Re: improving student performance and grades through extra credit?

[Linda Walsh]

I have tried setting the top score earned on an exam as the "100% " 
score, and have also had students provide written explanations of the 
correct answer for each test item for half-credit, but the "adjustment" 
I most often make, which has worked fairly well for me, is based on 
looking very carefully at any test items that less than half the class 
gets right. When more than half the class answers an item incorrectly  I 
re-evaluate the item for clarity, content relative to what was covered 
or assigned in class, and importance. If I decide that perhaps the item 
was not written as clearly as it might have been or,  that student 
misunderstanding may have resulted from too quick coverage in class, or  
that perhaps that item addressed a rather minor point, I make that 
question extra credit by lowering the points expected on that test (but 
still allowing students who answered correctly to keep the points they 
earned).  If  I know the content was well covered and well practiced , I 
keep the question in, despite the high miss rate.

Linda Walsh
University of Northern Iowa
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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