Extra credit and your grade: how it really counts
Extra credit adds to the points you earned without adding to the points possible. Learn how bonus points work in points and weighted courses, and when a cap stops them.
Extra credit is any score that raises the numerator of your grade without raising the denominator. That is what makes it “extra”: ordinary assignments add to both.
Points courses
80 earned of 100 possible is 80%. Five bonus points make it 85 of 100 = 85%. If the bonus were a normal 5-point assignment you aced, you would have 85 of 105 = 80.95% instead. The difference is the whole point of extra credit.
Weighted courses
Bonus points usually live inside one category and raise that category’s percentage, which can exceed 100% unless a cap applies. Some syllabi instead add a flat amount to the final course percentage. Read which one yours does; the two give different results.
Capped category
Quizzes are capped at 100%. You have 95/100 plus 10 bonus points. Without the cap the category is 105%. With the cap it is 100%: five of the bonus points do nothing. Caps are applied before weighting in MyGradePlan.
Unreachable targets and extra credit
When the final exam calculator says you need 104% on the final, confirmed extra credit on that exam is the only legitimate way there. Do not assume it exists; ask.
Entering it in the calculator
Open Grading rules, enable extra credit, and enter the bonus points for the category. The explanation under your grade shows the bonus as a separate line so you can see exactly what it added.