Have you ever gotten to the end of the quarter and realized you didn't have the grade you wanted so you did some extra credit work to get your grade up? Depending on who you are, that may have happened to you. But some teachers don't allow extra credit, they don't think we should be able to do work that gives us extra points. So, I asked some teachers what their thoughts on this topic were, here is what some of them said:
Mrs. Lewis is against traditional extra credit; she believes that extra credit is not a reflection of what your real grade should be. In her eyes "extra credit" would be re-doing an assignment to show you understand the topic. But you should never have above a %100.
Mrs. Noeth doesn’t give a lot of extra credit. Overall, she is for and against giving extra credit. In her opinion, she gives lots of in-class participation points. We do lots of work throughout the quarter to where we as students should have enough points.
Mr. Bruns used to be against it, he used to say, “Do it right the first time.” But, throughout his years of teaching, he learned that not everyone loves history. So that could affect their ability to learn, comprehend, and remember it. But if people are willing to do extra work, they will find success. So, his rule is if it relates to the topic we’re working on, then he sees no problem in giving extra credit for extra effort.
Mrs. Nelson believes that extra credit is a double-edged sword, in her opinion it is good for kids who take advantage of it. But normally the kids who need it don’t do it, and the kids who don’t need it just boost their grade from an A to a higher percentage A. Mrs. Nelson doesn’t like project-based extra credit, she likes partial extra credit opportunities where it shows extra effort on the part of the student.
Mrs. Noethe said, “I absolutely, 100% never give extra credit unless all of the regular credit has been attempted.” She thinks if you don’t give effort throughout the semester, quarter, or year. Whatever fiscal period you are looking at, if you don’t give a good effort, you shouldn’t be given the opportunity of extra credit. Her courses specifically have many opportunities not for extra credit but for revision and corrections. Showing that you now understand the topic to the point of getting full credit.
Mrs. Hamilton doesn’t believe in extra credit, she feels that the grade you have should reflect how well you understand the content you have been learning, quizzing, and testing over. In our talk, she referenced “Bloom's Taxonomy”, which is a tool that teachers use to see how much a student understands the topic we are being educated on. Looking at the highest level of” Bloom's Taxonomy” you would be creating, making connections, making arguments, and critiquing others based on the content. If you get %100 you are demonstrating, you know the content at those levels. She believes it is on the teachers to provide students opportunities to show that they know what we have been learning at those levels. Lastly, she talked about how if you don’t demonstrate that level of understanding you can retake quizzes and exams to get to that point that your grade would reflect how well you know the contents of your learning.
Throughout this whole interview process, I would say I learned a lot about what teachers think about extra credit. But also, what teachers believe about kids' efforts in school. One thing would be teachers believe that your grade should reflect how well you know the subjects you’re learning. Another is that it seems that kids that do the work to begin with, aren’t going to be the kids that need the extra credit. But they are going to be willing to do the extra credit.
Sources:
Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Noeth, Mr. Bruns, Mrs. Nelson, Mrs. Noethe, and Mrs. Hamilton. Thank you all for helping!!
What do you think about extra credit?
Are you for or against getting extra credit opportunities as a student?
Which teacher’s extra credit opportunities do you like the best?
Replies
Why don't you want grading to be able to go over 100%? Personally, I love it when my grade is over 100%, then if I get a bad grade on something. I can still be at 100% in that class. That makes me really glad I did the extra credit in the first place.
I like extra credit because it gives me more of a chance to pass the class. I am for getting extra credit opportunities as a student because it gives me reassurance on if I don't do my best on a test that I can still make up for it with the extra credit points. I like Mrs. Nelson's extra credit becaue on our quarter test if you do really good then those points go towards extra credit points.
I think extra credit can give kids lots of chances to pass the class, but the start with they should be trying. So if your grade is an F and you want to get it to a D but you haven't tried all semester I don't think you should be given the opportunity for extra credit.
I think extra crdit should be aloned in school for the kids that need it to help there grades out. I have nevered had extra crdit but I can see it helping other people with there grades if they need it,.
I agree it should be allowed in school for kids who need it and also for kids who don't need it as much. I think that it could help other people's grades be raised if you are having a hard time getting your grade up. Even if you just need the grade to go up 1%.
I agree, I think extra credit shouldn't just be given to the kids who are about to be failing. Like you said that is just rewarding kids who have gotten bad grades. And this also makes the kids who are trying hard, not want to try as much.
I think extra credit is a good way for kids who may be struggling to get their grades up. I am for extra credit opportunities and think that all teachers should offer some form of extra credit. I like Mr. Bruns the best because that is the only extra credit I know of.
I think that all teachers giving extra credit would be great for us as students. But that is not really up to us, it is what the teachers are willing to do to help us as students. Some teachers I think want to help us with extra credit but don't know how to.
In my opinion, teachers should definitely allow for extra credit assignments. I understand that it also makes the teacher have extra things to grade, and they may not want that on top of other assignments as well. However, it is very beneficial for students who want to boost their grades and are willing to put in the time. If a student is willing to put in the time, then they should be able to change their grade for the better. I like that Mr. Bruns gives a variety of options for extra credit, and I like how Mrs. Noeth gives a point or two of extra credit on tests, which add up over time.
I haven't thought about the extra work that it would cause the teacher. They would have to grade extra assignments and points. But like you said that would be very beneficial for students who want to boost their grade but are also willing to put the time and energy into it.
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