An alternative to extra credit...
School policy currently prohibits extra credit. Whereas in the past I used a few extra credit questions to balance against potentially difficult questions or perhaps questionable questions within an exam. There are a few occasions where I might be testing difficult subject matter. I will create a 20 point quiz. Each question is worth 2 points, but there are fifteen questions on the quiz. No student can score higher than 20 points for the quiz. The extra questions provide an opportunity for students to make up for poor answers elsewhere within the quiz. In addition, students strive to answer all the questions.
Hi Patrick:
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
This certainly gives the students an opportunity to earn a good score. BUT, it tell a student that they are 100% proficient when in fact they are much lower.
Now, depending on what career they are in college for, would you like a phlebotamist who really only knew 80% of his material do work on you?
It is important for a student to feel successful, I agree, but sometimes there is a minimum of material that must be mastered, truly mastered, not just averaged.
This is a great idea. I may implement this into my next semester and see how it goes.
That really helps them to feel like every question is important too
