those that want to gain a little more knowledge, great motivation and second for those that just need a little extra help due to circumstances beyond the student control.

But extra credit shouldn't be a freebie.