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The issue that I have with extra credit, being a math person, is that it is some positive numerator over a denominator of zero. In other words, extra credit can never hurt your final score, even if you do a terrible job on the assignment, but can only hurt your score.
For example, let's say you ask for an extra credit assignment and it's worth up to 10 points. You do a half-(rear end) job of it and it would only receive a score of 10% if it was a regular assignment. (Yup, you really bombed the extra credit assignment.) You still get 1 point added to the topline of your grade and 0 points added to the bottom line, so even though you bombed the assignment and your shoddy work would have pulled your final grade down if there was a value in the denominator, because of the nuance of extra credit, it improves your grade.
In real life, you never get an assignment that can only help your overall performance even if you do shoddy work. In real life, if you take on extra assignments and do shoddy work, it would have been better if you had not taken on extra assignments in the first place.
My example above is extreme, and probably a teacher would not likely accept the example assignment as extra credit. But the point that I'm making is that less than A extra credit work can pull a B+ into an A because of how the score is figured into the final grade.
I had a student miss a test in February because she was sick. Administration allows (and our department) two weeks upon the student's return to school to make up any missing work. I reminded the student every class, and we eventually agreed on a time for her to come in after school to make it up. She never showed up. I put a zero in for the test.
She comes in this morning and says that the test is causing her to have a D and wanted to know if she could make it up (even with a B on the test, she'd still be at a low C). I said no and reminded her that we had agreed on a time back in February for her to make it up. She chose not to show up. I was more than generous by allowing her two weeks.
I'm sorry, I don't think that what you wrote matches what you intended?
You said that Administration required two weeks to make up missing work, but then you said you were generous by allowing her two weeks. You aren't being generous by doing what Administration dictates!
Exactly. It's like trying to buy car insurance after you've already gotten in a wreck and driven illegally for months.
I tell my students from day one that I will not even discuss "raising" grades during the last week of school. We do grade checks every other week in class, so grades should be no surprise.
I offer extra credit through French and German club. Interestingly enough, those students never show up to events.
This week is almost here/already here for most of us. For those unaware, many teachers/instructors get this question on the last week of school from students.
How do you respond to this question?
Depending on the student, I have a different response. If the student was a pain in my ace, I usually come up with some smart response like "find a time machine" or "sorry, that bus left the station weeks ago".
If the student tried really hard and is only a point or two away from the next grade up, I will usually give it to him/her.
Our school has very carefully developed a culture where this is so passe that in 15 years I have never been asked this even one time. Plus, our BOE has carefully written grading policies so latework is only accepted for a very specific window of time and extracredit has to be worth no more than 1% of the grade. It can be a nonissue if it really bothers you.
A written deadline given at the beginning of the session is a great way to set expectations and fend off workarounds.
If a student came up to me and asked, I always gave them SOMETHING to do, with the expectation (and hope) that the next time they panic (because they will) they would not procrastinate AS long.
I also stated clearly that the assignment given would not necessarily change their grade substantially, but my goal was to have them connect effort with results, even if the effort was made late.
If I were doing it today, I would probably stand firmer on the deadline, but I would never use sarcasm when dealing with a "business" issue like this with a student. I would just remind them of the deadline and move on.
I think this is a laudable goal for elementary and even lower middle school students but if this was done for high school students it would actually be doing them a disservice.
I always noticed in high school that the students with poor grades got more opportunities to better their grades than the students with good grades.
As a good student, I was never given opportunities to make up homework, redo tests, or do extra credit to bring a B+ up to an A-. But I know a lot of students who had Fs and were allowed do all sorts of things to pull their F up to a C-.
...That might be because teachers feel bad when a student doesn't graduate high school and can't get a job but aren't willing to take on extra work of coming up with something then grading it so that students who are likely to get an A by the end anyway can further feed their unhealthy perfectionism.
Of course there is the equivalent of extra credit in real life. Not in every circumstance but it exists. It's taking on an extra project in order to boost your knowlege/workload /visibility to boost performance evaluation or promotion eligibility.
I see nothing wrong with having a policy (one way or the other) in writing which a student asking can be referred to. I think being rude or anything smart-ass isn't professional. And yes, before anyone says it,I understand students can be rude to you. You are the adult and teacher, be better.
Rude? No. Smart ass or sarcastic? Giving that look that says "are you serious"? Absolutely warranted in some circumstances. Sometimes high school students (and really only them) need to learn NOT to ask for special treatment. Learning the appropriate time to ask and not ask for that sort of thing is as much a skill used in college and beyond as the actual school work itself.
Umm actually yes there is such thing as extra credit in real life. In fact there is no such thing as grades in real life. If you complete a project for your company they don't say "Lets see you get a B-.." Its either pass or fail. The extra credit is networking, ass kissing, favoritism etc. You teachers love to spout things about the real life but most of you havent worked a day in the real world.
Yes, no teachers have ever worked anywhere but in teaching.... and they are gods in their classroom and don't have bosses to answer to.
If kids want to network or kiss ass for favoritism that's fine. I'll give them the exact same reward they will get in the real world... There is no reason why I should have to invent something for them to do and then go grade it later, I'm too busy networking and kissing my principal's ass.
Of course there is the equivalent of extra credit in real life. Not in every circumstance but it exists. It's taking on an extra project in order to boost your knowlege/workload /visibility to boost performance evaluation or promotion eligibility.
I see nothing wrong with having a policy (one way or the other) in writing which a student asking can be referred to. I think being rude or anything smart-ass isn't professional. And yes, before anyone says it,I understand students can be rude to you. You are the adult and teacher, be better.
Sometimes I might assign an extra project, in the same way your boss might give you additional opportunities or how I might be given the opportunity to do extra work for a financial award... This is about students asking for special favors because they know they have screwed up. Your boss isn't going to invent a new higher paying job for you if you aren't even showing up to the one you have.
Rude? No. Smart ass or sarcastic? Giving that look that says "are you serious"? Absolutely warranted in some circumstances. Sometimes high school students (and really only them) need to learn NOT to ask for special treatment. Learning the appropriate time to ask and not ask for that sort of thing is as much a skill used in college and beyond as the actual school work itself.
And teaching them that doesn't have to involve unprofessional sarcastic comments.
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