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Extra Credit Assignment Ideas that Support Student Learning

Classroom Management , Project-Based Learning , Writing

Close to the end of the semester, you likely get requests from students to complete extra credit assignments. You might be looking for extra credit assignment ideas , or maybe you’re wondering if extra credit should be allowed in the first place. Maybe you find last-minute requests annoying – grading extra credit projects can be frustrating and confusing! In this blog post, I’ll share some reasons to consider extra credit in your classroom. It can be an enriching learning opportunity for your students. You’ll also receive some examples of extra credit assignments , along with some strategies to stay organized with extra credit assignments.

Is Extra Credit a Good Thing?

Not everyone agrees that students deserve extra credit. Many teachers believe in only assigning “regular” credit. Sometimes the top performers in our class request the opportunity to boost their grades. Oftentimes, students who have unfinished assignments or lower grades request extra credit too. Teachers who do not assign extra credit often decline these requests to emphasize the importance of turning in regular assignments on time .

Meanwhile, some teachers do not assign extra credit because their schools do not allow it. School-wide policies may not permit extra credit in order to promote equitable grading practices. Before you decide whether or not you will offer extra credit, be sure to check your school’s policy.

Equitable Extra Credit Policies

Another place to consult before assigning extra credit is with any staff that teaches the same course as you. If either one of you approaches extra credit differently, your students may interpret this as inequitable . One of the main reasons that teachers believe students do not deserve extra credit is that it is unethical. There are ways to ensure that extra credit is equitable, but you will need to ensure that your colleagues are in agreement .

Students deserve extra credit when it is an opportunity offered to everyone . To ensure that your policies are ethical and equitable, do not assign extra credit on a case-by-case basis. This does not mean that everyone needs to complete an extra credit assignment. This also does not mean that every extra credit assignment needs to be the same. Equity is about access . Case-by-case simply implies that you should not approve extra credit for one student and deny it for another – unless there is a valid reason to do so.

Whether you believe students deserve extra credit or not, be sure to include your policy in your syllabus . If you allow extra credit, you may also wish to note your requirements. These can include when and how to request extra credit opportunities. Mondays Made Easy includes an Extra Credit Application with our Editable Full Course Syllabus Template .

Why Should Teachers Give Extra Credit?

Teachers should give extra credit if they support differentiation for students. When implemented properly, extra credit assignments can be a fantastic way to differentiate for different learner profiles. Many teachers hold the belief that a student’s grade in a course should reflect their understanding of the curriculum. In an equitable setting, there should be several opportunities to demonstrate that understanding.

There are multiple reasons why a student may perform poorly on an assessment. There are also multiple factors that may prevent students from being present in class or turning in work on time. Extra credit assignments, when assigned to correlate with your curriculum requirements and course expectations, provide students with another opportunity to meet course standards .

This is especially true if the extra credit is able to assess learning goals while catering to different learning styles . I saw a great example the other day of a student who baked a literal cake of symbolic elements from The Great Gatsby. Their write-up described the literary elements in the novel in relation to the cake: from rum-flavored icing to pearl necklace piping, this culinary creation fused course requirements with the student’s passion!

Tips for Assigning Extra Credit

One reason why teachers hate extra credit is that it can be a real headache! Keeping track of extra credit assignments and due dates requires additional effort on our part. On top of that, grading additional assignments around report card time is stressful. Thankfully, these hardships are minimized with a simple system in place.

Mondays Made Easy’s FREE Extra Credit Application is a great tool to help you keep track of extra credit assignments and requests. Students typically ask for extra credit in person; an application provides a paper trail for these conversations. Additionally, an application provides space to note assignment instructions and due dates – if your students are anything like mine, they might need a reminder about these details.

Extra credit applications can also double as a metacognitive reflection tool . I often have students explain why they need the extra credit in the first place. This provides them the opportunity to reflect on their performance and participation in the course. If the same student repeatedly asks for extra credit in your class, it can also be useful to have a record of each request . This can provide you both with documentation to discuss the student’s habits and performance.

A final reason why I love using extra credit applications is that they encourage students to be proactive . I introduce my extra credit application with my syllabus at the start of the course. I notify students that I require extra credit applications to be submitted three weeks before report cards. This sets the expectation that extra credit requests should not be made last minute. I also schedule assignments to be turned in before grades are finalized. This eliminates any last-minute grading .

Extra Credit Assignment Ideas for English Class

To simplify extra credit assignment ideas, you can adopt the popular approach of offering an assignment re-do to students. This is the easiest way to avoid additional grading while accommodating extra credit requests.

Another approach to extra credit that requires very little assessment is to implement a pass system . At the start of the semester, you can provide each student with a number of passes. For example, each student might receive three hallway passes and one late pass. In order to receive extra credit, students must have all of their passes remaining at the end of the semester. If your school policy allows, you can give students bonus points for simply showing up to class on time and avoiding hallway distractions.

For novel studies , you can offer students the opportunity to create a movie trailer. This example for an extra credit assignment idea requires a bit of effort, but it is a great alternative assessment for older students . A movie trailer will prompt students to avoid simple plot summaries and establish characterization and theme. To facilitate this assignment, Mondays Made Easy offers a Movie Trailer Project Outline and Rubric .

If your students have written research essays , you can offer them the opportunity to turn their work into a “ real-world resource .” A “real-world resource” is any type of media or document that delivers students’ research to the general public. This example of an extra credit assignment is a great opportunity for differentiation because it allows students to be creative and select any medium they like. Mondays Made Easy also offers a Real-World Resource Assignment Outline and Rubric .

Aligning Extra Credit Assignment Ideas with Your Curriculum

When it comes to selecting an extra credit assignment idea, the most important consideration should be how the assignment aligns with your curriculum. If you’re not sure what to assign for extra credit, one option could be to review the student’s performance . If they scored low on a particular assessment, it would make sense to opt for an assignment that covers similar curriculum strands .

For example, the Common Core State Standards require students to “write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence” ( English Language Arts Standards – Writing – Grade 9-10 ). If your student requesting extra credit scored lowest on an assessment for this strand, it would not be best practice to assess an argumentative writing assignment.

Mondays Made Easy’s Extra Credit Application prompts students to reflect on their performance in your course. It also offers them the opportunity to suggest extra credit assignment ideas . Oftentimes, students are able to recommend an assignment idea that evaluates similar skills to those that were evaluated poorly on a previous assessment. If their recommendation doesn’t align, you can facilitate a conversation to guide them in the right direction. This is a great way to implement differentiation and student choice . It also enables you to incorporate your students’ examples of extra credit assignments into your curriculum. Students have great ideas, and I’ve benefitted from reusing their suggestions with future classes!

Extra Credit Assignment Ideas: Important Takeaways

Assigning extra credit remains a matter of personal preference. You know what works best for your students, and your professional discretion will best determine whether or not extra credit is an opportunity that they need. As mentioned, it is best to check if your approach aligns with your school policy and your colleagues’ practices. If you do decide to offer your students extra credit assignments , I hope that the suggestions and ideas in this blog post support you in your efforts!

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The Big List of Funny Extra Credit Questions

When you want to make your students smile.

Looking for a few of the best extra credit questions ever? Want to make your students laugh—and love you? Our list of printable extra credit questions to the rescue!

You may or may not decide to give students points on assignments for clever answers to these questions; that’s up to you. All we know is that you’re building up some serious street cred by including a silly extra credit question on your next assessment.

Promise. Bookmark this post, and you’ll thank us for it. 

Of course, use your discretion and adapt these ideas to best fit your students’ level and ability. 

Get the printable big list of extra credit questions here.

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Use these extra credit questions and get a serious laugh from your students.

• What do people learn at school?
• Why was six afraid of seven? [Because seven eight nine = seven ‘ate’ nine]
• Explain the relationship between Mario and Luigi. [They are brothers.]
• Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?
• What does the fox say?
• How many colors are there in a rainbow? Name the colors. [There are seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green blue, indigo, violet.]
• Name two songs that have the same tune as the “Alphabet Song”. [“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and “Baa Baa Black Sheep”]
• What’s black and white and red all over? [A newspaper, an embarrassed zebra, a penguin with a rash, a chocolate sundae with ketchup on top. . . ]
• How do you “floss”? [Either a description of the dance or what you do with your teeth!]
• What is the official motto of the United States of America? [E Pluribus Unum]
• Why is the sky blue? [Blue light is scattered in all directions by the tiny molecules of air in Earth’s atmosphere. Blue is scattered more than other colors because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. This is why we see a blue sky most of the time.
• What is the silliest question you’ve ever asked?
• Draw a picture of your teacher on vacation. 
• Would you rather have a pet dinosaur or a pet dragon? Explain.
• How do you make a hot dog?
• What is the first product to ever have a barcode? [A pack of Rigley gum]
• Finish this sentence: Here’s the story, of a lovely lady who was bringing up three very lovely girls. . . [. . . all of them had hair of gold, like their mother. The youngest one in curls.]
• Name 5 of the greatest all-boy bands. [The Backstreet Boys, Jackson 5, Beatles, One Direction, NSYNC, New Edition, The Monkees, New Kids on the Block]
• What was the first video ever uploaded to YouTube? [Me at the Zoo, by Jawed Karem]
• When was the first video uploaded to YouTube? [April 23, 2005]
• Who is the highest-paid NFL quarterback of all time? [Peyton Manning, $248 million]
• Write the first stanza of the song sung in the 7th inning at baseball games. [Take Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowd; Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don’t care if I never get back. Let me root, root, root for the home team, If they don’t win, it’s a shame. For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out, At the old ball game.]
• What do we wear on Wednesdays? [pink]
• What is the full name of Mike Wazowski’s best friend in Monsters, Inc.”? [James P. Sullivan]
• In Star Wars, where does Luke find Yoda? [Degobah]
• How many stitches does a Major League baseball have? [108]
• Name the movie this line is from: “I’m king of the world!!” [ Titanic ]
• Who’s never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you? [Rick Astley]
• Name all of Snow White’s 7 dwarfs. [Sleepy, Dopey, Grumpy, Sneezy, Doc, Happy, and Bashful]
• What are the four types of human blood? [A, B, AB, & O]
• Name the type of footwear invented in 1815 that allowed people to move quickly over hard, smooth ground. [Roller skates]
• Which former president had a toy named after him? What was the toy? [Theodore Roosevelt, teddy bear]
• How many sides does a dodecagon have? [12]
• What was Mozart’s full baptismal name? [Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart]
• What are three things you know about the Dewey Decimal System? [It’s a system for categorizing books. It was created by Melville Dewey in 1876. It has a number for all subjects, and each number has two parts: a class number (from the Dewey system) and a book number.]

What extra credit questions do you use? We’d love to hear! Come and share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.  

Plus, sample report card comments. 

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When Students Ask for Extra Credit

May 8, 2020 rethinkmathteacher.com Math Teaching Resources , Teaching Resources 0

It’s the week report cards are due and suddenly your students want extra credit.

I used to always get frustrated. What lesson am I teaching him if he gets so to do nothing for 7 or 8 weeks and then make it up with extra credit?

I used to reply sharply to these students, reminding them of their short comings all quarter. “That’s not how it works in the real world!” I’d remind them.

The I realized something

I realized that there are things I want these students to learn, and they haven’t! Like times tables!

How can you be in middle or high school and not know your times tables? It’s the memorization of a few facts!

There are other foundational, prerequisite skills that my students needed to know and didn’t – and that was preventing them from doing the work we were doing in class.

The great compromise

One year I was teaching a middle school math class, and one student who did almost no work all year was looking at an F on his report card. The parents, who had not responded to emails or phone calls all year suddenly remembered how to get a hold me and began demanding extra credit.

I decided that instead of fighting the student and his parents on extra credit, I would give them what they wanted if they will give me what I wanted.

I wanted him be successful and they want extra credit.

I knew that much of the work we were doing in class he was unable to do because he still didn’t know his times tables. I also theorized that his inability to do the classwork was contributing to his constant misbehavior.

This was before Winter Break, so told the parents that he had the entire two week vacation to learn his 7’s, 8’s and 9’s times tables. Each one is would be extra credit and I would give him a timed quiz when we returned from break – so I recommended they study every day over break.

It’s funny how students won’t do homework or study for a quiz, but they’ll bust their butts for extra credit (should shrug emoji).

Another Example

It doesn’t have to be times tables, that’s just an example. When I taught PreAlgebra, it was usually a quiz on slope.

I try to use a foundational skill that they need to know to do the grade level work, and give them a week to learn it at home, for extra credit.

Sometimes I would give them a quiz, or sometimes it was just reteach work that I would give them extra credit for completing (this worked really well when it was an online assignment).

Beat Them to the Punch

Now, instead of waiting for them to come to ask me – because some won’t or some will wait until the very last day, negating their opportunity to study – I let them know a week out! And I email all the parents.

One week before the last day of the quarter, I let everyone know, “You want extra credit for your report card that’s coming out next week? Here it is…”

One Step Further

Once you start adopting this policy, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how well your students do on it.

Magically, many of them will learn how to study and how to learn things they previously could not.

Suddenly parents are helping their children with their work and keeping them accountable.

… All in the name of extra credit.

So why not do it every week?

When this hit me, I tested it. Every week I gave my students extra credit on something they needed to know for class, or even on what we were working on. I tried to assign the work online, like Khan Academy or IXL.

Because many of my students don’t have internet (yet they have a smart phone) I give them a whole week to complete a one-day assignment for extra credit. This gives them the opportunity to use the school’s computer lab, the local library, or a friend’s house to complete the online work.

Added Benefit

Since so many of my students were learning the skills I was assigning them for extra credit, they did better the next quarter (and year) because they finally had mastered some of the skills they needed to do their grade-level work.

I’m the good guy

When parents reach out to me for more extra credit for their student during the last week of school, I reply, “Your student has had 8 different extra credit assignments this quarter – one each week. He will have one more this week. Please do this week’s extra credit to help him improve his grade. He will have the same opportunity next quarter. I recommend you encourage him to take advantage of it next nine weeks as well as this week.”

Then, I look like the good guy, there’s no fighting, and I’ve encouraged the parent to assist the student with their work.

And the parents now see that their student hasn’t taken advantage of the opportunity they were given, since I gave extra credit every week!

Finally, since I emailed the parent every week letting them know about the extra credit, it’s hard for them to argue with me about it. I know, some will say they never got the email, but that’s another discussion.

Students will often work harder for extra credit than for their regular assignments. So don’t fight this inclination, take advantage of it.

You want them to learn something and they want extra credit, so figure out a way for everyone to win.

What to Read Next

• What is Differentiated Instruction
• 5 Books for Math Teachers that Will Change the Way You Teach
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Extra Credit Assignment

If you want to start preparing for the final, and want to share your tips and troubles with each other, and also want to get extra credit, you can participates in this 'Open Notes/Questions'.

The motivation is the following: if you did well in the midterms so far, then here is the chance that you can share your experience with others and share your understanding of this subject. If you did not do so well, and want to start preparing for the final and review the material, this is a good chance for you to document your progress and obstacles. And these efforts will earn you extra credits.

The extra credit worth 10 points total. With grading scheme 10 = excellent. 8 = good 6 = fair 4 = ok 0 = insufficient

As the policy for homework, you can discuss and collaborate with each other, but you need to write your own notes/ questions.

You should create a page in our wiki website: https://courses.wikinana.org/math104/s/start . For example, if your name is James Hill, you should type in https://courses.wikinana.org/math104/s/jameshill in the address bar and press enter. Then you can create your page from blank.

1. Write a review note summary for this course.

Your summary should be either organized by the days of the lectures, or by the chapter of the textbooks (they are roughly the same). a) the concepts that we covered b) main examples and non-examples c) the properties / useful results regarding these concepts.

2. Make a list of questions.

You should find (at least) 50 questions about textbooks or lectures, or about homework or midterms, anything that you don’t understand. Maybe a sentence in the textbook, or terminology or notation that you don’t know, or some exercise that you don’t know. And then you need to find answers to these questions, either by looking up the books or internet, or ask them on zoom chat channel, or piazza (anonymously if you wish), or over discord, or to the tutoring or GSI.

3. Answering Others questions(Optional)

If you see someone's question in their question list, that you happen to know the answer, or has some thoughts, you can use the comment sidebar to answer that. (see the example here ) (You need to register an account in hypothes.is) Since I cannot count the answers that takes places offline, your answer is only for good karma, and not for credit.

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Extra Credit Assignments for Middle School Math

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5 Extra Credit Activities That Promote Engaged Learning

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The end of the semester is approaching quickly. Only two more weeks of coursework before finals week arrives. At this point of the semester, it’s not uncommon to receive requests for extra credit opportunities. I’ve never received an extra credit request from a student, though, because I build in multiple opportunities into the semester. There’s a lot of debate over whether extra credit should be an option in the classroom. Personally, I believe that if students are willing to put in extra effort to complete additional work, then they should have that opportunity. I’m more than willing to allow students to increase their project grades by a few points by completing additional activities that require students to deepen their understanding and abilities to apply what they’ve learned. Here are five forms of extra credit activities I offer in my various courses. [ A video version of this information is included at the end of this post, too!]

Responses to Classmates’ Work

In my literature courses , my students are required to complete 3-5 literary analysis discussion posts throughout the semester. They post them using our LMS forums tool. The forums are set to not allow students to read earlier posts in a specific forum until they themselves have submitted a post. At that point, the rest of the posts are revealed and they are free to reply to them. Once the deadline for a post passes, I change the setting so that all students can see the posts even if they did not complete one. Students have at least double the number of possible forums to post to than required of them, so they can pick which required texts they are most interested in analyzing before they are discussed in class.

As this is a digital assignment that all students easily have access to via our course website, I always include an extra credit opportunity at the end of the assignment sheet. Students were required to complete 3 posts in this semester’s ENG170 . The assignment equates to 15% of the student’s course grade. With this grade dynamic in mind, my students could receive up to 10 points extra credit on individual posts by completing the activity below. The language that follows is copied directly from my assignment sheet:

Extra Credit: Up to 10 points total

• Additional quote(s) and analysis that support their points
• Additional analysis of the quote(s) they used that further support their points
• Quote(s) and analysis that can counter their points
• Additional analysis of the quote(s) they used that counter their points
• A discussion of why their points/arguments are significant
• There is no word requirement for these comments. The detail you put into them and/or the points you make in them will equate to the amount of points you receive for each comment. Once you receive 10 points total, you will not be able to receive more of this extra credit, though additional comments can help with your participation grade in a manner similar to the Discussion Addition forums.

Very few students tend to take advantage of this extra credit opportunity, but I offer it every time I use this assignment. The students aren’t required to reply to classmates who submitted a post to the same forums they did. So, while a student might not have written a post about El Deafo , this extra credit activity gives them the chance to earn points by thinking further on a text that they originally passed on analyzing in written form. If they do respond to a post from a forum they chose earlier in the semester, then they’ve chosen to approach a text they’ve analyzed from an angle they might not have thought about on their own. In either case, students gain more literary analysis writing skills and work on rhetorically responding to someone else’s analysis rather than just always writing their own without any concern to the complications of collaborative writing.

Creative Project

This extra credit activity is posted during Week 1, but it’s not due until the last day of class. In contrast to the activity above, this project is not attached to any one assignment. For my children’s literature courses, this activity takes on the form of creating a picture book or first chapter of a graphic novel. In my YA literature course , they have the option of writing a piece of fanfiction based on one of our required texts. Here’s the assignment from my ENG170 course:

Step 1: Create a picture book or graphic novel chapter

You can work with one partner or by yourself. The picture book should be at least 14 pages long; the graphic novel at least 8 pages in length. The picture book can be a narrative or concept book. Your intended audience should be children, though you can pick any age group. It should be designed to look like a picture book or graphic novel (front cover to back cover, not just the story). 

Step 2: Write a Reflection

Write a short reflection (400 words or more). In it, discuss topics like how you came up with the idea for your book, why you decided to create this idea, why you designed the book the way you did (colors, shape, materials, etc.), what message(s) you want (or don’t want) your reader to get from the book, etc. Submit this reflection into the “Extra Credit Project” assignment link. If you work with a partner, each of you must write a reflection.

This project is much more popular with my students. Most complete the project without a partner, but I’ve seen some amazing writer and illustrator pairs. Most tend to create a narrative picture book. Graphic novel chapters are very rare. Students can earn up to 5 points extra credit on an exam by completing this activity, depending on the detail of their reflection and effort in creating their children’s text. We spend so much time analyzing the content and design of visual texts. This activity allows students to learn first hand just how hard creating these texts can be. Putting in the effort to experience this creative process and reflect on it is worth adding a few points to an exam that they might have struggled with because of how much information is included in this prerequisite course.

Digital Project

A new extra credit activity I offered this semester is the “class blog” project. Our LMS has a blog tool that allows students to construct a collaborative blog on our class website (so there is no need to grapple with creating their own blog or posting to the online public). So far, no student has posted to the blog. But, they have three more weeks to post. Here’s the assignment description I created for my students:

You can blog about anything related to children’s literature/media and culture. There is no word requirement for these blog posts. You can post as many as you want and include as much detail as you want. The more detail/depth you include in the posts, the more points you will earn. Just make sure it’s your own writing, and if you cite someone else in your posts, make sure to credit them. Once you receive the 5 points available for this extra credit, additional posts can function similarly to the discussion addition forum posts in regard to improving your participation grade. Here are some ideas for what you can blog about, though you might come up with other ideas:

• Children’s literature book reviews
• Children’s movie reviews
• Children’s app reviews
• Your thoughts/opinions about something going on in the media that connects to children’s texts or children in general
• Your experiences reading to children at a library or at home
• Your childhood memories of reading/watching one of the texts we’re reading for class
• Your ideas for how you’d teach a children’s text in your future classrooms

You can also reply to others’ blog posts. It’ll likely be harder to earn the same amount of points in comparison to creating your own, but replying is an option for anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable creating their own posts. If your post inspires a lot of comments, this community response can also increase the amount of points you earn for that post.

Like the creative project, students can earn up to five points extra credit on an exam by completing this activity. In adding this activity, my hope was to inspire students to connect our class to the world outside the classroom. I consider what I teach to be incredibly relevant to my students’ lives outside the classroom. Getting students to have that same belief can be difficult, so I created this extra credit opportunity so that students would have reason to put in extra effort to make these connections. I’m curious to see if any student will do so in the coming weeks.

Event Attendance and “Takeaways” Response

ISU’s English department hosts the Lois Lenski Lecture every spring semester. We invite a children’s and/or young adult literature scholar to speak at our campus and host a Q&A session after their talk. I’ve learned so much from these presentations, and always mention them to my children’s and ya literature students. I also offer extra credit if they attend the event and write up a “takeaways response” to it that night. They submit them digitally by midnight, or just turn it in physically at the lecture.

This semester, my students have the option of exploring a children’s literature display at our university library. A special collections display was created by students in a graduate course. If my students explore it and write up a response to it, they can receive a few extra credit points were they most need it (up to 3, depending on the detail in their response). They had two weeks to complete this activity. Fewer than a handful did so. This activity and other events are great for helping students see how others outside the classroom study and use children’s and YA literature. Note: The takeaways can’t just be regurgitated facts. Students have to reflect and metacognitively respond to what they’ve heard/seen during the event.

Aesthetic Additions

I include this option when students complete a highly visual project. For the picture book festival activity I’ve used in past ENG170 sections, students could increase their poster grade by up to five points depending on the effort they put into designing their posters. All students were automatically eligible for earning these points. Students could earn a high grade as long as they included all the required material on their poster. But, if their posters’ design aesthetic was well thought out, extra credit points could be earned. Some students focused on emphasizing the content of their text (crafting a tree on a The Giving Tree poster), while others focused on the medium (designing their poster as a TV screen when analyzing Gilmore Girls ). Most students tend to receive only a point or two for this extra credit opportunity, but I’ve been amazed by the thought and effort put into a few poster designs over the years. It livens up my grading experience at the end of the semester too, which is always welcome.

Final Thoughts

Of the five activities listed above, four were options in this semester’s ENG 170 course. Giving my students the chance to earn up to 23 extra credit points likely seems excessive to some of you reading this post. Here are a few points I’d like for you to keep in mind, especially if you’re considering what extra credit activities you might want to offer next semester: 1. In a 30 student course, usually less than half the students will attempt even one of the extra credit options. 2. Less than a third will attempt more than one option, and they are often the ones that don’t even need extra credit. 3. It’s rare for a student to earn the max number of points for any of the activities because of how much extra effort and work I expect from them in order to gain these points. 4. The only activity that creates the opportunity to gain 10 points is the forum posts extra credit. These points are added to individual posts rather than to the activity grade as a whole. In this specific case, one post equates to just 5% of their overall course grade. 5. If students are willing to put in the extra time and effort, and the activities actually require them to learn something, why not offer them the opportunity for engaging in additional ways with the course material?

I’ve never regretted including extra credit options in my courses. Few students take me up on my offers, and a bump up in their overall grade definitely isn’t guaranteed. But, by having these activities in my course design, I’m making clear to my students that hard work will be rewarded and that doing poorly on one assignment doesn’t mean they’ve done irrevocable damage to their course grade > GPA > financial aid/grad applications. Even one offer of extra credit can demonstrate to students that we as instructors understand that sometimes they need an extra chance to show their willingness to put in the effort to learn and grow. Why not give them that chance?

>>If you’d like to download a PDF that lists the various extra credit activities described above (and a few other activity ideas!), just subscribe to my blog. You’ll receive access to all my blog-related PDFs and will receive an email every time a new blog post goes up!<<

Do you include extra credit opportunities in your courses? If so, share what activities you offer in the comments section below!

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Extra Credit Assignments

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How to Get Extra Credit

Last Updated: December 15, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Michelle Golden, PhD . Michelle Golden is an English teacher in Athens, Georgia. She received her MA in Language Arts Teacher Education in 2008 and received her PhD in English from Georgia State University in 2015. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 156,379 times.

Everyone's been there. You reach a point in the school year or semester where you realize you've fallen behind. Your first thought is extra credit, but first you have to convince your teacher. Of course, the better solution is to pay attention to opportunities your teacher already offers you, as well as keeping your grades up in the first place, but you can still attempt to persuade your teacher to let you do some extra work.

Asking for Extra Credit

• For instance, you could begin by saying, "I appreciate you taking the time to see me. I know you have a busy schedule. I have a request to make that I realize may make more work for you, but I do have a legitimate reason for my request."

• Work may be a legitimate excuse for some but not others. [4] X Trustworthy Source Association for Psychological Science Nonprofit organization devoted promoting trustworthy research and education in the psychological sciences Go to source
• Have paperwork to back up your excuse if possible. For instance, you could take in a doctor's note or your work schedule.
• You can make your case by saying something to this effect: "I realize I've missed some classes, and I would really like to make that up with some extra credit so that I can learn the material properly. I know that typically you do not give extra credit. However, I did have some extenuating circumstances. My grandmother had a heart attack and was in the hospital. I drove down to see her and to provide support for my mom."

• This request works well early in the semester, especially if you are a freshman in college or taking a difficult course in high school. You're trying to learn a new style of writing, testing, and grading that is more difficult, so your professor or teacher may be more lenient as you learn. [7] X Research source
• You can approach your teacher by saying something to the effect of "I was surprised that I did so poorly on this essay. I usually do well. I want to learn what it takes to do better in this class. I would love to hear your feedback and have the opportunity to rewrite this paper."

• For instance, you could say, "I know we all did pretty bad on the last exam. Is there anyway we could get some extra credit as a class? I found a great opportunity where we could volunteer, and it's related to our class material. I'd be willing to sign in people for the opportunity."

Paying Attention to Opportunities Offered to You

• In a high school class, your teacher may tell you about projects you can do for extra credit at the beginning of the school year.
• Make notes about those projects, and ask your teacher for more information if you feel like she didn't provide enough details.

Avoiding Needing Extra Credit

• In addition, you'll learn more by being engaged, and your grades will go up. Plus, some professors make attendance part of your grade, so you can literally improve your grade just by being there. [13] X Research source
• Also, by paying attention, you'll get a sense of your professor's personality and expectations. Knowing those two things can help you when you go to ask for extra credit, and they'll also help you write better for that professor when given essays. [14] X Research source

• Take notes on the chapter. Try to capture important themes. The headings in the chapter should give you an idea of what is most important. [16] X Research source
• Jot down questions. If the teacher doesn't cover what you don't understand, ask her about it during class. [17] X Research source

• Plan what you need to study. Often, your professor or teacher will give you a study guide for your test. If she doesn't, you can still make an outline by using the syllabus or textbook. Look at the major ideas, and decide how much detail you need to go into for your test. Remember, it's always best to study what you know the least about. If you know something really well, don't spend as much time reviewing it.
• Have a plan for the test. If you think you'll forget something, write it down when you first get the test. Skip questions you don't know. You can always come back to them later if you have time. For multiple choice, come up with an answer before looking at the answer choices, while for essay questions or short answers, make a small plan for the points you want to include. Finally, always be sure to read all questions carefully. You don't want to miss a question you know just because you were rushing through the test.

Community Q&A

• Not all teachers offer extra credit. It's worth asking but don't count on being able to make up missed work with extra credit. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Try to turn in all your homework, even if it is late, because that shows your teacher you are at least trying. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.chronicle.com/article/no-extra-credit-for-you/
• ↑ https://healthyhappyteacher.com/asking-teacher-to-round-up/
• ↑ https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/dealing-with-students-missing-exams-and-in-class-graded-assignments
• ↑ https://andrewpegoda.com/2014/06/11/what-why-did-you-give-me-this-grade-helping-students-understand-grades/
• ↑ https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-community-college-dean/%E2%80%9Ccan-i-do-something-extra-credit%E2%80%9D
• ↑ https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/does-extra-credit-have-a-place-in-the-college-classroom/
• ↑ https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/extra-credit-college/
• ↑ https://smallpondscience.com/2013/08/29/extra-credit-is-unfair-to-students/
• ↑ https://www.oswego.edu/academics/opportunities/honors/program/dowell.html
• ↑ https://www.butte.edu/cas/tipsheets/studystrategies/studybio.html

About This Article

If your grades need a little boost late in the year, it’s worth asking your teacher if you can get extra credit. Wait until after class or lunchtime, and ask your teacher nicely if there’s any chance of getting extra credit. Mention any personal reasons that have affected your work, since they'll be more likely to help you if you have a valid reason. Your teacher might offer you the opportunity to redo a test or assignment if it's not against the rules. If your teacher says no, you can still check the class syllabus to see if there's anywhere else you can earn extra points towards your grade. For more tips from our Educational co-author, including how to improve your grades without extra credit, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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• Educational Assessment

Extra Credit Assignments: An Innovative Approach

• February 3, 2010
• Tena Long Golding, PhD

My students are always asking for opportunities to earn bonus points. I offer a variety of assignments during the semester, but they still want bonus points, which they seem to think are easier to obtain than the required points. Generally, I’m opposed to bonus options because I feel that if students are struggling with the current assignments, they do not need an “extra” assignment for extra credit. In addition, the word “bonus” seems to suggest something for nothing. I want my students to realize that grades are earned, not given. However, I recently tried a bonus activity that benefited my students and also met my expectations for a substantive learning experience.

The end of the spring semester correlates with increased absences and assignment apathy. The weather is beautiful, my classes are in the afternoon, and student attendance drops. In addition, students in my classes are preservice teachers who must do a minimum number of field observations in area schools before the end of the semester. Those who have procrastinated start feeling the crunch and begin to miss class in order to complete the required number of hours. Those attending class often arrive unprepared. Clearly, this is not the easiest time of the year for teaching.

In a mathematics class for prospective elementary teachers, we had been working on a particular section for several class sessions, so students had more time than usual to complete the homework assignment. On the day this homework was to be discussed, I decided to offer a bonus activity. I created a sheet with 11 problems that applied many of the concepts we had covered in previous class sessions.

Students could earn one point for each problem solved correctly. The problems had to be worked out during the allotted class time, and students could not begin working until a trade had occurred—the bonus sheet in exchange for completed homework. This trade made the students accountable for previously assigned work and removed my fear of giving them something for nothing. Students who had not completed the assignment had less time for the bonus opportunity because they had homework to finish up first.

An interesting classroom dynamic occurred after I explained how this bonus opportunity worked. Many of the students with their homework done began helping students who had not been able to work through all the homework problems. Students who had not even started the homework began to work diligently in order to have even a little bonus time. As I walked around the room, I heard not only the buzz of mathematics but also comments like “I told Julie she shouldn’t miss class” and “I knew I should’ve done my homework!”

I want students to be successful in and out of the classroom. This means learning the mathematics we’re covering in the course. But I also want students to realize they are ultimately responsible for their own learning and accountable for their actions. The bonus problems reviewed concepts that the students needed to know and understand. By design, the activity reinforced the responsibility of students to complete assigned homework. Since the only students who received few or no points were the students who missed class or had not completed the homework assignment, the lack of bonus points earned was not the fault of the teacher (e.g., test too hard, too long) but rather the consequence of a personal decision.

The bonus activity was a success and is a practice I’ll repeat. My students were delighted with the opportunity, and I was guilt-free. The activity let students know that I am sensitive to their needs and ideas, but it also showed how a missed class is a missed opportunity—and that doing your homework pays off!

Tena Long Golding, is an associate professor of mathematics at Southeastern Louisiana University.

Excerpted from Bonuses of a Bonus Assignment! The Teaching Professor, June-July 2008.

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CS-364: Programming Languages

Course staff, kevin angstadt.

• MW 1–2
• TTh 2–3
• By appointment
• Prof./Dr. Angstadt
• Prof./Dr. A
• Prof./Dr. Kevin

Course Information

• Students must have completed CS-256. I assume that you have mastered the material in the courses leading up to, and including, 256.
• While not required, students are encouraged to have completed CS-220.
• Knowledge of object-oriented and imperative programming in Python and Java.
• Students will benefit from having access to a personal computer during class time. If you do not have a computer you can bring to class, please let me know ASAP.
• Students are expected to attend class regularly.

Required Materials

• This textbook is a Day 1 Digital resource available in Canvas under the Day 1 Digital tab. You may opt-out until 2024-09-11 by using the Opt-out tool in Canvas. For assistance or questions, please email [email protected] .
• Paper copies are available for ~$70 on Amazon [ http://a.co/fXbR2pf ] or ~$60 on Elsevier [ https://www.elsevier.com/books/programming-language-pragmatics/scott/978-0-12-410409-9 ]
• Exploring ReasonML and functional programming by Axel Rauschmayer. (available for free online [ http://reasonmlhub.com/exploring-reasonml/ ])
• Additional readings will be provided on the course website, where appropriate.
• Note that access to a computer with a network connection is necessary for this course.

Important Dates

Project due dates are subject to change. Exam dates are very unlikely to change. Changes will be announced in class and on the course website.

Course Overview and Goals

From the course catalog: Addresses several advanced topics in programming: the process of code interpretation, the principles behind the design of programming languages, and the paradigms of functional and concurrent programming.

You wrote a program in Python. How does a computer execute it? As computer scientists, we use programming languages on an almost daily basis but rarely consider how the text we write is translated and executed by a computer. Additionally, our choice of language significantly influences the way in which we represent a problem; different programming languages admit different programming paradigms.

In previous computer science courses, you developed proficiency programming using imperative and object-oriented paradigms (most likely in Python and Java ). This course will expose you to, and help you develop proficiency with, the functional programming paradigm. We will be using the Reason programming language, a dialect of the OCaml programming language developed by Facebook.

Next, we will study how programming languages are designed and implemented. We will discuss lexing, parsing, variable bindings, control flow, types, subtyping, operational semantics, and method invocations. While the development of practical skills is a key goal of this course, we will also discuss the underlying theory of these topics. Using this knowledge, students will implement an interpreter for the Strings Numbers Arrays and Inheritance Language (snail).

In the remaining time at the end of the semester, we will cover additional topics related to programming languages, such as automatic memory management, compilation, concurrency, and exceptions.

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Develop algorithms and manipulate data using functional programming paradigms.
• Identify and describe the stages of an interpreter.
• Interpret context-free grammars and operational semantics.
• Use common tools for generating lexers and parsers.
• Build a working interpreter for an object-oriented programming language.
• Paraphrase core issues and concepts in programming language design and implementation.

Course Topics

As described in the course goals, topics in this course are split into three units. A rough ordering of topics is presented below, but is subject to change. The lectures page maintains a detailed description of topics covered so far in class.

• Introduction to Programming Languages
• Functional programming with Reason
• Functional paradigm in other languages
• Introduction to the snail programming language
• Lexing and parsing a program
• Semantic analysis and type-checking
• Interpreting an object-oriented program
• Automatic memory management
• Compiling code
• Concurrency

Course Format

This course is being offered in a fully-synchronous format. We will facilitate your learning of the material through various instructional modalities, including classwork and homework. The following subsections describe the various activities you can expect this semester.

Weekly Lectures

Each week, there will be synchronous lectures during our scheduled course time. During these lectures, we will explore the topics covered by this course and develop the skills described in the learning goals section. Please review the attendance policy below for expectations about your presence at these lectures.

Lectures will be recorded and available on Canvas for students wishing to review material covered in this course.

Homework Assignments

Throughout the semester, you will have several different kinds of homework assignments to complete. Homework will be listed on the Lectures page of this site. Each assignment will also indicate which platform you should use for submitting your work.

Reading Quizzes

Readings will be assigned on a class-by-class basis. There will be a short quiz associated with each reading assigned for class. The purpose of these quizzes is to help students retain information for quick recall while completing homework assignments and to help maintain a steady pace of material during class meetings.

Quizzes will be available online via Gradescope and must be completed prior to the start of each class meeting (except for exams or as otherwise announced). There is no limit on the number of times a student may take a reading quiz before the deadline. Excluding special circumstances, reading quizzes may not be taken after the deadline has passed.

Programming Projects

There will be a total of five (5) programming projects during the semester. These exercises are intended to give you practice with and explore and concepts presented in class. Additionally, P3-P5 form a complete interpreter for snail, the Strings Numbers Arrays and Inheritance Language.

Unless otherwise noted, all assignments are due by 11:59 PM on the day listed to be eligible for full credit. Assignments should be submitted using the course's automated grading server.

These projects will require substantial time commitment on every student's part. Please refer to the individual project specifications as they are released for detailed instructions on how and what to submit and specific due dates. Points may be deducted for late assignments, and all assignments must be submitted no later than one week after the official due date to receive credit.

You will submit these projects through the St. Lawrence University Grading Server (SLUGS) running on Gradescope. This system will run your code against a suite of test cases and give you (near) immediate feedback. You may submit your code as many times as you wish. Assignments will remain open for one week after the official due date; however submissions made during this grace period will receive a grade deduction .

• Functional correctness,
• Execution speed to obtain a correct solution, and
• Computer memory needed to reach a correct solution

For each project, I will conduct a final grading run after the deadline, where every student's project is run on the autograder, possibly with additional, hidden test cases. The purpose of the hidden test cases (they will be randomly generated cases, not the trickiest corner cases) is to ensure that your project works in general, and not just for the autograder. When conducting final grading, I will use the submission you select for grading on Gradescope.

The score resulting from final grading is the score that will go in the gradebook. This means that your overall highest displayed score on SLUGS may not necessarily be the score that goes in the gradebook. It is possible that your score may go up, stay the same, or go down as a result of the final grading. In particular, I will also look at your submitted code to judge the:

• principles and practices (readable code, efficient algorithms and implementation, comments, use of topics from class), and
• documentation of your solution.

A well-designed and commented, but slower solution may have its grade increased while a sloppy yet fast implementation may lose points.

You must email me if any circumstances prevent you from completing the assignment by the due date.

There will be three (3), 90 minute exams to check your mastery of tools and concepts in this class. Content for the exams may come from lecture, readings, and programming assignments and is cumulative.

I will notifice the class in advance if any of these exams require the use of a computer. If a student is unable to provide their own computer, please notify me 48 hours prior to the exam, and I will arrange for a loner machine. Make-up exams will not be given for absences unless approved by the instructor in extreme circumstances.

Note that there is no final exam for this course.

Students are expected to attend each class meeting. Absences will leave holes in your understanding of course concepts. If you must miss a class, you are expected to make up the material on your own time before the next class. You are welcome to attend student hours if you have specific questions about the material you missed, but you will not receive any help if you ask, "what did I miss?" during student hours.

I do my best to post resources from class online (slides, audio recordings, etc.), but I write a significant amount on the board. This means you will need to review notes from a peer or rewatch the video recordings.

Final grades are based off of a cumulative point system. That means, for example, that 1 point from a reading quiz or project is equivalent to 1 point from an exam.

Your final grade will be calculated as follows. First, the percent of total possible points your eceived is calculated. Then, this percentage is mapped to a numeric grade on the 4.00 scale (see below). Note that I do not guarantee any particular rounding scheme for this calculation.

Regrading Policy

Requests for an assignment regrade must be made in person to the instructor or using Gradescope within one week of the assignment being returned to the student and by the final day of classes. Any requests submitted after this may be done at my discretion. I reserve the right to regrade the entire assignment, which may result in either an increase or a decrease in your grade. This is not intended to scare off students, but to avoid frivolous requests.

Examples of appropriate reasons for requesting a regrade include:

• You believe your answer to a question matches the answer on the key.
• Your answer is different from the key, but is also correct.
• There is in error in the summation of points.

Examples of inappropriate reasons for requesting a regrade include:

• Your programming assignment works on your computer but not the grading server.
• Most of what you wrote on an assignment was correct, but you want more partial credit.
• You are one point away from an 3.75 and are trying to get extra points.

Extra Credit

There will be several opportunities for extra credit throughout the semester. In particular, you can receive extra points for discovering and documenting bugs in the reference implementation of snail, the langauge we will be implementing this semester. Should you find a bug, submit a minimal example along with a detailed description of the expected behavior and how this differs from the observed behavior. Students whoe discover a bug will receive N points per bug and all other students will receive N/2 points. (The value of N will be picked at the end of the semester and will be a constant value).

Electronics Policy

Students will need a computer with an internet connection to participate in this course. If you do not have access to a reliable computer, please contact me as soon as possible. There may be resources available to help.

Students are expected to remain on task during synchronous activities (no web browsing, social media usage, etc.), as per the professionalism policy. If you have any concerns about this request, please contact me outside of class, and we will work together to find an appropriate solution.

Generally speaking, I encourage taking notes by hand. At least one recent study found that students who took notes longhand remembered more and had a deeper understanding of the material. Rather than using slides, I typically take notes on the board, which will help you keep up if you are taking notes by hand.

Academic Integrity and Professionalism

As noted in the Academic Honor Code in the Student Handbook , "all students at St. Lawrence University are bound by honor to maintain the highest level of academic integrity." Please review the handbook for general guidelines. In particular, you should only be turning in your own work. You are expected to abide by the additional policies listed below. It is my responsibility to report violations of these policies to the Dean.

Students are also expected to act in a professional manner for the duration of the course. This includes (but is not limited to): staying on task during lectures, being respectful of others, avoiding extra use of electronics in class, and promptness for class and deadlines. Unprofessional behavior will result in a reduction of the student's final grade.

Assignment Policies

In addition to the general policies described in the Student Handbook , you are expected to follow the following policies, which are specific to this course.

Unless otherwise noted or discussed, you must turn in your work within one week of the due date to receive credit. If you find yourself in a situation where this might not be possible, please contact me as soon as possible.

Collaboration

For several projects in this class, you will be working in groups. Teamwork imposes burdens of communication and coordination, but has the benefits of more thoughtful designs, cleaner programs, and (sometimes) higher bandwidth. Team programming is also the norm in the professional world.

Students on a team are expected to participate equally in the effort and to be thoroughly familiar with all aspects of the joint work. All members bear full responsibility for the completion of projects. Teams turn in one solution for each project. If a partnership is not going well, the instructor will help to negotiate new partnerships. Teams may not be dissolved in the middle of an assignment without instructor permission. If the instructor believes that there is unequal contribution to a project, students may be asked to schedule a meeting to discuss their work.

Unless otherwise noted, you must complete all other assignments in this course on your own .

You may discuss the assignments with your classmates, but you may not share code or written text. You may only submit work that you have personally written and understood. Always make a note in your code of your peers with whom you discussed an assignment

You may consult your class notes and the assigned reading materials to help with your assignments. You may also reference web resources (please read below about citations). Note, however, that you may not submit a third party tool that performs the tasks specified in a given assignment or text that you have not written (unless you are given explicit permission).

Your use of AI Assistants and LLMs (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot, Jetbrains AI, etc.) may be restricted for particular assignment for pedagogical reasons (i.e., to allow you to focus on practice foundational concepts). If this is the case, it will be noted in the assignment. If you are found to be using such a tool (or have such a tool enabled in your IDE), you will be in violation of the academic honor code.

You should know that fairly sophisticated plagiarism detection software will be used on the assignments. For more details, see the Academic Integrity and Professionalism section.

I will be available to answer questions during student hours. If you would like help, prepare specific questions. I will not help you write your code or answers from scratch (part of the learning process is experimentation), but I am more than happy to provide guidance if you run into trouble.

For all assignments, you must submit a file citing all of the resources (excluding class notes and assigned readings) you used to complete the assignment. This includes (but is not limited to) conversations with peers, web resources, and additional books. Use of AI, including the particular prompts used should be included in your citations. Failure to appropriately cite resources will be considered a breach of the honor policy and will be dealt with as described in this document. If, at any point, you are unsure about the citation policy, ask. Your grade is not affected by the number of resources you cite; I will not be impressed by low or high citation counts. Use the resources you need to complete the assignments!

In addition to following the practice of academic honesty, the purpose of these citations is to help you find resources when you look back at your work. If you were confused by something before, it's likely you might be confused by it again later.

Best Practices

When it comes to academic integrity and professionalism, it's best to ask questions if you are unsure. It has been my experience that most violations are acts of desperation or misunderstanding rather than ill will. I would rather you ask for help or clarification than commit an act of academic dishonesty.

As a general rule of thumb, when you are talking to someone (other than the instructor or partner) about work in this class, close all code that you are working on. If you cannot look at your code (or others' code!) while you are discussing content, it becomes significantly more difficult to violate these policies.

Tips for Success

Computer Science courses can often look and feel different from your other classes at St. Lawrence. Nevertheless, mature study habits can help you be successful and achieve your personal goals this semester. Many of these tips apply to courses across the curriculum, but a few are also specific to this particular class.

• Start projects early, not the day before they are due. Humans are notoriously bad at estimating time; it's better to have too much time rather than too little.
• This is part of the learning process (and why you should start early)
• Take a break. Sometimes stepping away from a problem can give you new insights
• If you've tried to solve a problem three times and it's still not making sense, then it is a good time to ask for help
• Nothing bad happens if you make a mistake
• If you have a question, you can be sure that at least two other people in class have the same question—ask it and help all three of you
• Do not use this time for other work or commitments unless you have already finished everything (including studying) for this class
• As a rule of thumb, set aside two (2) hours of time for every one (1) hour of class
• If you have academic accommodations, adjust the time you set aside to match
• Find a place you can concentrate. There may be too many distractions in your room, so consider the library, PQRC, classroom, or majors' room
• Try to figure out anything you didn't understand in class before the next class. You don't want confusion to compound.
• Fix any typos or mistakes that you find
• Add additional comments to your code to explain ideas
• Make extra notes to clarify what you wrote down and complete any examples that were left for you to do
• Create a list of questions you have about the material
• Do the assigned reading
• This is a great time to ask your questions!
• You don't need questions to attend, however. You might use this time for some of your set-aside review
• Come to class; watching the recordings is not a substitute for attending
• No errors in your IDE settings
• Code from previous classes works without crashing
• GitHub/Git/OneDrive are up to date and do not have any conflicts

Mental Health and Wellbeing

St. Lawrence University is committed to advancing the mental health and wellbeing of its students. If you or someone you know is feeling overwhelmed, depressed, and/or in need of support, services are available.

For help, contact the Diana B. Torrey '82 Health and Counseling Center at (315) 229-5392 Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM–4:30 PM. After hours, call Campus Safety at (315) 229-5555 to speak with the after-hours crisis counselor. The nation-wide 24/7 crisis counselor service can be reached by calling (315) 229-1914.

For more details, visit https://www.stlawu.edu/health-and-counseling-services .

Accommodations

Student accessibility services.

Your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of St. Lawrence University to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with the Student Accessibility Services Office, please meet with them to activate your accommodations so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course.

If you have not yet established services through the Student Accessibility Services Office but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), please contact the Student Accessibility Services Office directly to set up a meeting to discuss establishing with their office. The Student Accessibility Services Office will work with you on the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations.

Color Vision Deficiency:

If you are color vision deficient, the Student Accessibility Services office has on loan glasses for students who are color vision deficient. Please contact the office to make an appointment.

For more specific information about setting up an appointment with Student Accessibility Services please see the options listed below:

SAS Contact Information

Telephone: 315.229.5537

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.stlawu.edu/offices/student-accessibility-services

Diversity and Equity Statement

As indicated by the University's Statement on Diversity and the student handbook , we are committed to treating students fairly and with dignity regardless of age, color, creed, disability, marital status, national origin or ancestry, race, religion, sex (including gender identity and gender expression), sexual orientation, and/or veteran status.

It is my intent that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives be well served by this course, that students' learning needs be addressed both in and out of class, and that the diversity that students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength and benefit. Should you have any concerns, problems, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I strive to make my classrooms safe spaces for learning.

Please also feel free to talk to me about events that happen outside my classroom. If you do not feel comfortable talking to me, there are many other resources available to you on campus, including those on this list of on-campus resources: https://www.stlawu.edu/diversity-and-inclusion/campus-resources .

You can report a bias incident here: https://www.stlawu.edu/diversity-and-inclusion/bias-reporting .

MEMBERS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE COMMUNITY—students, employees, and guests— should expect to be free from retaliation, discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct, behavior that is inherently abusive of the humanity that each of us brings to the campus community. St. Lawrence University and its faculty are committed to supporting our students and seeking an environment that is free of discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct. St. Lawrence strongly encourages students to report retaliation, discrimination, harassment, including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault to St. Lawrence University's Title IX office. Discrimination on the basis of sex includes discrimination on the basis of assigned sex at birth, sex characteristics, pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

If you speak with a faculty member about an incident that involves a Title IX matter or matter of other discrimination or harassment, that faculty member must notify SLU's Title IX Coordinator that you shared that experience . This is true even if you ask the faculty member not to disclose the incident. Moreover, if you disclose an incident of retaliation, discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct in an academic assignment , the faculty member must also report that experience to the Title IX Coordinator.

Once a report is made, the reporting individual can expect to receive email outreach from the Title IX Coordinator, who will provide resources and possible resolution options. If the impacted person is not a threat to themselves or others, the impacted person will be free not to respond to the offer to meet. You can find more information for resources and reporting options at: https://www.stlawu.edu/offices/title-ix/reporting-options-confidential-and-nonconfidential-resources .

Title IX also protects students who are pregnant or need assistance for pregnancy related conditions. If you are pregnant, the Title IX Coordinator can assist you in understanding your rights and options as well as provide supportive measures.

Lindsey Tropper (Cohen) is the Title IX Coordinator at St. Lawrence University (Student Center Room 302; [email protected] ; 315-229-5334).

The Peterson Quantitative Resource Center (PQRC) offers free, no appointment necessary peer tutoring across a range of courses with quantitative content. The PQRC student staff of mentors is trained to assist students to develop and to improve their quantitative skills and understanding. More information about the PQRC's current hours and modes of operation can be found at the PQRC webpage: www.stlawu.edu/pqrc .

Your class work might be used for research purposes. For example, we may use anonymized student assignments to design algorithms or build tools to help programmers. Any student who wishes to opt out can contact the instructor to do so up to seven days after final grades have been issued . This has no impact on your grade in any manner.

Right to Revise

This is a "living syllabus". Therefore, its contents may be changed throughout the course of the semester to address changing needs. I will do my best to notify students of changes; however, it is up to the student to monitor this page for any changes. Final authority on any decision in this course rests with the instructor (i.e., Kevin Angstadt), not with this document.

Many ideas for this class were borrowed from similar classes taught at UVA, UC Berkley, Cornell, and St. Lawrence University

  This newscast is updated weekdays at 6am, 9am, noon, 3pm, and 6pm.  

New approach to math leads to better pass rates at Louisiana colleges

A new approach to helping college students who struggle with math is showing early signs of success in Louisiana.

For decades, students who weren’t ready for college-level courses were asked to take a noncredit remedial course.

In 2022, the state’s higher education board decided to eliminate remedial classes and have students tackle college-level material right away with extra academic support. This has led to higher pass rates, according to the board.

More than 50% of students who would have previously been placed in a remedial class passed a college-level math course last year, up from just 11% under the old model, said Tristan Denley with the Louisiana Board of Regents.

Denley said in the past, only a fraction of those students even attempted the college-level course.

“One in 10 of them actually successfully made it through to take the math class that they needed to graduate,” said Denley. “I don't need to persuade you we needed to do something about that.”

The new approach—known as corequisite education—has non-college-ready students enroll in a credit-bearing course and also a support course that's designed to get them up to speed.

“It enables them to get the support they need,” said Denley, who led the state’s rollout of the program.

In a typical year, more than half of incoming students at community colleges across the country aren't ready to take college-level math or English courses based on their standardized test scores. That number is even higher for Black and Latino students.

Roughly 20,000 students took an introductory math class at a Louisiana public college or university last year. 9,000 of them would have previously been assigned to a remedial class, but they instead were able to take the course along with a corequisite.

Their pass rate was 52%, compared to 30% the year prior, when rollout of the program was underway, but still needs to scale.

Like Louisiana, other state’s have watched their pass rates grow since making the switch. Corequisites are now popular among public colleges and universities across the country and schools in several states have phased out remedial classes completely.

But researchers caution corequisites aren’t a silver bullet and need to be paired with other interventions.

Rita Karam, a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, said while studies show the new approach has a strong impact on students passing an entry-level course, the benefit beyond, including on graduation rates, is less clear.

“There's one study that showed there are longer-term impacts,” Karam said. “But other studies have not shown that. Things have not been consistent in terms of the research.”

She said schools have cleared a first hurdle in helping more students pass classes they enter college unprepared to take, but there are many other barriers.

“It's not that they are unaware of these things and they are in the process of addressing them,” Karam said. “But there's a lot of reasons why students might not persist or complete their program.”

Denley said in an email that Louisiana’s corequisite program is part of a broader set of strategies for teachers that use “motivation science” to increase engagement among students. He’s helped pilot similar projects in Tennessee and Georgia, which he said increased overall graduation rates.

“The strategies they’ve given us have been amazing,” Julie Sullivan, a math teacher at River Parishes Community College said at this week’s board meeting where Denley provided an update.

“I had one of the best success rates I’ve ever had as a math teacher,” she said.

State education officials hope to replicate the math program’s success with English next. Only 12% of students who arrived at Louisiana schools unprepared for college-level English made it through the course during the 2020-21 school year.

This year, the Board of Regents is implementing a corequisite program for English at all 29 public universities in the state.

Aubri Juhasz contributed reporting.

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