It's getting near the end of the semester, which means that a few things are happening:
"When students miss class time, they must receive opportunities to make up the classwork, assignments, assessments, and other learning experiences; students are not required to make up the exact amount of instructional time missed due to absence. Students who master the course content and satisfactorily meet the expectations outlined in the syllabus for a course must receive credit for the course; they may not be denied credit based on lack of “seat time” alone. Determinations of passing or failing must be based primarily on how well students master the subject matter, concepts, content, and skills addressed in a class or course. Students cannot pass or fail primarily based on non-mastery measures such as attendance, participation, preparedness, professionalism, respect, and adherence to the school code of conduct. School grading policies and course syllabi must outline the extent to which attendance and participation factor into students’ grades and might therefore impact whether students earn credit."
So, it would seem that NOT accepting late work, at all, is prohibited by the line that reads "Students who master the course content and satisfactorily meet the expectations outlined in the syllabus for a course must receive credit for the course", because as long as they demonstrate mastery (without any mention of due dates, deadlines, timeliness, or the order in which they complete assignments), they should receive credit.
But then, later, it says "School grading policies and course syllabi must outline the extent to which attendance and participation factor into students’ grades and might therefore impact whether students earn credit". So now I'm confused - am I allowed to use participation in a class or attendance as a criteria for earning a credit?
Let's jump deeper.
There is something called the "Grading Policy Toolkit" which outlines how students should be awarded grades and on what criteria those grades ought to be decided. Here is what it says about the purpose that grades serve:
BUT! Then, there are further examples of acceptable grading policies and procedures. And when the idea of make up work is addressed, here is one of their examples (page 6 of the Grading Policy Toolkit):
In my own school's handbook, it appears to echo this conflicting DOE policy:
That's where I'm at with this thinking. And it makes me want to hold students to deadlines, and make sure they develop a sense of timeliness for their work, even if that means they fail a class and have to repeat it in high school.
Sources:
Academic Policy Guide: http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/27BF8558-B895-407A-8F3F-78B1B69F030A/0/AcpolicyHighSchoolAcademicPolicyReferenceGuide.pdf
Grading Policy Toolkit: https://intranet.nycboe.net/NR/rdonlyres/AFD21732-2551-47B1-B468-93B77C7357E2/0/AcpolicyGradingPolicyToolkit_FINAL.pdf
- Some of my students who have not submitted work are now asking to hand in missed work OR get some sort of make-up/extra credit assignment
- The students who HAVE done all the work are not nervous at all, but are concerned with their grades falling below a 90 or an 80, depending on their standards
- Teachers are following different standards - some are accepting any and all late or missing work, some are only accepting late summative assignments, some are offering extra credit work that is either easier to complete, easier to grade, or both, than the original work, and some teachers are refusing to accept late work.
"When students miss class time, they must receive opportunities to make up the classwork, assignments, assessments, and other learning experiences; students are not required to make up the exact amount of instructional time missed due to absence. Students who master the course content and satisfactorily meet the expectations outlined in the syllabus for a course must receive credit for the course; they may not be denied credit based on lack of “seat time” alone. Determinations of passing or failing must be based primarily on how well students master the subject matter, concepts, content, and skills addressed in a class or course. Students cannot pass or fail primarily based on non-mastery measures such as attendance, participation, preparedness, professionalism, respect, and adherence to the school code of conduct. School grading policies and course syllabi must outline the extent to which attendance and participation factor into students’ grades and might therefore impact whether students earn credit."
So, it would seem that NOT accepting late work, at all, is prohibited by the line that reads "Students who master the course content and satisfactorily meet the expectations outlined in the syllabus for a course must receive credit for the course", because as long as they demonstrate mastery (without any mention of due dates, deadlines, timeliness, or the order in which they complete assignments), they should receive credit.
But then, later, it says "School grading policies and course syllabi must outline the extent to which attendance and participation factor into students’ grades and might therefore impact whether students earn credit". So now I'm confused - am I allowed to use participation in a class or attendance as a criteria for earning a credit?
Let's jump deeper.
There is something called the "Grading Policy Toolkit" which outlines how students should be awarded grades and on what criteria those grades ought to be decided. Here is what it says about the purpose that grades serve:
- Demonstrate students’ level of understanding and skills in a subject, as of a specific point in time
- Reveal areas of improvement and subjects still in need of support
- Inform teachers’ curricular, instructional, and organizational decisions
- Identify which students need more assistance or differentiated learning
- Indicate whether a student passed or failed a particular course or subject at the end of a term
- Contribute to decisions about students’ programming choices and post-secondary options
- Influence promotion decisions and the middle school, high school, and college admissions process
BUT! Then, there are further examples of acceptable grading policies and procedures. And when the idea of make up work is addressed, here is one of their examples (page 6 of the Grading Policy Toolkit):
- A school states in their grading policy that students have up to one week after the end of a marking period to hand in any missed or late assignments. Assignments that are handed in within this timeframe will count towards the final grade, though each assignment that is handed in late due to noncompletion or an unexcused absence will be docked 5 points. Assignments that are handed in late due to an excused absence will not be docked.
In my own school's handbook, it appears to echo this conflicting DOE policy:
- New York City Public School Policy regulations specify that all final grades must be based on student work: test scores, homework, class participation, projects, etc. Students may not be penalized for lateness or absences, although the usual results of lateness and absence – un-submitted, incomplete or poor work – will have detrimental effects on final grades. The guidelines also specify that it is a teacher‘s responsibility to provide students with make-up assignments for work missed.
That's where I'm at with this thinking. And it makes me want to hold students to deadlines, and make sure they develop a sense of timeliness for their work, even if that means they fail a class and have to repeat it in high school.
Sources:
Academic Policy Guide: http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/27BF8558-B895-407A-8F3F-78B1B69F030A/0/AcpolicyHighSchoolAcademicPolicyReferenceGuide.pdf
Grading Policy Toolkit: https://intranet.nycboe.net/NR/rdonlyres/AFD21732-2551-47B1-B468-93B77C7357E2/0/AcpolicyGradingPolicyToolkit_FINAL.pdf