What do you do when your teacher asks a question? Do you raise your hand or try to hide?
For the students in Marisa Kondos’s third-grade class, raising their hands can raise their grades. Kondos is a teacher in Chicago, Illinois. She is one of many teachers who count class participation toward kids’ grades.
Kondos says class discussions help her see where students might need extra help. “I get a sense of what they understand,” she explains.
But others say it’s unfair to grade students on how often they speak up in class. Sometimes the quieter kids are more focused than the talkative ones.