A demerit is a point given to a student as a penalty for bad behavior. Under this once common practice, a student is given a number of merits during the beginning of the
school term
An academic term (or simply term) is a portion of an academic year, the time during which an educational institution holds classes. The schedules adopted vary widely.
In most countries, the academic year begins in late summer or early autumn and ...
and a certain number of merits are deducted for every
infraction
A summary offence or petty offence is a violation in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment (required for an indictable offence).
Canada
In Canada, summary offe ...
committed.
Schools use the demerit record within a point-based system to punish
misbehavior
Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as we ...
. After a certain number of demerits are accumulated, the student is given
detention, loss of privileges (e.g., being denied field trips and participation in school events), or some other punishment based on the seriousness and frequency of the infraction. Some schools allow demerits to be offset with merits for good behavior.
One criticism of demerit systems is that they create
bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business and other organizations. It involves preparing source documents for all transactions, operations, and other events of a business. ...
problems and can result in students receiving severe punishments for minor infractions. Another criticism is that older
adolescents
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the ...
learn how to manipulate a demerit system. There are also critics who cite that demerits wear parents down with constant parental meetings and leave students behind due to missed instructional time as a consequence of punishments such as detention and suspension.
References
School punishments
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