When is “Extra Credit” inequitable? Perhaps always.
There is some evidence that many students like and most staff dislike Extra Credit assignments because of the moral hazard: the reduced motivation for core tasks (including the essential learning outcomes) due to belief that there is a “second chance”. High performers may engage more meaningfully than lower ability students (Silva and Gross, 2004) compounding the difference in learning-effect.
At a single-course level, there is a grading equity issue. We need to take extra care to give every student equal opportunity to earn it.
- Do all students have sufficient information, resources and time? (Best practice would be to describe the opportunity in the course outline, and accept submission up to the end of the course.)
- Do students have control over the determinants of success? (Best practice would ensure the opportunity is independent of student attributes and attitudes)
| Basis of advantage | Examples | Assessment impact |
| Student actions | Test scores. Assignments. Courtesy. Attendance. | Defensible |
| Student attitudes | Attention. Respect. Overconfidence. Racist beliefs. | Dubious |
| Student attributes | First language. Age. Employer. Home location. Wealth. Mental illness. | Discriminatory |
Further reading
Silva, F.J. and Gross, T.F. (2004) The rich get richer: Students’ discounting of hypothetical delayed rewards and real effortful extra credit. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, December 2004, Volume 11(6):1124-1128.
“[T]he highest scoring students also chose to do and actually did more extra-credit work than lower scoring students did.”