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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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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!

Assignment Examples , ELA , Full Archive , Teacher Life , Teaching Tips

College Courses Course Design extra credit Pedagogy Teach

February 18, 2020 at 4:15 PM

Awesome suggestions!

February 20, 2020 at 2:20 PM

I’m glad you like them!

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2019 Extra Credit Ideas

You’ve officially made it past the halfway point of the school year! As we near the summer months and the end of the current grade level for your students, you’re likely to start hearing requests for extra credit assignments. Students tend to get into panic mode around March and April and start stressing about their final grades. While some teachers don’t offer extra credit, it can be a great bonus for some students who are extra hard-working or who might need a little extra help at the end of the year. No matter what reason you have for offering extra credit ideas this year, take a look at some of our top ideas to implement in your classroom this spring.

Current Events Report

This is great for a social studies class especially but can be used in any subject. Have your students research a current event and write a report on it. It’s up to you if you allow them to use sensitive or political subjects, but be sure to lay out the guidelines for them on what you require. You may have them utilize various sources to research it, such as an oral news report, a written news report, an interview, and so on. This could be something that goes along with a unit you’re doing in class, or it can simply be a way to get your students involved in real-world events.

Business Letter

Especially great for language arts classes, having your students write a business letter is a great extra credit assignment. Have them pick a real business and write a letter to them about anything they choose. They can write to a candy company requesting samples for the class, they can write to a corporation about an issue they see with the company, or they can write to a sports organization asking about how they run their company. Ensure they are given appropriate guidelines on how to write a business letter and have them send the letter once it’s graded to see if they get a response.

Children’s Book

Writing a children’s book may sound easy, and students often enjoy it, but it tends to be more difficult than many of them realize. Whether you’re an English teacher or not, your students will gain a lot from writing a children’s book as an extra credit assignment. If you teach science or social studies, have them write about a particular concept they learned in class and explain it as thoroughly to a young audience as they can. It’s up to you whether you allow them to use digital images or if you require them to illustrate the book themselves.

Science Fair Project

Some schools require students to participate in the science fair, but if yours isn’t one of them, you can offer extra credit to your science students when they do a science fair project. Make sure they have the guidelines and requirements before they begin, and make sure their project idea and science experiment is approved before they start the process. It should be graded as an extra credit assignment in the same way that it’s graded as a science fair project, including all the requirements of the scientific method, pictures, and a completed display board.

Off-Campus Lecture

Encourage students to attend a lecture, performance, or conference off-campus to learn about something they’re studying in class. You can have them bring you a ticket stub and have them write up a review of the event and tell you what they learned. You can search your local area for academic events with college professors, authors, and more. Better yet, have your students research some local events that would be beneficial to them and get approval for a particular event.

Test Corrections

This is a common extra credit assignment. It’s easy for you to grade, and it is extremely beneficial for students. Let them take their old tests and go back through and rework the questions they got wrong. If you can manage it, it’s best to have them do this in class, where they can’t just borrow a friend’s test and copy the answers. Even better, have them explain what they did wrong (if applicable) and have them do another similar problem to prove that they’ve mastered the concept and skill that they originally got incorrect.

School Event Attendance

This isn’t so much of an academic assignment as it is a school spirit activity. Your school likely has a number of events going on, including concerts, plays, sporting events, and more. Have your students pick one to attend, bring you the ticket from it, and write about the event. This not only encourages school spirit and camaraderie amongst students, but it might also help students get involved in a club or activity they wouldn’t have otherwise known about.

Movie Review

You might need to set strict guidelines for this one, but this can be a fascinating extra-credit assignment, especially for social studies students. Have students pick a movie based on a true story—the easiest thing to do is have them find one about a historical event. Then they watch the movie and compare the events in the movie to the true events that occurred in history. Some examples might be Titanic, Pearl Harbor, Schindler’s List, Troy, and Gettysburg. Make sure the movies are age-appropriate for your students and that your students have parental permission to see them.

Social Media Profile

Another great idea for social studies classes is to have your students set up a social media profile for a historical figure. Have them create a biography for the individual, including an “About” page that lists the individual’s experiences, favorite things, family, etc. Be sure they include job information, hometown, and more.

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How to Make Extra Credit Your Students’ Responsibility

“What can I do so that I don’t have a D in art? Can you give me some extra credit?”

I wanted to yell, “Why didn’t you do the work I assigned!?” Instead, I took a deep breath. Slightly, only slightly, I unfurrowed my brow and agreed my student could write a paper for extra credit.

Later, buried under a pile of extra credit papers, covered in paper cuts, I decided things had to change.

You may be wondering, why offer extra credit in the first place?

While most of my grading focuses on process, not product, there are always students focused on the perfect grade. Simply put, wanting an “A” holds students back from taking risks. Letting students know that extra credit is an option helps them risk failure.

Having extra credit as an option is also a powerful tool when talking to parents. When parents call, frustrated about a low grade, you’re able to remind them there is a way to raise that grade. This practice places ownership of the grade back onto the student.

But how do you assign extra credit in a way that makes sense for you and your students?

3 Guiding Principles for Assigning Extra Credit

Depending on the age of your students and the nature of your school environment, you may need to make adjustments to the plan below. Use these guiding principles as a way to reflect on your current extra credit procedures.

Principle 1: Extra credit is extra work for the student, not for you.

As much as possible, extra credit should be extra work for the student, not you. Often, you’re the one creating, explaining, and assessing the assignment. Instead, it should be the student creating, explaining, and playing a role in assessment. One way to do this is to have students complete an extra credit proposal in which they have to take the lead.

You can download an example below to use in your classroom.

Download Now!

This form makes it the student’s responsibility to come up with an idea for extra credit work. They must explain why it’s relevant, propose how much it should be worth, and how it should be assessed.

Although the responsibility is on the students, you’ll want to make sure they have a few concrete examples to use for inspiration. You can see two examples below.

I would like to create and submit five mug designs instead of only the required two.

This is relevant because it’s forcing me to take the concepts and techniques that we’re learning about and apply them in three new ways. My additional designs will continue to follow the project guidelines and constraints.

I should be able to earn five extra credit points per each completed additional mug. The project is worth 30 points for two mugs, so it seems fair to ask for half of those points for creating three additional pieces.

I will complete all pieces at the same time the overall assignment is due. I plan to spend time working on these pieces during study hall. This will also push me to use my time wisely, and make it easy for my additional pieces to fit into the firing schedule.

I propose you assess this project using the rubric already in place.

I will need access to additional clay and glaze to complete my extra credit assignment.

I would like to come to the art room during my free period to clean and organize supplies.

This is relevant because we all work best in an organized space. It also connects to the National Core Art Enduring standard , ” Artists and designers balance experimentation and safety, freedom and responsibility while developing and creating artworks.”

I should earn six extra credit points. I’ll be spending an hour of my time organizing and reflecting on the best way to use, clean, and organize tools.

I propose you assess this project by my completion of all items on the following checklist:

• All materials are put back into their proper location and supply sheets are updated.
• Paintbrushes are washed and put away.
• Tables, counters, and sinks are wiped and clean.

I plan to complete this on March 5th during my study hall with you. No additional materials are needed.

Principle 2: Extra credit must be completed within a specific time frame.

Most students wait until the last minute to ask for extra credit. Make students aware of when they can and cannot submit proposals. For example, I don’t allow students to submit extra credit during the last two weeks of a marking period. Throughout the marking period, students complete grade reflection sheets , and are reminded if they are unhappy with their grade, the may want to consider submitting an extra credit proposal.

Principle 3: Completion of an extra credit assignment does not automatically result in extra points.

Students often think that because they completed an extra credit assignment, they will receive points. Make it clear to your students you do not guarantee any extra points, reinforcing that they must earn them.

Explain to your students submitting poor quality work for extra credit can result in them earning zero or even negative points.

When to give negative points.

If a student does a poor job on their extra credit assignment or tries to game the system, it may warrant taking away points rather than giving them.

Here are three examples that may warrant a deduction:

• A student chooses to write an artist research report. However, it is full of grammatical and factual errors or includes plagiarised material.
• A student chooses to write a two-page paper about an art-related topic. But, they manipulate the spacing and the font to make their piece of writing seem longer than it actually is.
• A student chooses to write extra comments during a class critique. However, they don’t follow the critique format or give shallow feedback like, “This is cool.”

Having guiding principles sets clear expectations for your students. From the start, students understand that while extra credit is an option, it is extra work, and is not guaranteed.

How are you currently dealing with extra credit in your classroom?

What adjustments do you need to make to your extra credit policy to make it more effective for both you and your students?

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

Amber Kane is AOEU’s Director of K–12 Curriculum and a former AOEU Writer and high school art educator. She believes questioning and a focus on the creative thought process helps students uncover their personal voice and impact others.

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• by Isobel Rounovski
• December 12, 2023 August 17, 2023

Setting Up Extra Credit in Canvas

One of the most common questions we get each semester is about how to set up extra credit in Canvas. There are multiple ways to do so, but we’ll go over the two most common methods in this blog post.

Create an extra credit assignment using weighted assignment groups

The first method for setting up an extra credit assignment is to add an extra credit weighted assignment group containing only the extra credit assignment. For example, let’s say you add an Extra Credit assignment group worth 3%. Your grading breakdown may look something like the following:

Since all the assignment groups total to 100% before the extra credit group is added, the addition of the extra credit group means that each student now has an opportunity to earn up to an additional 3% on top of their final grade. It also means that no student will be penalized for not completing the extra credit assignment, since everyone still has an opportunity to earn a full 100% over the course of the semester by completing all the other assignments.

You can only use this method if you already use weighted assignment groups.

Create an extra credit assignment with zero point value

The other method is to add an extra credit assignment worth 0 points, but then grade it out of a predetermined, non-zero point value (and let students know ahead of time how you’ll be grading the assignment). You can use this method regardless of if your assignment groups are weighted or unweighted. 

The weight of the extra credit assignment depends on whether you use weighted assignment groups or not, and how many points your other assignments are worth. We’ll go over a couple examples that show how you can calculate the weight of the extra credit assignment.

Example 1: weighted assignment groups

For this example, let’s say that you want to add an extra credit discussion, and your Discussions assignment group is weighted at 20%. You have 10 discussions in the group already, worth 10 points each. Remember, the extra credit assignment you add as the 11th discussion to the group will be worth 0 points, but graded out of a non-zero point value. In this example we’ll say that the discussion will be worth 0 points but graded out of 10 points.

The discussion group still is worth a total of 100 points, but students can now earn a maximum of 110 points. This means that the total maximum credit a student can earn for the discussions group weighted at 20% is (110/100)*20% = 22% contributed towards their final grade. Since the pre-extra credit maximum percentage possible for discussions was 20%, and now students can earn up to 22%, in effect the extra credit assignment is worth 2% of final grades (in other words, each student now has an opportunity to earn up to an additional 2% on top of their final grade by completing the extra credit discussion).

Example 2: unweighted assignment groups

This example involves a grading set up that uses a lump sum of point values to calculate final grades, rather than using weighted assignment groups. Let’s say the point value for all assignments in the course is 200 points, which means student’s final grades are calculated by taking the total points earned for all assignments divided by 200 points possible. You add an extra credit assignment worth 0 points, but it will be graded out of 10 points, meaning a student can now earn a maximum of 210 points out of 200. A student earning the maximum number of points would have a final grade of 210/200 = 105%, which means that by completing the extra credit assignment, a student can earn up to an additional 5% on top of their final grade.

Grading students who do not complete the extra credit

Regardless of which of the two methods you may use, when grading the  extra credit assignment it’s best to excuse students who do not complete the assignment rather than give a zero. 

Giving those students a zero will not penalize them since the opportunity for each student to earn a full 100% for the course is still there, but note that if a zero for the extra credit is applied before all other assignments are graded, the zero will artificially deflate grades (giving the appearance that students are being penalized for not completing the extra credit). This happens because any yet-to-be-graded assignments are ignored by Canvas in final grade calculation. Therefore, the best way to avoid this is to mark students as “Excused” rather than giving a zero. Any student who is marked as “Excused” for an assignment will have that assignment excluded from their final grade calculation.

Need more help with setting up extra credit?

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected] or 617-824-8090 for further assistance.

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• October 12, 2020

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Teaching with Extra Credit

Introduction

No matter how far they stray from the standards of common-core curriculum, educators often find themselves wanting to add to their lesson plans halfway through a semester. Extra credit opportunities can often ease the circumstances of these situations, allowing students a chance to further enrich their schooling. However, educators have different opinions about the effectiveness of such a practice. Some may argue that earning additional points on their own terms may motivate students. Others argue that the opportunity discourages students’ motivation in their required assignments. By any means, extra credit has had a history of catalyzing learning in some classrooms, and highlighting inequalities of opportunity in others. Before enabling it into their classes, teachers should weigh the effectiveness of such a practice, and find fair methods of creating such opportunities for their students.

With the offering of extra credit being such a routine, yet polarizing practice, the internet is swarmed with articles and activities surrounding the topic. Utilizing the following resources could assist teachers in deciding whether to or how to blend these credits into their classroom structure.

Lesson Plans

• Extra Credit Activity Examples : This page from TeachTCI lists 10 ideas for extra credit assignments. The activities allow for students opportunities to complete activities that strengthen their academics, as well as ones that get them more involved with their local communities. Some of the activities involve attending school activities or listening to speakers, experiences that the students might not normally gravitate towards. These ideas are meant to limit exploitation of inequalities among students and to give all a fair chance at extra points.
• Engaging Activities : In this post, schoolteacher Erika Romero begins by reflecting on her implementation of extra credit as a means of getting students to go above and beyond in applying what they’ve learned. She gives five examples of ways in which she has incorporated opportunities for extra credit into her classes. She delineates the activities and the students responses thoroughly in the hopes that teachers can gain ideas for creating similar assignments. She describes plans in a variety of formats, including reflection papers, peer responses, event attending, and digital projects. Teachers can look up to class formatting should they choose to allow chances for bonus points.
• Middle School Ideas : This resource from ProTeacher Collection lists 10 examples of extra credits that one teacher offered for her sixth, seventh, and eight grade classes. This page could be helpful for educators teaching within that grade range who may need some ideas. Most of the assignments can be completed by students on their own schedules throughout the year, limiting the chance that a student will be too swamped to accept such opportunities.
• Unfair for Students? : This op-ed piece from Small Pond Science illustrates why one teacher strongly refuses to offer extra credit in their classroom. The teachers claims that most forms of extra credit and pay little respect to a students’ time. The writer lists six common reasons that teachers will engage in the practice, and attempts to refute each one. The article goes on to say that when students become accustomed to the practice, they tend to strive less on required assignments throughout the year. When students study less for their required assignments, the quality of their education ultimately depreciates. In turn, the constant availability of the custom implements unhealthy behaviors and as a result should not be encouraged by educators.
• Pros of Extra Credit : In this article from Inside Higher Ed, Professor Deborah Cohen from the University of South Carolina at Beaufort, explains her shift in teaching style and decision to offer opportunities for extra credit in her classes. In the opportunities that she offers, she pushes her students to engage deeply with required materials and campus culture. She holds her students accountable by basing her grading system on the effort that students put into the assignment. She requires a two-page paper with every event that students attend for extra credit, but she finds that many students attend the event out of their own curiosity and choose not to submit a paper. 
• Analyzing Forms of Extra Credit : This chapter from the book Charting a Course to Standards-Based Grading , by Tim R. Westerberg explores the use of extra credit, eventually ruling against certain forms of the practice. The section criticizes the practice of bringing in classroom supplies in exchange for a grade boost. It suggests that rather than call it “extra credit,” teachers should call the act what it is: one of “citizenship.” As such, those actions should not be met with a reward that would in turn marginalize students less capable of affording these supplies. The author then goes on to defend his stance forms of extra credit, but still for the standard of giving students second chances. This chapter touches upon some very insightful points in warning against some of the most prevalent yet most depreciating teaching practices.

Informational Sites

• The Extra Credit Question : This page from the Chronicle of Higher Education analyzes the different perspectives on whether or not to include extra credit, listing reasons why teachers would or would not want to include it. The article also lists eight strategies for teachers in incorporating extra credit assignments. Overall, the article gives plenty of great information for both sides of the question, and even lists advice for those considering incorporating the practice into their classrooms.
•   The Laws of Extra Credit : This TeachHub article lists the unwritten “laws” of giving extra credit. For teachers who would like to offer extra credit in their classes, this article presents advice and guidelines for setting boundaries. Teachers often need to be careful with how they give extra credit in order to optimise the students’ learning. This article gives instructions for best improving the classroom’s efficiency through extra credit.
• Extra Credit: An Undeserved Gift or a Second Chance to Learn? : This transcript of an online seminar, by Maryellen Weimer, Ph.D attempts to teach educators how to offer extra credit more fairly and most effectively. The speaker aims to keep these opportunities reinforcing “procrastination or other irresponsible behaviors.” 

Within the seminar, four different educators share their experiences with extra credit in their classrooms, with feedback from Weimer. The lecture acknowledges that even college students are not fully matured and still make mistakes. Therefore, another chance at succeeding should be appreciated, but only in the circumstances that encourage the right types of habits from the students. Weimer lists a plethora of options for teachers who decide to incorporate the practice into their classrooms.

Teachers oftentimes find that many of their students choose not to take advantage of most opportunities for extra credit. Simply having the opportunity available has the potential to highlight the students that care the most about their learning. Or perhaps it highlights just the ones that care mostly about their grades. Either way, the different methods of implementing extra credit opportunities into the classroom can have a major impact on student absorption of class materials. Teachers should decide carefully and be willing to back up their decisions when organizing these tasks into their gradebooks.

Additional Resources  

• Study on Extra Credit’s Effect on Student Learning : This four-page study conducted by Brian Miller from the University of Delaware investigates the underlying effect of extra credit on student learning. The study compares exam score of 1204 undergraduate students to their level of participation in extra credit assignments. It found that the mean exam scores for those that completed more extra credit assignments ultimately fell higher than the mean scores for those that choose not to participate.
• Pros and Cons : This resource from the Spartan Oracle includes two different articles, one written in favor of extra credit, and the other against it. Both writers articulate their points concisely and clearly. The page presents the arguments in an interesting way, placing both opinion pieces side-by-side and allowing the reader to decide with which one to identify more closely.
• Middle School Science Examples : This site created by a middle-school science teacher lists detailed, science-related extra-credit assignments for her students. This page can give teachers, regardless of what subjects they teach, ideas for assignments outside of general curriculum. The teacher also some ground rules for students who complete these assignments, including that they must have turned in at least 80% of their work. The teacher’s clear expectations outlined on this website can stimulate teachers in creating more fair opportunities for their students.

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Extra Credit Assignments

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Can I add an Extra Credit Assignment in Canvas?

The answer is YES! There are several methods for adding extra credit in Canvas.

To learn more about extra credit in Canvas and the best ways to add it to your course, see the guide below.

Click here for a guide to Extra Credit Assignments in Canvas

Click here to view an example of an extra credit assignment in Canvas

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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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Award Extra Credit in Canvas

Created by Laura Schmidli and Antonella Caloro. Published May 2022.

One huge advantage of using Canvas is its ability to calculate final grades. However, extra credit can be difficult to integrate into your existing Canvas grading structure and calculations.

Three methods we recommend are listed below, from easiest to more difficult. Please note the best choice for your course depends on your grading practices. We encourage you to get in touch with us when you have questions about awarding extra credit. 

Add extra points to an existing Assignment

In Canvas, an instructor can add points beyond the total points for an Assignment, Graded Discussion, or Graded Survey for any student. This can be done from the Gradebook, or from Speedgrader. This works well if you want your extra credit points to apply to a specific Assignment, like an exam or paper, and you’ve already collected student work to earn these points.

This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.

Students can earn up to 17/15 on a Final Paper Assignment for attending an event on campus. The instructor has already noted who attended. The instructor then awards these points via Speedgrader as they enter scores and comments for the Final Paper, or use the Gradebook to add extra credit after the paper has been graded.

Special Consideration: Graded Quizzes

A Graded Quiz will adopt the point value of the questions it includes – e.g. a Quiz with 5 questions each worth 1 point is a 5-point quiz. This means an instructor can’t add points to a graded quiz. Instead, in Speedgrader an instructor can add “fudge points” to adjust student grades. This feature can be helpful when correcting a mis-graded or mis-worded question, but can also be used to provide extra credit to students.

Create a new Assignment worth 0 points

In Canvas, an instructor can create an Assignment, Graded Discussion, or Graded Survey worth 0 points. The instructor can later award points to students who complete this 0 point assignment, resulting in extra credit.

For completing a mid-semester evaluation graded survey, students can earn up to 3 points of extra credit. The instructor manually adjusts student grades via the Gradebook for only those students who have completed the survey. Then the instructor assigns a default grade of 0 for the remaining students who did not complete the extra credit work. 

Special Consideration: Assignment Groups

• If an instructor is not using Weighted Assignment Groups, the Extra Credit Assignment can be part of any Assignment Group without impacting how the final grade is calculated. One way to decide how much extra credit students can earn is to decide the maximum grade a “perfect” student can earn. For example, in a course with 1000 points total, students may earn up to 10 points of extra credit, with a maximum score of 101% possible in the course.
• If an instructor is using Weighted Assignment Groups , the extra credit Assignment must be within one specific Assignment Group, depending on how the extra credit should be weighted. Often this is easiest if you make the total extra credit possible equivalent to a small assignment. For example, if the extra credit points should be the equivalent of one homework, the extra credit Assignment can be added to the homework Assignment Group and given a point value equivalent to one homework. 

Create an Extra Credit Assignment Group that is weighted beyond 100%

During the semester, an instructor can create an Extra Credit Assignment Group weighted at 0% of the final grade. All Weighted Assignment Groups should add up to 100%. At the end of the semester, after all other grading is complete, an instructor can change the weight of the Extra Credit Assignment Group to be percentage beyond 100% to award students extra credit in the course as a whole. 

Special Consideration: Timing!

All other grading in the course must be complete before awarding this extra credit! If this extra credit is graded before students have graded entries in other Assignment Groups, the grading will not scale correctly. This means an instructor must either:

• Only create this Assignment Group and grade this assignment once all other assignments have been graded.
• Or set this Assignment Group to be worth 0% of the final grade until all other grading is complete. Then remember to change the weight at the end of grading for the semester.

This works best for extra credit points awarded at the end of the semester to the course as a whole, rather than extra credit intended to raise a grade on a specific assignment. 

Special Considerations: Multiple Assignments

This solution is the simplest when you only have one Assignment within your extra credit Assignment Group.

If you have multiple Assignments within this extra credit Assignment Group, please keep in mind that these Assignments must be worth points relative to each other. For example, a 2-point Assignment is worth twice as much as a 1-point Assignment.

Connect with Help

Awarding extra credit can be complicated, and the best way to set it up will depend on specific situations in your course. It is best to plan your strategy for awarding extra credit at the beginning of your course rather than at the end. IDC staff can help with awarding extra credit, setting up grading to match your syllabus and course policies, and more. 

Schedule a Meeting

References & Further Reading

• Canvas Instructor Guide: How do I set a default grade for an assignment in the Gradebook?
• Canvas Instructor Guide: How do I add an assignment group in a course? 
• Canvas Instructor Guide: How do I weight the final course grade based on assignment groups?
• Canvas Instructor Guide: How do I adjust the point value for an entire quiz using fudge points in SpeedGrader?

How to Credit this Guide

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License . This means that you are welcome to adopt and adapt content, but we ask that you provide attribution to the L&S Instructional Design Collaborative and do not use the material for commercial purposes.

Example attribution:  From Awarding Extra Credit in Canvas  by the  L&S Instructional Design Collaborative,  licensed under the  BY-NC 4.0 license .

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15.3: Should teachers allow extra credit?

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• Page ID 87660

• Jennfer Kidd, Jamie Kaufman, Peter Baker, Patrick O'Shea, Dwight Allen, & Old Dominion U students
• Old Dominion University

By: Lindsey Layne

"I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.-Socrates

Learning Objectives

• The reader should be able to understand reasons why teachers allow extra credit -The reader should be able to understand different types of extra credit

Introduction

In today’s schools teachers are skeptic about whether or not to provide extra credit opportunities to their students. It is at the teachers discretion to implement this practice in their classroom. Some teachers oppose giving their students the chance to increase their grade with this option while others believe it is necessary.

What is extra Credit and how is it used?

Extra credit is an optional assignment of some sort that a student can do to boost his/her grade. Teachers can present an extra credit assignment in many ways. It could be a presentation, a paper, a book report, a visual aid and so much more. It serves more than one purpose when also used as a review for a test or lesson. Sometimes the points earned will only be added to a test or other assignment and other times teachers choose to put it towards a final grade. Usually these assignments are worth no more than 20 points, except for in rare cases. An example of an extra credit assignment could be related to a test. The teacher may not take up homework for an entire lesson on Rational equations. Completing the homework will be at the students discretion and on the day of test they can turn it in for 5 extra credit points on the test.

Optimistic view of Extra Credit

Teachers choose the route of extra credit assignments for many different reasons. Everyone has unpredictable things happen within their lives and sometimes it can impact sleep, time to study, or even being able to attend school. Extra credit can ease this stress and fill the gap.Usually teachers who believe this option is a positive thing, do it because they believe it allows for less stress on the students. If a student was just having a bad day and did not get the grade they hoped for on a test, they know that they can complete the extra credit assignment to boost their grade a little. Another reason may be for the simple experience of what the assignment entails. For example, if the option is to create a video or a power point presentation on the civil war, it would give the students some personal interaction with the subject matter. This knowledge could be beneficial when completing other assignments that involve the civil war. Lastly, a teacher may implement extra credit opportunity to benefit themselves. Some teachers believe that the grades the students receive is a direct reflection of how the teacher is doing their job. If most of a class bombs a test, the extra credit will hopefully relieve some of the worries that their teacher may have.

Pessimistic view of extra credit

On the opposing side of the extra credit issue, teachers can view this educational option as a negative thing. “Some teachers have a policy of no extra credit work. They feel that every student has the opportunity to do what's necessary and if they don't, they should experience the consequences.” (The English Teacher) They may think it gives the students an excuse not to do their best on a test or assignment. "The existence, or the hope of extra credit may induce students to prepare less carefully for exams and papers with the expectation that additional points can be earned on future assignments," (Wilson 2002.) If not all of the students choose to take advantage of the extra credit, the grade outcome can contain too much of a gap. The grading of additional assignments that only few students completed can also get very confusing and cause issues for the teacher. The “no extra credit” route can teach students the responsibility of planning for their test without hesitation. (The English Teacher.)

Closing the gap

When a teacher feels skeptic not to allow extra credit but still wanting their students to do well, they may try to result to something different to make it seem fair. Teachers may not like to allow extra credit to boost any grades but they could have a rule where if more than 70 percent of a class fails or receives below a 65 on an test, the teacher will implement a curve. This could be only for tests so that way students will not count on extra credit points and still do their best. The curve could be added in any way to try to make the class average within the passing zone.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

1. What is the term for an optional assignment that can boost a student’s grade?

b. Extra credit

c. Homework

2. If a teacher wants to implement a different route other than extra credit to boost their students grades on a test, that has stipulations and the students would be unaware until after they took the test, what would the teacher do?

a. Allow a presentation to earn 5 points

b. Throw out the test and put a 100 in grade book

c. Implement a curve to put class average above passing

d. Allow for a retake to only few students

3. According to the article which example best describes a situation that could cause a student stress

a. Parents divorce

b. at the hospital all night

c. not enough sleep

d. all of the above

4. According to article which option best describes a reason for a teacher opposing extra credit?

a. teacher doesnt feel like grading extra assignments

b. students should learn that planning ahead and studying is very important without hope of extra credit

c. the test was easy enough without offering extra credit

• (Danielson, L The English Teacher. Retrieved March 19, 2009, from Teaching Strategies Web site: http://teacher2b.com/strategies/excredit.htm
• Wilson, Mark (2002). Evidence that Extra Credit Assignments Induce Moral Hazard, Atlantic Economic Journal, Retrieved March 19, 2009, from

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6413/is_1_30/ai_n28912014

Extra Credit: To Give or Not to Give – That is the Question

By Michelle Read, Ph.D.; Katherine Fugate, Ph.D.

Snapshot: This article discusses the pros and cons of utilizing extra credit with your students. Both authors have utilized extra credit in the courses they teach. Moreover, the article presents various ways to add extra credit points in the Canvas LMS.

There are a variety of reasons why one might want to assign extra credit for students. However, the use of extra credit in higher education has been a topic of debate for decades.

InsideHigherEd.com ran two articles on this topic, each expressing opposing views on the matter.

Interestingly, the sociology professor used to feel the same way as the English professor until she designed an extra credit assignment that not only complemented the course goals, but, as she said, “enriched” student learning with very current, relevant events which required not only attendance but also reflection in order to earn the optional extra points. These types of extra credit options do not serve to replace an assignment or assignments, instead they allow for additional learning opportunities. While the English professor acknowledges the reality of students’ lives, he does not, however, allow these realities to impact his instructional practices. It is important to recognize and address that in this past year of COVID, educators have hopefully learned how valuable and necessary flexibility in due dates can be. Opportunities for students to maintain their typical average-to-above-average grades via extra credit assignments can be vital to student success and overall morale during turbulent times, such as a pandemic or personal tragedy in the individual’s life. Often times, flexibility in due dates also provide benefit to instructors. Just because one is an instructor, this title does not preclude them from contending with these same realities of life. Sometimes the need for extra credit is not to pass the course due to missed assignments, but augment low scores on the assignments. It is also important to note, that students may simply be trying to boost their totals to the next grade level to improve their GPA or to meet their major’s program requirements. The option to take advantage of extra credit opportunities is the student’s; the job of the instructor is to make any extra credit opportunities relevant, meaningful, and aligned to course goals and objectives.

In 1993, Norcross et al., conducted a study interviewing instructors to determine why they would or would not offer extra credit. Reasons for offering extra credit included the following:

• Reduces student anxiety and builds confidence.
• Extra credit can be a second opportunity to learn the content.
• Some need a second time to learn and engage with the content in order to master the material.
• Capitalize on the student’s current degree of motivation. In doing the extra credit, they will learn.

There were also valid reasons noted for not providing opportunities to earn extra credit:

• Reinforces tendencies to not work hard if students know extra credit is an option.
• Time spent on extra credit means less time spent on regular assignments.
• If too easy to complete, extra credit reduces course academic standards and rigor.
• It’s unfair to those who did the assignments and did well.
• More work on the instructors’ part to create and/or grade extra credit assignments.

It is easy to see that the arguments from each of these professors correlate with what faculty have been debating for years. The sociology professor expands on these benefits by making her extra credit possibilities available for everyone and designs them to be specifically relevant to the content as an optional extension of, as opposed to a substitute to, what is already provided to students for understanding the content.

What constitutes a “good” extra credit assignment?

As with whether or not to  allow extra credit is considered good practice, the opinions on what types of extra credit are valuable is also debatable. The following list are some suggestions gathered from various resources, my own experiences, and from my work with faculty in designing their online/hybrid courses:

• Add opportunities to earn “professional” points when replying to peers’ initial discussion responses. Often, we do not give students any direction in how to do that. Guidance is helpful and will get you more than “Atta boy” from peers. You can ask repliers to make connections that require higher order thinking skills by asking questions or analyzing the content and critiquing it, while also making it necessary to provide additional resources that support or refute their claims, etc. As an instructor, I provide professional points for extra replies, extra resources, going back and answering questions posed to the original posters by their peers, etc. I try to promote ongoing discussions, furthering the goal of having enriching and meaningful learning opportunities.
• Adding extensions to assignments may come across as more work, and it is, but it is meaningful, relevant work and provides the opportunities to make up for points lost from their original submission.
• Provide additional, optional creative assignments. For example, I offer my students an extra credit assignment in which they create a video that offers advice to students who come after them. My students are often in their graduating semester, so the advice is for the next group of graduating seniors and advises them on various aspects of life after graduation.
• Optional blog assignments. Have students reflect and write about topics from your class.
• Suggest students attend events related to the course content. For example, when I was an undergrad (here at Texas State), my music theory professor had us attend a symphony to earn extra credit. I don’t recall him having us write a reflection, as the sociology teacher above did, but it would’ve been a good idea. “Did you like the symphony, why or why not?” would be a great starting point. You can add specific questions to prompt their reflection that tie into your course objectives.
• Extra creativity points. Allow for extra credit points on any creative assignment. Often students will do the bare minimum to make their project look good, but they’ll likely do more if they know you’re looking to provide points for extra appeal, wow factor, etc.
• Revise and explain. When a student does poorly on an assignment or exam, give them the opportunity to revise or correct and then explain their change in answers. If they were provided answers on the test, have them prepare a presentation and/or video that teaches the concept to earn back points.
• Video-record a science experiment. If you teach science or other subjects with demonstrations and don’t normally have students record themselves doing an experiment or demonstrating an activity, consider having them record themselves doing one for extra credit. They could do this by screen-recording if it is an activity completed on the computer or use their phones or use other recording devices.
• Book reports. An oldy, but a goody, often used in K-12, can work in higher education as well. You could also give the students options such as doing one as a paper, as a presentation/video, etc.
• Service work. Allow students to volunteer. The volunteer work should be something that would apply concepts learned in class or at least the opportunity to observe the concept’s application.
• To ensure rigor particularly for upper division or graduate courses, have students take the concepts and topics and explain/teach them for a layperson, someone who has not studied the discipline. This could be done via presentations, and/or videos. You could even tie in the points to how well received the project was by recipients via a satisfaction poll or have them create quiz questions. The latter of course, would require that someone volunteer to be the audience.
• In addition, for upper division or graduate students, have students do a case study analyzing a provided case that is relevant to their profession. For example, have an education student in a class management course analyze a video-based case study looking for specific events, such as poor behavior, not noticed by the teacher.

You may have noticed that any one of these examples, would actually serve as really great assignments too. Does it require extra work on your part as well? Probably. Grading is always going to take your time. Only you as the instructor can decide if doing so is worth your time and is providing meaningful learning experiences for your student(s) who need that extra support.

Ways to add extra credit using the Canvas LMS system

For specific instructions on how to add extra credit points in Canvas, please see the instructions here , which can also be downloaded.

Cohan, D. (2018). Extra, extra, read all about it: To offer extra credit or not to offer extra credit?. Inside Higher Ed . Retrieved from: https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2018/01/16/professor-explains-why-she-offers-extra-credit-her-classes-opinion

Norcross, J.C. , Dooley, H.S. and Stevenson, J.F. (1993). Faculty use and justification of extra credit: No middle ground? Teaching of Psychology , Vol. 20, No. 4: 240-242.

Stauffer, W. (2019). Extra credit is not really extra. Inside Higher Ed . Retrieved from: https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2019/01/16/professor-explains-why-he-doesnt-offer-extra-credit-his-students-opinion

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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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Assigning Extra Credit in Canvas

There may be times when you’d like to offer extra credit to your students. While there is no explicit “extra credit” option available in Canvas, this How-To outlines a few options for giving extra credit points.

The three options here will serve a majority of need cases. If you have a more complex extra credit need (for example in classes with both undergraduate and graduate students or on quizzes) please contact Canvas Support as outlined below.

Option 1: Adding Points to an Existing Assignment

When giving points to students on graded assignments in the Gradebook, you can add the extra credit points directly to their score.

Locate the assignment in the Gradebook, click on the score area for the student you want to give extra credit to and update the score points.

In the example at right, the student has been awarded 2 extra credit points for a final score of 7 out of 5.

NOTE: this option will not work for assigning extra credit on Quizzes. Please contact Canvas Support for assistance with extra credit on quizzes.

Option 2: Create an Extra Credit Assignment

This option works well if you are using a point structure and not using  weighted grades.

• Create an assignment called “Extra Credit” [1]
• Assign a point value of Zero [2]
• Make the submission type No submission [3]
• You do not need to set a Due or Until date

At the end of the term, manually assign points to students for this "assignment" in the Gradebook.

Option 3: Weighted Assignment Group

This option works best in courses that are using a weighted Gradebook. Create an Assignment Group named "Extra Credit."

Assign the weight for this group making sure that the overall grade percentage goes over 100%.

For further assistance, UO Online & Canvas Support are available.

• In-Person: Room 68 PLC
• By phone: (541) 346-1942
• By email:  [email protected]
• Submit a  Service Portal Ticket  ( opens in a new tab) . This form can also be accessed in Canvas from the  Help  button at the bottom of the  Global Navigation Menu . 

How to Get Extra Credit from Your Professor + Email Templates

By: Author Hiuyan Lam

Posted on Last updated: October 20, 2023

Categories Writing Prompts

It’s getting toward the end of the semester, and you notice you’re missing an assignment, or your grades are not up to par. Your problem now is how to ask your professor for extra credit.

Many professors do not offer extra credit assignments and don’t have any extra credit options outlined in their syllabus. It usually depends on the system already in place, and if extra credit is given to one student, it has to be offered to all.

The best way to ask your professor is usually through email, as it is more formal, and it is appropriate for the setting. Professors are sometimes too busy to schedule face-to-face appointments for these types of situations.

Before we explore these templates on how to ask your professor for extra credit, there are some things that must be considered beforehand.

Things to pay attention to before asking the professor

  The most important part of how to ask your professor for extra credit is the pre-existing conditions. These vary between universities/colleges and even between courses.   What will work with certain professors, may not fly with others. It ultimately depends on your situation.   Have a look at these prerequisites for how to ask your professor for extra credit before you send your email:  

    This should never be your backup plan, and should only be requested when your back is against the wall, or something out of your control puts you in a position to request extra credit.  

How to ask your professor for extra credit for homework

  Professors are more likely to give extra credit for homework assignments you don’t do well in or need extra time for, than homework assignments you skip completely. If you don’t attempt it, your professor may take it as a sign that you are lazy and unwilling to put in the needed work.   You’re more likely to hear yes for homework since it gives your professor enough time to assign something extra before the final exam. This is when many assignments come in and they are too busy to take on any extra work.   Here’s how to ask your professor for extra credit for homework:  

2 Email templates for the request

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Email template if the professor refuses

Thank you email template if the professor gave you extra credit

How to ask your professor for a better grade for the exam

  Requesting extra credit for exams is more difficult than requesting extra credit for homework. Many professors teach different courses and don’t usually have the time around exams to facilitate extra credit.   For this reason, some professors do not give extra credit at all. If your professor offers extra credit, here’s how to ask your professor for extra credit for the exam:  

10 Great Templates for Writing a Thank You Letter to a Professor

Thank you email template if the professor gave you an extra credit

  The most important part of how to ask your professor for extra credit is respect, even if your request is denied. You still have to remain in that class until the end of the semester, and you are better off being in the favor of your professor.   If your request is granted, do not use this as an opportunity to slack off. You have been given a second chance, so make the most of it!  

• Blogs @Oregon State University

Ecampus Course Development and Training

Providing inspiration for your online class.

Assessment Design: The Case Against Extra Credit

As a follow-up to discussing equity in grading and group work , Feldman (2019) offers a compelling case against the use of extra credit. “But wait a minute,” I can hear you saying, “Extra credit is optional—students have to opt-in if they want to do it! And it can be fun! What’s wrong with that?” Many instructors may think of extra credit as a way to benefit students and give them extra opportunities in a course, especially at the end of a term, to improve their grade, take on additional challenges, and demonstrate additional skills they have learned. (I know I thought about extra credit that way at one time!) However, there is more at play with extra credit than you might think. Let’s return to Feldman’s three pillars of equitable grades:

• “They are mathematically accurate, validly reflecting a student’s academic performance.
• They are bias-resistant, preventing biased subjectivity from infecting our grades.
• They motivate students to strive for academic success, persevere, accept struggles and setbacks, and to gain critical lifelong skills” (Feldman, p. 71).

With these three pillars in mind, let’s examine some potential issues with extra credit:

• Accuracy: There are many ways extra credit can obscure what information a grade includes. First, it can be used to incentivize certain behaviors, which obscures a grade by not assessing academic performance or learning. (For example, extra credit for turning things in on time.) Second, it can obscure whether a grade reflects what students know by turning grades into a commodity (more about this below). In this way, grades are a reflection of how many points students are able to accumulate, not necessarily how much they have learned or whether they have met all of a course’s learning outcomes.This kind of extra credit can unintentionally signal to students that their behavior and non-academic performance in a course is more important than their learning.
• Bias: Sometimes extra credit is awarded to incentivize students to participate in extra events or opportunities, like attending a webinar, guest lecture, local event, etc. However, in addition to treating grades like a commodity, this kind of incentive also makes it difficult for students without outside resources or help to engage. What about students without the money for event tickets, transportation, child or family care, and/or without the time away from work, family, etc.? They are unable to participate, even if they want to, due to external factors outside of their control. And often these are the students who could potentially benefit the most from additional points if they are already struggling because of these exact conditions. For extra credit that provides extra challenges beyond the course materials, only the students already doing well will be able to participate and benefit from the opportunity, additionally shutting out students who are already behind.
• Motivation: Having extra credit, especially at the end of the course, can also be damaging to student motivation, as it places an emphasis on grades and points instead of learning. For example, some students may prioritize obtaining a desired grade above learning important content, while other students may use extra credit to bolster a weak area they were unable to fully grasp, thereby giving up on learning that material entirely. Both of these potential mindsets set students up to focus on a product (grade) more than learning and any future perspectives they might have about their learning.

One additional issue of extra credit to consider is the additional work and time on instructors for both designing additional assignments and grading the extra work, especially at the end of a term when there is usually a plethora of assignments, exams, and projects to grade.

“If the work is important, require it; if it’s not, don’t include it in the grade.” Feldman, p. 122.

So, what options can we give students that are more equitable as an alternative to extra credit? Instead of creating additional assignments, allow students to revise and resubmit work. This shift can help support students by encouraging them to learn from past mistakes, build on their learning, and see their growth over time. Revisions and resubmissions don’t have to only happen at the end of the term, so instructors can also consider timing of revisions based on course design, formative and summative assessment timing, and their own workloads. It also helps students who may be struggling with outside barriers to have additional attempts to complete work they may have missed. It also means that students cannot opt-out of important work or concepts because they cannot substitute those points from other areas of the course. Lastly, it saves the instructor time from designing and implementing additional assignments and complicated grading setups at the end of a term when instructors are often the busiest. While the use of extra credit is often from a place of good intentions, I hope this brief outline helps recontextualize how it may have a larger, negative impact in your course than you may have initially thought, as well as a strategy for replacing it in your course designs.

Feldman, J. (2019). Grading for equity: What it is, why it matters, and how it can transform schools and classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

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Office of the Vice President for Research

Ehs recognizes individuals and groups for leading the way in lab safety.

Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), a reporting unit of the Office of the Vice President for Research, recognized three individuals and two laboratories as part of its annual Lab Safety Rewards and Recognition program.  

The program began in 2020 to recognize principal investigators, laboratory staff and students taking a proactive approach to research safety culture. Nominations for the award are accepted from the campus community and by EHS’s Safety Advisory Team, which evaluates all laboratories and associated staff.  The Laboratory Safety Committee determines the winners.

“This program allows us to celebrate faculty, staff and students who put in extra effort each day to promote a culture of research safety on our campus,” said Haley Sinn, EHS director. “These individuals and groups illustrate that small, everyday actions can help improve lab safety for everyone across campus.”

The winners are:

Excellence in Safety Award – Individual Recognition

Junko kasuya, associate research scientist, department of neuroscience and pharmacology, carver college of medicine (ccom).

Kasuya has taken a proactive approach to keeping Professor Ted Abel’s lab and the surrounding labs safe, organizing shared spaces in a way that upholds best safety practices. “During the lab’s annual audit, Junko was quick to make corrections and engage in safety conversations,” said Sarah Hogren, biosafety coordinator in EHS. “She was thoroughly prepared for all questions and paperwork and even made sure to mention concerns from last year to show that they were corrected.”

Chris Knutson, research specialist, College of Engineering

Knutson serves as the safety manager for the entire Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering as well as the Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination (CHEEC) core. “He is overseeing more people, locations, and research than perhaps any other safety manager on campus but is always proactive and well-prepared,” said Rachelle Justice, chemical safety compliance specialist in EHS. 

Emily Witt, research associate, CCOM

Witt serves as the safety officer for the labs of James Byrne and Kristina Thiel, both CCOM faculty members. “Emily goes above and beyond in order to keep both labs safe by asking many questions and being quick to resolve issues,” Hogren said. “She is an excellent example of what it looks like to be safety conscious while advocating for the lab.”

Research Laboratory Excellence in Safety Award

Campbell lab, led by kevin campbell, professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, ccom.

The Campbell lab illustrates the importance of teamwork to maintaining safe conditions. “The Campbell lab is an excellent candidate for the safety excellence award due to the involvement of the PI, lab contact, staff, and even departmental contacts,” said Hogren. “I was very impressed by the proactiveness of both lab contact David Venzke and Dr. Campbell, as they both came with questions and concerns about how best to manage everything.”

Howard Lab, led by Michelle Howard, assistant professor of radiation oncology, CCOM

In the Howard Lab, everyone takes a proactive approach to safety. “The Howard lab is a well-organized lab group where everyone participates in the audit,” said Justice. “Everyone is engaged and has a good attitude, which I credit to Dr. Howard being an excellent role model and maintaining good expectations.”