Another member of the list, whose name escapes me, had a creative approach
to the question of extra credit and grades. It¹s an approach I haven¹t
tried, but expect to for my high school physics classes. The following is
not exactly what he uses, but perhaps close enough to give the idea. Grades
are assigned entirely on quizzes, tests and lab reports. There are, however,
four different grading scales, varying by the amount of homework and extra
credit a student does.
For scale 1, students who do little or no homework, the grade cutoffs are
(A, 92; B, 84; C, 70; D, 65). Scale 2 students do most assigned homework on
time; grade cutoffs are (A, 91; B, 82; C, 65; D, 60). Scale 3 students
complete ALL assigned homework on time (A, 90; B, 80; C, 60; D, 50). Scale 4
students complete all assigned homework on time and submit additional
problems, labs, reports (A, 90; B, 80; C, 60; D, 30).
This approach, though somewhat complex, preserves the integrity of the A and
B grades while giving the student who struggles but works hard a reasonable
chance to pass the class. Students who consider homework unneccesary need
not do it, but will probably find that an unwise course of action. That,
too, would be a learning experience.