By Judy Hua, Staff Writer
As another semester is coming to a close and grades are soon to be due, students and teachers debate the idea of extra credit.
Some teachers on campus offer extra credit opportunities to students in order for them to receive extra points to raise their grade. However there have been varying views about whether or not extra credit should be given to students. Some students are in favor of extra credit because it helps better their grades.
Extra credit is helpful towards students who are poor test takers. It helps recuperate the loss points a student may lose because of an unsatisfactory test grade.
“I think extra credit is a good thing and it should be given because there are a lot of students who may be super passionate about a class, but just suck at taking tests,” said Kelton Do (‘16).
Furthermore, extra credit is also beneficial for students who have borderline grades.
“Teachers should give out extra credit more often because it helps boost students’ grades and allows them to reach the grade they want when their grades are borderline,” said Omar Madkour (‘16).
History teacher Kevin Doane agrees.
“My goal is to make sure that my students are successful and sometimes, extra credit is a way to provide them with an opportunity to pass the class. Some students might end up an F, but the extra credit could push them over the edge,” said Doane.
Moreover, because Doane offers extra credit, he does not round up his students’ grades.
“If you have an 89 % that’s a B, and I feel like if you really wanted to get the A, then you should have done the extra credit,” said Doane.
However, other students and teachers have differing views.
For example, biology teacher Emily Barro has mixed feelings about offering extra credit. She wants to give students opportunities in order to raise their grade. However, students may become more preoccupied about their grades as oppose to learning.
“I want to give [students] the reward of going out of the way to do something extra, but at the same time like I think that kids are so grade conscious that they lose sight of why we’re in school,” said Barro. “We’re in school to learn, not to rack up points for a stupid grade.”
Additionally, some feel that while extra credit may be helpful, it shouldn’t be something used to raise a grade during the end of a semester.
“Extra credit should be given to give students another chance to raise their grade, but students shouldn’t rely on it to pass the class,” said Christina Le (‘15)
