Students are informed at the onset of the school year that they are responsible for providing evidence of their learning of the overall expectations within the time specified by the teacher and in a form approved by the teacher. Students will understand that consequences are in place for incomplete assignments, late submissions, and missed assignments.
When in the teacher’s professional judgement it is appropriate to do so, a number of strategies may be used to help prevent and/or address late and missed assignments. They include:
- asking the student to clarify the reason for not completing the assignment;
- helping students develop better time-management skills;
- collaborating with other staff to prepare a part- or full-year calendar of major assignment dates for every class;
- planning for major assignments to be completed in stages, so that students are less likely to be faced with an all-or-nothing situation at the last minute;
- maintaining ongoing communication with students and/or parents about due dates and late assignments, and scheduling conferences with parents if the problem persists;
- in secondary schools, referring the student to the Student Success team or teacher;
- taking into consideration legitimate reasons for missed deadlines;
- setting up a student contract;
- using counselling or peer tutoring to try to deal positively with problems;
- holding teacher-student conferences;
- providing alternative assignments or tests/exams where, in the teacher’s professional judgement, it is reasonable and appropriate to do so; and
- deducting marks for late assignments, up to and including the full value of the assignment.