First question is what are Joey's grades before the assignment? Second, what Mr. Nesbitt does in his classroom for his grades is for him to decide once he talks to his administration, but is Joey the only student that did not turn in the assignment in? Third, what problems is Joey facing that caused him not to turn in the assignment? These are questions that I feel need to be addressed before Mr. Nesbitt can allow Joey to turn in the assignment late. I do feel that Joey should be given a chance to turn in the assignment if there is an explanation for the assignment to be late. Students have problems just like adults do and with it being the first big assignment one chance to makeup should be given. Kind of like a get out of jail free card. We all make mistake once in a while. Each student should have one chance for one assignment to be late with a penalty.

If the school made the parents aware of the policy, then Mr. Nesbitt would have to follow it. However, I would speak to administrators first. If Joey hasn't completed the project, then is he going to finish, knowing he won't be able to turn it in? Probably not. Will he be able to get that knowledge in any other way? If his grade is failing, will he reasonably be able to bring his grade back up? Will he have the confidence to do so? If not, will he be motivated to continue to do his work for the rest of the semester? I would definitely talk to administration about this. This policy definitely doesn't keep the student in mind and will definitely come around negatively.

If this is the school's policy and the student and parents were aware of this, I think the student deserves the grade unless he has a reasonable excuse or explanation that includes documentation of why the assignment was turned in late. If the teacher does not like the school's policy, he should talk to administration about it.

A zero for a project which is a summative grade is unrealistic and academically defeating. This policy should be reviewed. First, there has to be dialogue about the policy. Were parents involved with this decision? Second, we want students the learn responsibility, but in the real world, from time to time, there is an exception to the expectation. Finally, if a project counts as a summative grade, students should be allowed some class time to draft or work on the task. If a student has limited resources to complete the task, reasonable accommodations should be made to ensure the student has the needed supplies. It is very difficult and unlikely to recover, grade-wise, from a zero for a summative grade during a nine weeks grading period. In fact, the grade does not show what the student knows and understands. Instead, the grade may represent a lack of effort, irresponsibility or perhaps an unfortunate circumstance. I would have discussion with other teachers and administrators concerning the no late work policy. allow the student to turn in the task with a penalty.

Mr. Nesbitt should stick with the policy for the sake of maintaining an organized and fair grading policy for all students. If he allows this student to slide without following policy, then many of the other students will begin to turn in work late. This will create more frustration for Mr. Nesbitt in grading all assessments in a timely manner. There are alternative ways in knowing if a student understands the concept, so he can apply one of those methods for this assignment.

I think he should call Joey's parents and let them know that Joey did not do his project. I will let them know that it was a summative assessment and with a zero Joey will be failing. I would also tell them that Joey has the opportunity to turn in his assignment within the next two days, but points will be deducted for being late. The highest Joey can make on this assessment is an 80.

Absolutely he should allow him to. A grade is measure of what standards the child has learned. Giving them a zero will fail the child, but that grade may not reflect if they met the standard or not. Let him do the work and see if he knows the material.