<p>As a teacher I give extra credit for one project, a complete set of class notes at the end of the year. I have found that coaching students through the note taking process results in them actually learning more about the subject, so I justify a bump in grades. I am concerned however about some of the extra credit projects I have heard about in the faculty lounge and from my kids. These include, extra credit for helping to clean up the room or put away books.</p>
<p>The most recent extra credit assignment that has caused me to steam regards a teacher who was/is willing to trade a reem of paper for 10 extra credit points. $20 worth of paper would bring a B+ up to an A. I think this is illegal, immoral and plan to call the school in the am. My daughter wants me to keep quiet and let her graduate next week without this becoming a problem. </p>
<p>How do you feel about extra credit? I want credit to relate to class work and the curricullum, not for items of trade or janitorial services.</p>
<p>I agree with your stance. Call the school. </p>
<p>D had an AP USHistory teacher who was a WW II airplane nut. He gave credit over Winter Break to students who brought in an assembled, painted model of a WW II aircraft. (D did a SBD Dauntless divebomber, Marine color scheme, from a squadron in support at Guadalcanal.) It was a stupid project and not worth “extra credit” though at least the teacher recognized some models as having taken more effort than other and giving credit accordingly.</p>
<p>In the It’s A Weird World department, D is involved in constructing models for her computational geometry research project, using tools in the machine shop…I think the stereotypical “boy” activity might have been just slightly helpful. But it’s still a DUMB extra credit project.</p>
<p>I had a somewhat similar situation in sophomore year when my English teacher offered an exorbitant amount of extra credit for every donation made to the clothing drive. While I admire the aim – the donation drive often sees very little participation – there were many kids that essentially bought their grades and didn’t do any work in the class for the rest of the year, yet still received A’s.</p>
<p>Janitorial-related extra-credit was a thing from 6th-grade at the latest for me, and trading for a grade is just plain wrong. Extra credit <em>should</em> be an item related to the class material – extra credit, not credit for something else.</p>
<p>I always value your advice, and can appreciate your position as an educator. While your point is TOTALLY valid, particularly since it impacts a grade so much…but, I still agree with your D. Alternatively, instead of calling the school, raise the issue directly with the teacher. (At our school, they want everything to go thru the classroom first.) Or better yet, the counselor. Perhaps the GC could raise the issue about grade equity at a leadership/management meeting…that way no one is offended. </p>
<p>Unfortunatley, the simple fact is that certain things ain’t gonna change – such as service points for bringing in cans of food – clearly a worthy cause, but it is parental money and parental time that buys the food. Or, extra credit for marine bio or AP Enviro for a beach clean-up. Again, a worthy cause, but an easy 10 points.</p>
<p>Usually, teachers only offer these “stupid extra credits” when they feel that the class’s grades as a whole are lower than expected, and that it might be due to too much difficulty on their part. Or, in the case of offering such extra credits to the individual student, most teachers would do that only if they feel that the student deserves a grade increase otherwise, and consequently they would want a basis to grant that increase.
And besides, such extra credit projects are never something that cannot be achieved (i.e. $150 of paper), and are allways welcomed from students. So there really wouldn’t be any room for your complaint.</p>
<p>Our district has a rule that no academic grades can be given for conduct. Nor can poor conduct lower academic grades. Therefore, points for paper, etc., are considered inappropriate in our district. One teacher, who as sponsor of a club, gave extra credit points for bringing in a donation of a toy for a poor child at Christmas was told she couldn’t do that, when I mentioned it to the dept. chair. She was lucky she didn’t have any non-Christian students that year. This also causes problems for the other teachers who don’t do this, because the parents then shop for teachers in order to get Johnny the easier grade.</p>
<p>My daughter has a teacher junior and senior year who told his classes that he did not give extra credit and this was his reason:</p>
<p>* I do not give extra credit because it sends a message that you are being rewarded for not doing what you should be doing. If you come to class take good notes, do your homework, and other assignments study for tests, your grades will reflect that and you won’t need the extra credit*</p>
<p>He gave out a syllabus on the first day of class an a rubric of how you were to be graded and what the grade would be based on. He said he would exams were straight forward from the lessons and homework and did just that. He gave a percentage for class participation based on meaningful contribution to the discussion and being able to back up your statements not simply raising your hand and talking just to talk. That worked for me.</p>
<p>How many of you out there have students who made moles for extra credit in chemistry? Frankly I was appalled when D did it in public school - moles had to be cute and named. D did Oscar the Mole, with him peeking out of a trash can, holding a sign that said Go Away! Worth 10 points - as much as a quiz. Teacher used them to decorate the room. Younger S went to prep school - and to my astonishment, he got the same assignment 6 years later! </p>
<p>I don’t mind extra credit if the assignment involves learning (and I don’t mean how to sew and stuff a felt mole named Oscar unless it is a sewing class). But decorations for the chemistry room? No. So when my kids got assignments like that, I felt just fine about offering lots of help. And I had no problem suggesting that S recreate Oscar rather than trying to come up with another cutsey idea.</p>
<p>D’s French teacher gives 3 extra point for bringing a box of tissue, how ridiculous is that? I rather they come out up front and ask us outright on the back to school night but this type of extra credit is cheap.
Well enough ranting and raving from me!</p>
<p>I have witnessed the extremes, and some really good learning projects in between. At one end of the spectrum, my son’s biology teacher awarded extra credit for bringing in a box of exam gloves for dissection (as science materials didn’t seem to be as high on the budgetary scale as new athletic amenities). At the other end of the spectrum was a teacher who announced at the beginning of the year that he would give no extra credit projects because “if you want to learn the math, you have to do the math”. While I love extension learning experiences, I sort of had to respect that math teacher.</p>
<p>I whole heartedly agree! AP English III (lang and comp) classes at my school are notorious for being very difficult (about 1-3 A’s) per class of ~30, so teachers will let you bring in, say, notecards for a bump in ppoints. This allows the teacher to grade hard and not kill in the type A students in the process. If so few kids get A’s even with “stupid extra credit” that must tell you something about the class!</p>
<p>Similary, my 10th grade AP World History teacher would give us grades for completing our notebooks, participating in Monk day or WWII day (little excursions into interactive academics) or through our notorious Starbucks study sessions for our finals (in which he would bring the test, read the questions, and students would franatically through out answers). Why did he do this? Only one student ever passed his first test, and that was with a 70. Quizzes were extremely nitpicky (“Agricultural Revolution” could not be used in place of “Agricultural Revolutions”) and was entirely possible to read the chapter, take notes, and get a 2 out of 12 0r even a 0! But his class allowed us to learn, anfd it provideded to us (the best and the brightest in the school) that we couldn’t always come out on top.</p>