At the end of every quarter, students are worried about one thing: their grades. One last minute system of grade grubbing in Palatine High School that has simply gone too far is extra credit.

Extra credit that is not based on the actual class material is an inherently flawed. Sadly, within PHS, this system has some type of hold in nearly every department. Most of the time it is small and rather insignificant, only making up a few points, but in some instances, it can be destructive.

For example, many students in the Math department use what is called “Math Magic.” Math Magic are small squares of paper students can earn from their teacher that can be redeemed for a better grade on assignments. In theory, this is a perfectly acceptable system. But, in practice, Math Magic has become a monster.

Math Magic should only be offered to students who participate in class or complete a relevant project, but this extra credit is given out randomly. Even worse, with regards to Math Magic, these little pieces of paper are transferable. Students beg one another to borrow a Math Magic to bump up a grade, and some students are even willing to pay for them. It is a broken system and it must be changed.

In the World Language department, students get extra credit for bringing in a tissue box or selling pizzas and Advent calendars. In attempt to raise funds for the department, students are being turned into salespeople. Not only are these forms of extra credit completely unrelated to French or Chinese, but they institute a system where students can buy their grade.

An appropriate system of extra credit is one where students take the knowledge they have learned and apply it.

One great example of this is in the science department, where in AP Physics 1 and 2, students are able to present reports about how certain action scenes in movies are physically (italics) impossible. Students use the formulas they learned in class and apply it to these situations. They then get extra credit for a project that actually matches the curriculum. It helps their grade and their retention.

This is the only type of extra credit Palatine should have.