Assessments

During the December session we spent a considerable amount of time discussing the uses and misuses of assessments. One practice that we use at our school is that of giving zeros for missing assignments. The article we read during this session seemed to suggest that this was a bad practice because students will simply decide not to make up the assignment because they already lost the points so what's the point in trying. What the article did not discuss was offering half credit for late assignments. This is our policy. A student is allowed to turn in an assignment up to a week late for half credit. I wonder if the same lack of motivation to turn in missing assignments exists if students have an opportunity to earn a few points rather then still receiving a zero regardless if the work is finished late or not.