Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: Extra credit (was "greading schemes")

James Mackey and Rick Tarara wrote:

Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2001 14:29:35 -0600
From: James Mackey <jmackey@HARDING.EDU>
Subject: Re: grading schemes

The course in which I have incorporated substantial extra credit is a general
education introductory astronomy class. My gen. ed. classes are more
demanding
than most taught here. I have many students, who are good students, but are
deficient im math background, or who have had miserable experiences with
science
courses in high school. The extra credit that I allow is as follows:
1. readings in astronomu from magazines, newspapers, TV programs, videos,
anything that impinges on astronomy and is "hopefully" intersting to the
student
since they are taking a class in astronomy (3 articles per week ~ 30 points)
2. extra credit activities and projects (3 of which are required to
pass the
course), such as plotting the sun's daily path, constructing a scale solar
system on campus/in a hall, any of the CLEA labs, constructing a simple
telescope, observing spectra examples, etc.
3. several activities, some done in class, some out of class, based on the
Starry Night planetarium program, and other sources.
Class requirements (exams, etc.) total ~1300 points, while the typical student
has a point count of 900 - 1800 points. Extra credit material adds top AND
bottom to their points and their maximum possible points. Typically the
lowest
student benefit the most (and of course are the ones who don't do much extra
credit). It is possible to raise one's grade about 1 letter (2 in a very rare
situation). Better student benefit only if they are within 1 or 2 % of a
higher
grade.
My grade breakdown this semester was 3 A, 8 B, 18 C, 7 D, and 8 F
James Mackey

Rick Tarara wrote:

(I don't know what level James is teaching at, or exactly how he uses extra
credit, so the following is not focused at him.)

We've discussed the 'extra credit' problem before, but to summarize the
concern many of us have:

1) Students are coming out of High School with straight As who are really B
and even C students. They have supplemented their 'less than perfect' grasp
of the material and half-formed skills with EXTRA CREDIT.
2) In most college classes, these students now perform at their 'root'
level, B or C. While they beg for 'extra credit', such is not built into
most of our syllabi (nor should it be).
3) The students are often frustrated and discouraged--"I've always been an
A student" they argue, and of course the reason they are now getting the B
or C is OUR FAULT!

IMO, while extra credit is not a bad thing in itself, it should not be used
to allow students to raise their grades to the A level when their
demonstrated knowledge/skill is below that level. It does both the student
and their future instructors a disservice. Grades, to be useful, need to
reflect more than a 'work-ethic'.

Rick

**********************************************
Richard W. Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
rtarara@saintmarys.edu

We offer two different kinds of astronomy course at the University of
WI-Whitewater: a 5-credit Introduction to Astronomy that involves four
50-minute lecture periods and one two-hour lab per week; and a 3-credit
Descriptive Astronomy course that involves three 50-minute lectures per
week. In both cases, time at the observatory is compensated by either less
laboratory time or less lecture time for the 5-credit and 3-credit classes,
respectively. Since the 5-credit is deliberately more mathematical, the
constituencies of the two classes are quite different.

In both class type, Extra Credit (EC) can at most make the difference
of 2.5% out of 100% of a student's grade. This is small enough to
disinterest those who seek to avoid regular classwork in favor of EC
activities but large enough to make the difference between a B+ and an A, a
C+ and a B, etc. EC activities are split into several categories with
multiple activities per category. At least two activities in each of the
categories must be completed for the student to receive the full 2.5% of EC
score. And one activity per category must be completed before mid-semester
to avoid EC pileup near semester's end.

This system has been accepted by the majority of our students. Only a
few students in my 15 years at Whitewater have attempted to obtain a
greater fraction of their grade in EC form, claiming that other professors
allow it. We have not given in. In all cases, such requests have come
from students who achieve a C grade or below at semester's end. Most of
those who _attempt_ to get EC as presented in the syllabus are those who
achieve a C or above at semester's end. The most frequent _completers_ of
the E.C. program are students who receive a B or an A at semester's end.

Paul



________________________________________
Paul M. Rybski, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and former Chair, Dept. of Physics, and
Director, Whitewater Observatory
University of WI-Whitewater
Whitewater, WI 53190-1790

Office FAX: (414) 472-5633
Email address: rybskip@uww.edu