Extra Credit should be awarded only to bring up a test or class score from a minus to a level grade, or a level grade to a plus.
Students need to learn about responsibility and consequances of their actions. If you inflate the final grade by giving extra credit you will have the reputation of being an "easy grader" and students will likely put forth less effort to learn in your class.
If it is known from the beginning of the class that no extra credit is given, the students will try harder to earn their grade.
Formative assessment and comnuicating with students through out the term will stimulate greater student effort and prevent surprises about the final grade.
Hi Billy,
This is your call and (hopefully) consistent with institutional policy. I've had students claim I was being unfair, giving some students EC while none for others. It's a very subjective situation. I just prefer to stay from uneeded accusations and grief brought on by myself. So I make it clear at the beginning of the course and then I stick to my policy.
Barry Westling
Hi Thomas,
The question I've asked myself is "why?". Where is the learning, and what is the objective to awarding EC? To raise a grade does nothing specific about learning. I understand it can make lesser performance look better, but again, I have to say, what about learning? For me, I just don't go there - my personal bias.
Barry Westling
I watched a video online called "Extra Credit: An undeserved gift or a second chance to learn," and one point struck me hard. Extra credit reinforces students’ beliefs that they don’t have to work hard because whatever they miss they can make up with extra credit. I find this true in my classroom. Students always feel they can skip an assignment or a test and make it up in extra credit. I used to give extra credit in the classroom but after watching this, I realize these are adults, and it isn't fair to other students who worked hard to get it right the first time. In real life jobs, there is no extra credit!
Barry,
I believe it should be given when students have done things in class that were beyond course requirements. I don't believe it should be substituted for assigned but submitted papers. Often, when I know a student is just on the edge of a higher grade and that that student has done extra work, I will award the student the higher grade.
I rarely give extracredit on some work they offer to do for I I think it will it interfear with the actual testing process
Hi Timothy,
I think academic courses are different from career courses. The main difference is skills, tasks, and applications related to a certain profession have to be demonstrated satisfactorily for the student to pass. EC really has no place in these settings. You've referenced nursing a few times. Of course there are academic and theory courses that occur in these programs. But there are also the skills portions. In some programs, that represents the bulk of whole program. Altering a grade to compensate for missed questions, incorrect understanding, or below par performance shouldn't be an acceptable practice. artificially raising a grade in health or medical courses can lead to poorer worker performance as graduates, and compromising others health is obviously not a good thing. In my courses, I have just maintained no EC. Thats my bias and opinion, and I appreciate that others may differ.
Barry Westling
Hi Ty,
I agree, as would many institutions and teachers. These days, career schools in particular are under greater scrutiney to provide objective everything, including content and evaluation measures. The potential threat of loosing access to financial aid is a strong motivator for schools to to say "no way - stick to the syllabus and course objectives!".
Barry Westling
I believe that the role of extra credit on final grades should be given if an individual would like to improve their grade to a higher grade or to a passing grade. However, an individual who is using the extra credit as a means to improve from a failing grade to a passing grade would have to prove they know and understand the course material at the end. I believe in giving a person the benifit of doubt and that things happen that may interrupt their learning process, but that only goes so far. For an individual in this situation, I would take into account the whole course, their attitude, grades and any extenuating circomstances. It would be an exception to the rule, not the rule. I am a product of that exception. When I was in College working on a BA in Government, I had a professor who could be compared to Professor Kingsfield in the Paper Chase. And I had this same professor before and he failed me. This was a core class and when it came to the final I was totally prepared. The final was worth 50% of your grade. That morning when I sat down to take his final I went blank. Out of the five essay questions I answered one and that was a question I did not study for. After class and some encouragement from my RA I went to see my Professor and talked with him, pleading my case. After talking to him he took out his grade book, did a quick tabulation of all of my grades and told me that he would give me a B- for a Final grade. He then looked at me and said that he needed to keep his reputation as a hard professor so don't tell anyone. I have never forgotten that and is why I give the benifit of doubt.
I agree as well at our school the electronic gradebook really doesn't have room for E.C. anyway so I just don't offer it.I am clear at the begining of a new class, not only that but not doing E.C. also makes it easy not getting into fairness issues.
Hi Victoria,
My background is medical, and in most procedural activities, there is no room for EC. You either got it down or you don't. This is my bias and opinion - each has to determine what works for them in their specific environment.
Barry Westling
Hi Sherry,
Right. It is just numbers. I would just ask, "where is the learning amid all the number shuffling?"
Barry Westling
Hi Larry,
I like the use of bonus incentives, because as you say, they're different from EC.
Barry Westling
I am cautious about extra credit, if and when I use it I make sure it is minimal and doesn't allow room to fail/ignore other course requirements. It shouldn't be able to make or break a student but rather only serve to push them over a very small edge between grades.
I think that awarding extra credit just turns out to be a "numbers game". It just seems to me you end up adding and subtracting points to end up as a final grade. It does not seem fair to a student that has done all the work in the course for another to earn extra points for the "wiggle room" when they don't do so well on the test.
Extra credit should be given as a bonus or reward for good performance, not make up for poor grades. I generally use it to motivate students who are trying make up for skill deficiencies and not for those students who don’t complete assignments or study for their exams. For example, when there’s a research paper or special project due on the last day of class, I sometimes offer extra credit starting the week before. I think this encourages the student to finish their work and affords me the opportunity to grade their work early, not the day before final grades are due.
When offering extra credit, my experience has been that it has to have valence to the student. If it does not, it becomes a wasted effort. I offered five (5) extra points for an assignment once, my students laughed.
Hi James,
There are ways to give bonus points, drop the lowest quiz score, etc. These are not extra credit, as it pertains exactly to the course material. For EC is giving additional points to help inflate a lower grade, usually the result of poor performance or missing/late/incomplete assignments. Long ago, I chose to just not give it. Now, I see many teachers and institutions have adopted policies that do not EC.
Barry Westling
During my first attempt at teaching, I did award extra credit, but thought some abused the opportunity. I now no longer offer extra credit and adjust Exams based on the associated quizzes that feed into it.
Hi Glenn,
I agree a student should not fail a class when they're normally completing assignments on time, and doing well in class when a legitimate reason for an absence occurs. I would still hold to no EC, but I might allow waiving of policy of accepting assignments after the due date with a downgrade (as long as it would cause a failure. The student might have to accept a minimal pass, but I believe keeping school policies similar to work policies are a good training. Sometimes at work, performance leads to minimal merit raises. That's just how it goes sometimes.
Barry Westling
