Assignment due dates stress students at end of quarter

Caitie Beth Shauck, General Staff
November 6, 2009
Filed under Opinion

The week of the end of the quarter is a stressful time for everyone in the school community.  Students are worried about pulling their grades up an extra two points to reach the next letter grade.  Teachers are hunting down students who have not turned in assignments and trying to squeeze in one last test in the hopes of raising grades. 

Two days before the end of the first quarter, in the midst of this hectic time, I spent my night struggling to finish an assignment for one of my classes.  The next day in school, I heard my fellow classmates describing how they had stayed up until the wee hours of the morning trying to finish the assignment. 

I was furious later that day when I learned that the grade for the assignment would not even go on the first quarter.  I had spent my time struggling to complete work that wouldn’t even count instead of focusing on other assignments that would directly affect my impending report card. 

I completely understand teachers trying to squeeze in more grades at the end of a quarter.  However, a different situation exists when students are spending time doing assignments that the teacher has no intention of grading for several additional weeks. 

Teachers need to understand that most students take at least six classes.  While project and paper due dates are normally spread out, at the end of the quarter, assignments are typically crammed in. If an assignment is not going to be counted for the current quarter, why not wait and have it due the following week?

Caitie Beth Shauck can be reached for comment at cshauck@jcpatriot.com