My school system requires summative assessments with grades below a 70 be given back to the students for an opportunity to redo the assessment. The student can only earn up to a grade of 70. The students are given that day only to redo the assessment. It is a nightmare! I can't even imagine how you policy creates stress among the teachers! If I were the teacher, I would make my assignments due earlier than needed so that the students are not turning them in so late. I would also offer an incentive for students turning in assignments on time or early. Offer homework passes, lunch with a buddy, a Coca-Cola, candy! Any incentive that will encourage students to actually turn it in when it is due!

To remedy this problem, I would suggest trying to facilitate a meeting with both teachers and leaders in which both side collaborate on a possible solution. Perhaps getting students (student government representatives) involved will further help to remedy the negative effects of the school's current policy. When students are aware of expectations, whether high or low, they will perform accordingly. Therefore, it is no surprise that many students are waiting until the final day to complete the assessment.

In addition to my first suggestion, maybe providing some sort of incentive for submitting the retake within a reasonable amount of time. For instance, a sliding scale of points of possible might motivate students. If the retake is submitted the following day, the students will earn up 100% of the new score or 80% if turned in two days after, and so on.

Great post! I wish I had a solution, but I don't. I only commented because I absolutely agree. I told my instructional coach that it should be mandatory for students to come tutoring,those who failed, if it is mandatory to retest.

I have tried many things over the past few years battling this same issue. Students would not study for tests, say they were "tired", etc. (I have heard some interesting excuses) for being unable to take a scheduled test they knew about well in advance. Some of my colleagues and I implemented a new policy. Without a parent or doctors note, the highest grade a student would be able to make on a make-up assignment is a 70. So, for instance, if students turn in a late homework or refuse to take a test on the assigned day, when they choose to make it up, though it is still graded out of the same total number of points, if the grade achieved is >70%, their score is a 70%. If they score <70%, that grade is awarded. This was a good way to hold students accountable for doing what was simply expected of them, rather than giving them chance after chance after chance without the risk of facing a penalty. After a semester went by, students realized that "just passing" was not good enough to pass the course, while for others, it was not enough to promote them to a subsequent honors/advanced course.

I would make sure that there is an initial due date that the students must take the test by and then allow them to take the test again within a certain amount of time. If the first test tells them which questions they missed then they can go back and review the information which can help them learn the required material. Having a minimum requirements for the initial grade is also a great idea that can improve student initiative.

I feel that this policy is more hurtful than beneficial to students. I think that one of the jobs of school is to teach responsibility and self worth but by allowing students to make up work constantly the sense of responsibility is gone. This teaches students that they can not take the lesson seriously and still have extended time to make up for their poor choices. Also, this puts students further behind because they have not grasp the prior material before they move on.