Flexible deadlines for student work????

Note: this piece is a lot longer than the piece which appeared in the Independent, which has a limit of 750 words                          

by Jim Buxton            

              I know of a number of schools which are adopting flexible deadlines for student work.  This seems to mean that homework due Tuesday could also be handed in on Wednesday, with “no charge”.  The logic seems to be that hard deadlines impact certain kids unjustly.  We’re asked to imagine the student who goes home from school, and then has to manage all the younger siblings while the single Mom works the night shift.  Wouldn’t it be more fair if that student could hand in homework on Wednesday if his Mom is home on Tuesday nights, and he can get work done then?   I would certainly agree in this case.  It is a reality that some students have much less support at home than others.  Although, some students get far too much help at home!

                Another argument in support of flexible deadlines is that kids learn at different rates.  What takes one student 30 minutes to complete may take another student 90 minutes.  The first student may be able to complete it by Tuesday, while the other student will need the extra day and hand it in on Wednesday.  Another related argument is that it doesn’t matter whether they got it in on Tuesday or Wednesday, the important thing is that they learned the material, right?

                Although the aforementioned arguments do carry some weight, I wouldn’t recommend basing my classroom policies on these “exceptions to the rule.”  For most of my 32 years at South Kingstown HS, my policies were directed to the “flock”, and not to the “lost sheep.”  This may sound like a pretty insensitive policy coming from a pretty sensitive guy.  Let me explain my policies dealing with deadlines which I would employ in a “college prep, non-honors” class (perhaps 2/3 of the SKHS students during my tenure).

                Firstly, in regard to minor homeworks, they could not be turned in late.  However, I would drop the lowest homework each quarter.  So, if a student tells me that their dog ate their homework, I’d say (sensitively) that I was sorry they had such an insensitive dog, but lucky for them, they could drop their lowest homework.  In regard to more significant homeworks, essays and papers, they can be turned in, but they lost 2/3 of a grade per day late.  Therefore, if a student turned in a paper, valued for 100 points, one day late, the most they could get was a 93.

                Why the difference between minor homework and papers, for example?  This can be seen by looking at the problems resulting in accepting minor homeworks late:

                                1) Let’s say I’m teaching the causes of World War 1 on Monday, and on Monday night the students had homework relating to the assassination of the Archduke, and the declarations of war which were to follow.  On Tuesday, I had planned to review the course of the war, leading to a debate as to which country was most at fault for World War 1.  However, on Tuesday morning, I collect homework and only 5 out of the 20 students did it.  Only one quarter of the class understands how the war broke out.  What do I do?  Do I carry on with the Tuesday plan, or do I go over the Monday night content?  If I go over Monday night’s homework in class, doesn’t this do a disservice to the 5 kids that completed the homework?  If I carry on with the original plan, then 15 out of the 20 kids are lost.  Either way, because of the flexible homework policy, I don’t know what to expect on Tuesday.

                                My policy was that a deadline was a deadline, and if it was late, it was a zero.  As a result, I would say that I averaged 80 – 85% completed homework over my final 20 years of teaching.  (It took me a decade to get to this level)  Note:  a typical homework might be worth 30 points in a 700 point quarter.  It’s not the end of the world if you get a 0/30, but it does have an impact!  I would show the students the Mathematical impact, and most responded by getting the work done regularly.

                                2) Another problem I have is this.  My goal was to hand back the homework the next day.  I think most educators would agree that prompt feedback is crucial for student learning.  However, if I have loose deadlines, if I hand Monday night’s homework back on Tuesday, then couldn’t Johnny copy Mary’s returned homework, and hand it in on Thursday? Additionally, doesn’t that put Mary in a tough spot when Johnny demands she share her returned homework.  One could say that Johnny could also do this if Monday night’s homework was due on Tuesday, with no lateness allowed.  However, the difference is that I have both Mary and Johnny’s homework with me on Monday night, and I can check if there was any copying.  With flexible deadlines, the only way to ensure there was no copying is if I photocopied all homework handed in so I can tell if someone copied later on (that month??)

                                3) Another problem occurs when dealing with # 2 above.  Teachers will delay handing back homework until everyone has done it.  By the time the work is returned, students don’t even recognize it!!

                                4) Another problem resulting from flexible deadlines is that we cannot flip the classroom, as many suggest.  We can’t make class more interactive and dynamic because they didn’t do the work at home.  Student homework output drops, and teacher centered teaching is the result during class time.

                So, why do I have different lateness policies for papers, for example?  Firstly, papers might be weighted out of 100 in a 700 point quarter.  Getting a zero out of 100 would hurt one’s grade too drastically.  Thus, you can hand it in late, but for 7 points off per day.  I would note that major papers are not returned the next day, therefore the copying issue is not a concern.  Additionally, the paper is a culminating (summative) activity, whereas the minor homework is formative, therefore the formative assessment (homework)  can be used to track the progress of the class as a whole or of individuals within it.

                Now there are some that argue that formative assessments should not count for your grade.  I disagree with that policy as it would lead to all the problems mentioned earlier.  For more on formative assessments, see the Blog post on that topic.

                Lastly, perhaps the most important reason for hard deadlines is because that’s the way the world is!  For the most part, if your boss says get it to me by Tuesday, he/she means Tuesday, not Thursday or next Tuesday!  If the first class at your high school is supposed to start at 7:35, you’re not going to be looked on with favor if you frequently show up at 8 AM.  Additionally, if a high school senior has flexible deadlines, then what happens when he goes to URI where a deadline is a deadline?  I heard that one principal said that it’s not the high school’s job to prepare the kids for URI.

                 Having stated my case, I have to acknowledge that this policy may not work as well in a culture where students just do not do homework.  Therefore, I would accentuate that the policies above worked well for me with the top two tiers of SK classes (which covered about 80% of SKHS students during my tenure.)  With the lowest of the three tiers, these policies did not work as well.  I grant you that.  However, if this is so, then I think it is unwise to make policies geared for the lowest tier which would be applied for the entire student body.

                 Homework deadline policies should be made with the flock in mind, and separate policies should be, sensitively enacted for the "lost sheep."