<p>I personally believe that Extra Credit should not be allowed as a way to boost your average. Your grades are a summation of your understanding of the material, and extra credit usually doesn't contribute to that. If you're a bad test-taker, or you can't handle the stress of class, then you need to figure something out. Extra credit shouldn't be part of that; it shouldn't be a safety net for students who aren't doing as well as they hoped.</p>
<p>We all have this idea that failing is "terrible" and will "ruin our futures." Honestly, it won't. What it will do is give you a realistic sense of your strengths and weaknesses, and your capacity. It will stop all of the crazy children from taking 322 AP courses per year because they won't have the safety net of "extra credit" and related things to boost their grade to an A they don't deserve.</p>
<p>All grades, in my opinion, should be based entirely on tests and homework, if the homework accurately represents material in the class. That is all. No busy-work, no extra credit, nothing else. This way, your grade accurately measures your capability.</p>
<p>I have tried to do this as much as possible: I've personally told all of my teachers NOT to give me extra points or a "boost" on any assignment. I don't want bonus points. If there are bonus questions, I answer them, and write "do not give extra points for this answer, regardless of it's correctness." I don't want the points; I want to succeed or fail on my ability only.</p>
<p>But enough about my strange practices. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>“This way, your grade accurately measures your capability.”</p>
<p>Or rather the current trends in grade inflation. The way many high schools grade is just as dishonest as adding extra credit. I’ve had teachers in honors classes literally read us the questions and tell us the answers for tests word-for-word the day before they were given.</p>
<p>I’m not a fan of homework, but I think at least some of the grade should be based on projects and outside-of-class work (i.e. papers, research projects like for AP Stats, etc). I don’t believe in bad test-takers, but I certainly do think some people perform better and demonstrate mastery better through other types of assignments, and this should be taken into account.</p>
<p>I think extra credit is fine if it is directly relevant to the class.
For my APUSH class, we are writing a 10 page paper on a period on time we’ve already covered in American history, and an additional report that we can present in class.
We are also reading a non-fiction historical novel on that time period and writing a book report on it that will be graded like an APUSH essay.
The extra credit is worth up to two test grades, which is about 5-7% of our semester grade.</p>
<p>I know the only extra credit my physics teacher has ever given was deriving a certain equation. That’s directly related to understanding the material. That’s okay.</p>
<p>@Philovitist: For my classes, hw isn’t graded or checked. It is done purely for personal benefit to ensure that one knows the material. It only provides a benefit on tests, so I don’t have a problem with it. Of course, if it was graded/checked, I would have a problem with it, and I’d post another rant against it.</p>
<p>@halyconheather: I honestly don’t know what you can do about grade inflation though. That is all on the teacher and the school, not on the student. I think as a student, it is our responsibility to work as much as we can to ensure our grade = our performance. That’s all. Grade inflation is out of our control.</p>
<p>@Propinquity: I did say most. Yours seems actually pertinent; idk why he wouldn’t just make that a normal assignment. Most of my teacher’s extra credit is “Do this contest for 10 pts on a test” or “Do this irrelevant assignment for a free 100” or something of that nature.</p>
<p>The only ec my honors world history teacher gives is like two questions on every test on something we never learned about and is just a minuscule detail in the text</p>
<p>You make no sense. In what way does homework show better mastery than extra credit? Extra credit often allows for more possible points on a test without penalizing students who don’t know the extra material - and that is often what it is, extra material. For some students that extra credit allows them not to get 110 points instead of 100, but 70 points instead of 60, because they have mastered that part of the material even though they haven’t quite mastered other parts. It is allowing all students the opportunity to do a little bit better.</p>
<p>Why exactly do you dislike extra credit? Do you not want to take “322 AP classes per year?” If so, then don’t! Do you understand that no AP class is going to cover everything that could possibly be on the AP test? Different classes cover different portions, and the exam is broadly written to cover all of them - and scaled so that those who understand enough parts will do well. Teachers who allow for extra credit are doing the same. What makes you think they are “giving” unearned A’s in their classes?</p>
<p>@CTScoutmom: I said in a reply that in my classes, hw isn’t checked or graded, it’s done purely for one’s own benefit. So in my situation, I’d say homework is for your own understanding, and makes 0 difference in my grade directly. </p>
<p>But the rest of your post is exactly why I disagree with extra credit: if a student hasn’t mastered the material, than he/she does not deserve the extra points. If they have learned 60% of the material, then they deserve a 60 (not how testing works, I know). Why should they get a 70? Why should all students be given a chance to “do a bit better?” They shouldn’t. Your grade should be based on you, and that is all there is to it. Why should people be allowed the opportunity to get a grade that was not based on their knowledge of the material?</p>
<p>And I haven’t taken 322 AP’s, actually. I’m only taking 5. And obviously I understand that “no class covers everything on the AP,” but that is not pertinent to this discussion at all. Actually, you “make no sense.” The AP is written to test ones understanding, and scaled based upon the performance of past students on parts. So yes, that point is correct. But that doesn’t change the fact that they got their grade based on what they knew. There is no extra credit involved on the AP; if you knew a certain amount of questions, then you get a certain grade, based upon whatever scaling system they choose to use. </p>
<p>And by unearned A’s, I meant that students should not have the ability to go from a B to an A or a D to a C through extra credit that doesn’t prove their knowledge of the material.</p>
<p>“I meant that students should not have the ability to go from a B to an A or a D to a C through extra credit that doesn’t prove their knowledge of the material.”</p>
<p>How does extra credit not prove knowledge, though? As long as it’s relevant I think it does.</p>
<p>I can agree with some of your logic, logic (aha), but I think extra credit is ok for some things. Say I had a test in…history. And normally I’d do well and everything, but it just wasn’t my day and I was having a bad day and everything and didn’t do well. Extra credit is a way to help my grade a little, even though I did know the material. Everyone has an off day every once in a while and deserves a few extra points.</p>
<p>@CE527M: If you had a bad day…that sucks lol. But you shouldn’t be given another shot. You failed, oh well. Put it together and try again next test. Extra credit shouldn’t be there for you as a safety net for a bad test.</p>
<p>@halcyonheather: In an idealized world, if the extra credit truly reflects your knowledge of the material, then the only students that will complete it are the ones that already know it and don’t need the points. </p>
<p>In reality, a group of students will go on the internet and google each answer, and circulate an answer sheet for the problems. There will be no learning, just a mockery of the class and the problems. That should not pass for points. That doesn’t accurately reflect anything other than students’ pettiness.</p>
<p>Also, a lot of people seem to expressing the same sentiment here, so I’ll say exactly what I mean. No one deserves extra points. No one deserves anything higher or lower than what they have gotten (provided they achieved it honestly). I don’t care, and no one should care, if you studied for 9 hours and got an 88 and some kid didn’t study and got a 95. No one should care if you can derive an obscure physics equation if you can’t produce results on an exam. That’s all that matters: results.</p>
<p>@logicx24 We’re just reviewing and acquiring new perspectives on knowledge we’ve already done multiple essays and tests on.
Plus, it’s quite a bit of work for a mandatory assignment on top of all the other things we already do in the class. Various essays and tests. Plus finals next week.</p>
<p>Extra credit is a nice way to motivate students to go beyond what they need to know to pass the class and learn something more of substance. It doesn’t have to be a substantial amount of extra points. But it can serve a purpose.</p>
<p>The majority of extra credit I am given is just a random extra question or two at the end of the test that is very much about what we are taking the test on, so…</p>
<p>If your whole argument is that your grade is based off what you have learned then what is the issue with extra credit? Extra credit is usually based off the material being taught. Extra credit gives the student extra work so they can familiarize themselves with the concepts and at the same time they get a few extra points that boosts their grade. It’s a win-win for the teacher and the student. There is no need to advocate against it.</p>
<p>People get a lot of beneficial things they don’t deserve. So?</p>
<p>Extra credit, most of the time, is not significant enough to change a letter grade. When we get it at my school, it’s usually two points out of a thousand. I suppose there are rare cases where someone has a 93.99999 (highest B in my school) and those points change that grade into an A instead of a B. But that’d be like winning the lottery - rare, and not really worth commenting on as some kind of problem in schools. </p>
<p>Extra credit, in my school at least, doesn’t make a difference either way. So I’m not for it or against it. </p>
<p>As far as individuals, and not a class, being granted extra credit specifically to bring up a letter grade, I’m against that. Or a teacher giving everyone extra credit so they don’t look bad, and the like.</p>