Assessment: extra-credit points

The NASA Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) hosts a listserver discussing astronomy teaching and learning, moderated by Gina Brissenden (currently guest moderated by Jeff Sudol, Gettysburg College, PA). Recent posting:

Hello again everybody! ...How much bonus points do you offer your students and what for?
-- Jim Caffey, Drury University and College of the Ozarks

For Astronomy 10 at Cuesta College, officially there are no extra-credit points. However, there is approximately a 10%-15% "overage" in clicker point and lecture-tutorial point categories, which comes out to 5%-8% of the total class points.

Students who have missed a few classes can recover these points, and still get nearly the maximum clicker and lecture-tutorial scores. Students who get over and beyond the maximum clicker and lecture-tutorial scores are those who faithfully attended nearly every class and participated (well) in nearly every clicker and lecture-tutorial activity.

This "overage" is included in the grade scheme, but only becomes apparent near the end the semester, say, when students realize that the syllabus reports only 25 lecture-tutorials, but then get handed out lecture-tutorial assignment #26, #27, etc., and also when the total maximum clicker points starts to run over 75 points.

This turns out to not be popular for students who slack off, and want an easy "out" near the end of the semester to gain points; but the intent is to reward the students who have been sticking it out all semester, but need a modest surprise boost near the end to supplement their efforts.