2008 - Marketing Educators' Association

EXTRA CREDIT QUIZZES: HOW THEY AFFECT OTHER GRADED COMPONENTS
OF THE CLASS AND STUDENT ATTITUDES
Curt J. Dommeyer and Brian I. Connett, California State University, Northridge,
18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge, CA 91330-8377; brian.connett@csun.edu
INTRODUCTION
This paper compares how offering quizzes as a
mandatory requirement or as “extra credit” affects
students’ performance in a course. It would be
reasonable to assume that the incentive of extra
credit would have at least some positive effect on the
performance of students. But it could also be that
students’ expectations of the value of extra credit are
disproportionate to the actual effects. This study
examines how offering quizzes as “extra credit”
affects students’ perceptions of the quizzes as well as
their performance on graded components of the class
that are related to quiz content.
LITERATURE REVIEW
An extensive literature review found that faculty
attitudes on the offering of extra credit range from
sympathy for, and hence “special” treatment of
“marginal students,” to outright refusal to offer it. In
general, faculty reported having mixed feelings on the
topic of extra credit. Also, it appears that extra credit
is offered for a variety of reasons, ranging from such
basic objectives as attending class to such “nonacademic”
activities as donating blood!
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main objective of the study was to compare the
performance of two similar groups of students in an
objective manner using two different quiz strategies.
METHOD
Two large-section classes in an introductory
marketing course were given different incentives for
taking a set of ten quizzes that were administered
throughout the semester. One class was told that the
quizzes were “mandatory” while the other class was
told that the quizzes were “extra credit.” The rationale
for the first group was that the mandatory quizzes
would reinforce students’ understanding of the
material, and that this would favorably affect their
overall performance. The second group was given
the
opportunity to earn extra credit by taking ten
ABSTRACT
112
(completely voluntary) quizzes during the semester.
This extra credit was added to the final scores earned
by the second group in order to compute final grades.
It was anticipated that the extra credit offered would
lead to improved performance as measured by
students’ scores on the various graded components
of the class. Each quiz (for both groups) was made
available online, using the textbook publisher’s test
bank, and consisted of ten questions relating to the
work covered that week.
RESULTS OF THE STUDY
Of the ten quizzes offered, the mandatory quiz group
and extra credit group took an average of 7.31
quizzes and 7.52 quizzes, respectively. While there
was no difference between the two groups on the
course grade, the extra credit group obtained higher
average scores on both the quizzes and the project
paper. Yet the results showed that the students’
performance on the mandatory quizzes is more
closely tied to the other parts of the course than are
the extra credit quizzes. The mandatory group scored
significantly higher average scores on both midterms
and the final examination. These results strongly
favor the use of mandatory quizzes over extra credit
quizzes. Even though the extra credit group scored
higher than the mandatory group on the quizzes, this
superior quiz performance did not translate into
superior performance on the midterm exams or on
the final exam. It appears that, for some students,
extra credit is a mechanism they use to compensate
for poor performance on the main components of the
course. Despite students’ liking for extra credit, this
study’s results favor the use of mandatory quizzes.
CONCLUSION
The authors wish to thank the paper reviewers for
their helpful comments, and acknowledge that a
study comparing the effects of extra credit on
marketing students with other student populations
would be desirable. The full paper is available from
the authors on request.
References Available on Request.