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Grade book adding zeroes automatically after the due date

Jason Haché

June 07, 2013 22:47

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If someone doesn't take a scheduled test they are automatically assigned a zero in the grade book.

I'd like it if Populi did the same for assignments. In other words, if a student doesn't upload an assignment by the stated due date in Populi a zero would be placed in the grade book for that assignment. Assuming the student eventually submits the assignment the instructor would just replace the zero with whatever the actual grade is.

I think this would reflect reality better for our students. Let's say a student has a C in a class. Currently if they don't submit an assignment, it is left blank in the grade book so when they look at their grade it would still be listed as a C. Let's say they don't turn that assignment in at all. When the course is done the instructor will finish up the grades by placing zeroes in all those non-submitted assignments. The students grade then drops from a C to a D-.

Of course the student should realize that they didn't submit the assignment and it still needs to be factored in but the C gives them a false sense of security.

If a zero was placed there automatically then the grade would drop to a D- right away and the student would realize the implications of not completing that assignment at all. So they get it in late but even with the reduction they end up with a C-.

Thoughts?

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10 comments

• 0
  
  Christal Fehr June 11, 2013 18:05

  I like your thinking, Jason.

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  Adam Sentz June 13, 2013 00:05

  @Jason - I think it might be good if your professors just enter a zero for the students who didn't hand in their work when they are entering the other grades. Otherwise, if grades weren't entered immediately on the due date, students who did turn in their work would all get zeros which they probably wouldn't be too happy about.

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  Jason Haché June 13, 2013 16:15

  Well, not if the system only added zeroes to people who did not electronically submit an assignment. So for those who did turn in an assignment it would leave their grade blank but for those who didn't it would turn the grade to zero.

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  Adam Sentz June 13, 2013 17:00

  @Jason - I see what you're saying. I wasn't thinking you meant only for file upload types.

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  Joel Wingo June 13, 2013 21:11

  Since we allow students to choose between uploading or submitting printed assignments, it would not be helpful if the zeroes were always added automatically. It would needlessly lower student's overall grades during the time required for grading.

  We complete all the grading for each assignment as soon as possible, and one of the FIRST steps is to add a zero for each student who submitted nothing. That can be always be changed if they turn it in late.

  Having said that, the options would be nice. I can see how this might be beneficial for online-only courses.

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  Paula Sweeney November 11, 2019 16:19

  I would like the option in settings for assignments to become zeros automatically after a passed due date. The "requirement options" in Discussions are wonderful!  

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  Nic Toney December 02, 2019 17:31

  Maybe adding the option in the course settings would be helpful rather than automatically changing it?
  
  Something like "automatically zero-out unsubmitted assignments."?

  We could default to yes, but give the option to change to no.
  
  I personally really like this idea. As the Student Support Coordinator for our college, I find that students are often unaware of their "actual" grade if zeros are not entered. This does not help for tutoring students. Having an accurate status of their marks in a course helps students plan and work accordingly.
  
  Thanks!

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  Dr. Steve Hostetter December 10, 2019 17:49

  Whatever may be possible, I support this feature request, that scores left blank are automatically recorded a zero after the grades are entered.  

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  Evan Donovan April 10, 2020 20:38

  I would love that this could be done if possible (probably as an option that schools could elect to enable).
  
  The most important ones that I'd like to see do this for are auto-graded quizzes, since our professors don't think to enter the 0's for students who don't complete them, and thus the term in-progress grades can become misleading to our students. (I have a feature request somewhere in here that was related to this specific issue, but this is a broader case).
  
  

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  Kristopher Endean August 31, 2023 22:00

  Yes, I agree: I would like to have this option as a course setting so that unsubmitted electronic quizzes or files would be marked 0 by default after the end-date. If a student were to make other arrangements to submit the file, then the professor could override the automatically marked grade. But in large classes, having automatic feedback for the student in the form of a grade reduction would help the students see the urgency of their own predicament rather than waiting for the professor to notice and take action.