As the end of the quarter was approaching, students rushed to get in late assignments they’d been putting off. A 10% deduction does not stop the students from trying to boost their grades before they are finalized. Teachers are fed up with these last-minute submissions.
An MCPS grading expectation is that teachers may only take off 10% for late work. Students are willing to take this deduction instead of a solid zero as it can still help raise their final grade. “Bumping” grades are a big concern for students, as their grades are just borderline of the higher letter. These late assignments may just make or break their grades, leading them to be a primary source of late submission.
Students commonly turn in late assignments, however, a heavy flow of them tends to come in right before the quarter ends. Students occasionally breeze through the quarter and put work off, reassuring themselves they will do it later. However, the work is normally forgotten until it creeps back up, causing a major workload and stress. “It’s hard to balance school work especially while also playing a sport. Your time is limited making it harder to submit everything when it’s due,” sophomore Aadi Chaudhari said.
It is easy to get overwhelmed throughout the quarter; students often forget about random classwork or homework, as they are primarily focused on the bigger grades for their classes, quizzes or tests. When these test grades unfortunately come out worse than intended, stress rises. Students then push to their limits trying to do everything they can to get that higher grade. “It’s always a struggle trying to make sure all of my late assignments are counted, especially when I need them for that final grade boost,” junior Melissa Lee said.
When a student’s grade is borderline, they often ask if teachers will bump it up, meaning they will add in extra points to slightly raise it, or accept overdue work. However, not all teachers are fans of boosting grades because they believe the students should get what they earned. “Even though the work is late, I still think it’s a part of the student’s overall understanding for the marking period so it deserves to be a part of their grade. I’m not so into bumping grades but I will accept late submissions,” math teacher Madison Swan said.
Teachers often find it frustrating when they have to grade a bunch of late work. Considering students tend to submit tons of assignments all in one weekend, the workload topples up. Due dates and deadlines are recommended by teachers because it gives them a window of time for grading. “I don’t find it disrespectful when students submit late work. Though it can be demanding because we also have deadlines to work with,” English teacher Daniel Pecorraro said.
Students facing a crunch at the end of the quarter frequently wish they had spread the work out over the time given. While it’s too late to go back and make it happen, with the second quarter starting, students have the opportunity to make different choices.
