How Do You Handle Extra Credit?
I’ll be honest. I don’t handle extra credit well. In fact, I’m so lousy at it, I offered just two projects each year. If you’ve ever tried offering extra credit, you know the problems it can cause:
- Students might focus all their energy on the extra credit project and neglect their everyday work.
- Students will ask for extra credit projects the night before grades are due.
- Too much extra credit can skew a student’s grade to the point where you’re not sure if she mastered the material or just knew how to play the game.
- You get slammed with extra credit projects in addition to your end-of-quarter grading and have no time to sleep.
Since I taught high school English, my two extra credit projects had an English theme. I announced the projects at the beginning of the semester and explained to students that they would have either the week of Thanksgiving break or Spring break to complete the projects. Neither project interfered with class time and both were due the day students returned from break. Of course, some students worked on the projects before the break, but the idea was that it wouldn’t add to their nightly workload.
My projects were dioramas of famous literary works. The student had to choose a famous literary work (no film adaptations), identify the scene on a plot diagram, identify the main characters, summarize the action, and explain why the scene was important to the story. The diorama was made with Halloween candy (fall semester) or Easter candy (spring semester) – a Peanut Gallery for the fall (circus peanuts were the main players) or a Peep Show for the spring (marshmallow peeps as the main players).
The project was fun, a good use of excess candy, and done completely outside of class. I had a rubric and celebrity judges (principal, coaches) to award prizes for the top three entries. It was a popular activity among students and I promoted it to their parents at open house and parent-teacher conferences.
The problem? How much weight to give the extra credit assignment? I gave away fabulous prizes (cheap plastic trophies from the local party shop) and some of the dioramas were elaborate. I could tell that many hours went into gluing jelly beans and Pez to a shoe box for the honor of a plastic trophy, some points, and a place atop my bookshelf – the Diorama Hall of Fame.
My point-giving scheme was that any A-level project could move a test or quiz grade up three increments. So, a student could move a C- test up to a B-. A B-level project could move up two increments, so a C- to a C+. A C-level could move up one increment, from a C- to a C.
It wasn’t a bad scheme, but it took a ton of time to record the scores and give credit. I wrote a note in the grade book alongside that test or quiz, too. I tried to drop the project one year, but kids protested.
So, readers, I’m looking for ideas from you. How do you handle extra credit? Do you limit your offerings to one or two that you plan in advance or do you give many extra credit opportunities? How do you cope with the extra points and extra work load? Have you ever offered extra credit if a student attends an event like a school play or concert? Let’s start a great discussion in the comments. I can’t wait to learn from you.
Do you have a question that you’d like to see answered here on Inside the School? Do you have an idea for a post that you’d like to see? Are you interested in writing a guest post? Terrific! E-mail editor Diane Trim at diane.trim@magnapubs.com
Photo credits:
The happiest little circus peanut: KateMonkey on Flickr.com Creative Commons
Stoic Peeps: tboard
11 comments ↓
Diane
07.19.10 at 4:05 am
Hi, Guest.
This seems like a really great way to handle extra credit. I'm sure entering the quizzes initially is a lot of work, but once the quizzes are online, it's just a question of maintaining the system.
Thanks for the great idea!
Diane
Amanda
07.19.10 at 4:12 am
I have one ongoing extra credit opportunity with a sprinkling of extra credit opportunities over the course of the school ear. The ongoing extra credit opportunity is a ten point extra credit star for anyone who makes a 90 or above on a test. That student gets a 10 point extra credit star that they can use only on other tests.
Other extra credit opportunities pop up, but I don't have them scheduled. Ideas just hit me, and I run with them. Sometimes I throw in a surprise because the focus should be on doing what we are supposed to be doing and not focus on the extra credit. Other than the extra credit for an A on a test, students have other opportunities, but they don't know when they or nor can they rely on them. They can rely on a 10 point extra start for a 90 or above on a test.
Extra credit opportunities are added bonuses–not what I need to have to pass the class. Students should be doing the required work. Extra credit is not a requirement–just a momentary lapse of kindness on behalf of the teacher to help many students who may not take a test well or have learning disabilities or weaknesses in certain areas.
Here are some of the extra credit opportunities that "pop up" through out the school year, but there is no system for keeping track of them.
1. For the scientific method, I occasionally throw in a Mythbusters episode and corresponding worksheet. My boys gave me this idea. The worksheet is hard too.
2. Following directions. Kids forget to read the directions all the time. Every now and again, I add an extra direction and see who follows through and have offered a few extra points for those students that did. I tell them at the beginning of the year that I am known for doing this.
3. Research: A few extra articles may help you out.
4. Gizmos or online quizzes with results emailed to the teacher pops up every now and again depending up what we are learning. Many of the test questions come from these quizzes, gives the kids the practice, and they can get a few extra credit points. This is used sparingly. Same thing goes along with textbook resources.
5. Turning in a project early. I never tell the students that option, but every now and again, I still give a few extra credit points for doing so.
Those are just some of the things I do, but the kids can't rely on extra credit in my class. Extra credit really is an added bonus with opportunities that pop up over the course of the school year.
The key is to do the work the first time, and be thankful a teacher may throw in some extra credit because we all have those days or difficulty with some concepts or (insert your own here)
Diane
07.19.10 at 7:51 am
I love the amount of thought and fun you put into your extra credit, Guest!
How do you keep extra credit from overwhelming your life, though?
Greg
07.19.10 at 9:18 am
I keep it simple. I use a site called “MyGradeBook.com” (formerly QuizLab.com) for online extra credit. I post a 10-question quiz over the material we have recently covered. Students must score a 70% (7 out of 10) to get the extra credit point – one point per quiz. No quiz can be taken more than once. I control the number of quizzes per six weeks – generally around 15-20 different quizzes. Each one has a limited time available (5-7 days) then they are gone for the year.
Currently I have a online folder of 260 quizzes which I use each year. Students “can cheat” but each time a quiz is taken by a student the order has changed so watching someone take the quiz won’t help much.
These quizzes can be taken at any computer – school or home or friend’s house or library. Students seem to love the fact that they control how much E/C they can earn but they never realize that I’m happy because they are relooking at the material and the points they could earn never counts to more than a letter grade at best.
At the end of the six weeks I print out a list of how each class did and highlight the number of E/C each student earned then add it to their six weeks grade.
They know that this IS THE ONLY E/C I give and it is up to them to remember to go take them while they are online.
Every year it takes about an hour to type in all students names, ID numbers, classwords, etc but the list is good all year.
Amanda
07.19.10 at 9:34 am
It doesn't overwhelm my life. Ideas hit me, I run with them, and that is the end of that. Students either do what they are supposed to be doing and get it or students either take advantage or not. Extra credit is something "Extra" it is not mandatory. There are lots of opportunities, but not as many people taking advantage of them. When extra credit becomes something that creates too much extra work for me, then extra credit goes away. That hasn't happened yet. My students know from the beginning of the year that extra credit is not mandatory, but a pleasant option at the discretion of the teacher.
Think
07.19.10 at 4:54 pm
I don’t give extra credit for academic related work because they will spend more time on the project than their regular work. (I let kids retake one poor test or quiz each quarter – if they want better grades they can learn the material.) I will, however, give 10 bonus points on a test for kids who participate in (not attend) events such as our annual Lip Sync or Talent Show. This may seem strange, but I think kid work harder in school if they like school. Usually the kids want to do an act together as a class so they get together and come up with something to do as a class. This develops a “team spirit.” Kids usually tell me they would never do such a thing if it wasn’t for the bonus points but that they ended up having a blast. They never realize that those bonus points might make a difference of half a point in their quarter grade, if that, but it’s a memory they will have forever and hopefully have a better attitude toward my class.
Diane
07.20.10 at 9:20 am
Hi, Guest.
I hadn’t really thought of giving points for non-academic work. I like the idea of kids being more involved in school, though.
Diane
Linda
07.27.10 at 5:49 am
I give my high school students two hall passes a month. If they do not use them they receive one extra credit point for every pass they have left at the end of the month. It works like a charm to keep them in class and out of the hallways.
Diane
07.27.10 at 12:36 pm
Hi, Guest.
That seems like a clever scheme: keep kids in class (unless they really need out), give them some control, and reward them for staying in class.
You could even say that it’s tied to objectives: students learn more in class than in the halls.
V. smart!
Luz
11.17.10 at 12:29 pm
I only give extra credits for a well done work in class. It can be group work or individual work in class. Pop questions in the middle of the class or a hard question to be answered. I teach Spanish in middle school and high school. I also give an assignment pass at the beginning of the semester. This pass can be used any time. It is only one pass in the semester. If they don't use it, they also get extra credit for.
This extra credits really help those students that struggle a little in their test. Not everybody has the same outcome in a test. Some of the students freeze when they hear "test". They never know when I'm going to give them extra points.
Diane
12.01.10 at 10:39 am
I think that those bonus points for in class participation are a useful tool to encourage kids to speak in the second language. Very smart.
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