Late assignments impact students, whether they are five-point exit cards, or 30-point reading guides that were turned in just a couple of hours late. Regardless of the subject, students have to deal with lost points due to missing deadlines, and the pressure is even more extreme when interims and report cards are on the way.
Beginning with the second semester, MCPS has updated its grading policy, changing the way students will manage their time, requiring them to be more cautious about overdue work.
The new policy states that any work submitted late will be marked down by 10%, and after a period of time unsubmitted work will receive a zero. Assignments submitted after that time can only be given 50% if turned in prior to interims or the end of the quarter. Work from the first half of the quarter will not be accepted after interims – not even for 50%.
For MCPS students: the pressure is on.
Freshman Lily Zimerman agreed that stricter policies will affect her grades and how she manages her assignments. “The new MCPS policies are definitely going to negatively impact my grades. Literally most of the assignments I turn in are a couple hours to a couple days late, just because it’s, you know, a lot, and I play volleyball too. But most of my teachers have different ways of enforcing the policy. Some of my teachers are being more strict about deadlines. But others are more understanding and are more flexible,” Zimerman said.
Stricter policies on late assignments won’t just impact students as well; they will also have an effect on teachers and how they will decide to work with late assignments. To math teacher Michelle Ridge, late assignments are not fun for teachers, but not the worst. “After a quiz, it’s bad. Before a quiz, I think it’s OK because you’re still learning the skills, and learning the skills is the most important thing. I’m definitely good with giving zeros though because when you do nothing, that is the number associated with not putting any effort or work in. Late assignments give us (teachers) more work and more stress. We’re teachers, and we’re human too,” Ridge said.
Freshman Michelle Mazzini said that late assignments have always been a challenge for her, and now more than ever she wants to fix her bad habits. “Part of the reason that my grades are where they are right now is because I’m always turning in assignments late. And sometimes my teachers are understanding about it, and let me turn it in a day or two late. But others are a lot more strict about it. I’m hoping that the new policy about late work isn’t going to affect my grades negatively,” Mazzini said.
With the new policy, MCPS students will now need to worry more about time management in order to get an assignment submitted without late penalties.
