Even though most of my students’ major projects are not due until the end of the semester, grading has traditionally not been terribly difficult.  Because of how I pace my courses, I am able to review student drafts and provide coaching throughout the semester.  As a result, grading had primarily involved confirming the “A” grades that students earned.  This is no longer the case.

In “’Good Enough’ Isn’t Good Enough” which was published in May 2011, I identified an emerging problem of “more and more students whose goal seems to be good enough instead of well done.” I wrote about students who believed that “simply doing something–no matter how poor–was good enough.”

Unfortunately, I have seen this downward trend continue.  Those students who once settled for “good enough” began to do as little as possible.  Now, those students who were doing as little as possible have stopped doing.

In one of the classes I am teaching this semester, fewer than half of students submitted one of the major course assignments.  In a couple of other classes, the percentage rose to more than half only because I agreed to accept late assignments.

It might be possible to argue that because this major assignment was only worth 5% of the course grade, students decided that the math did not make it worth their while to complete the assignment; that they could still get a decent grade in the course without it.  However, many of these same students did not complete other assignments.   Furthermore, it appears that about a quarter of the students in one class have decided not to submit an assignment worth 15% of their course grade.  As a result, grading has become more difficult.

Although it would appear to be easy to grade work that is not submitted, it actually takes considerable effort to verify that assignments which have been e-mailed to me were not lost in cyberspace; that the assignment was actually not submitted.  In many cases, after searching my e-mail and other records, I will write to a student to let him or her know that it does not appear that I have received their assignment.  In the vast majority of cases, I get no response to those e-mails because what appears to be true is actually true; that the assignment was not submitted and that the student does not intend to complete it.

A more common problem that makes grading more difficult is the number of students who are choosing not to complete drafts of assignments so that I can provide feedback and coaching.  One student whose work was at a “C” level a few weeks ago has been working with me and will earn a 4.0 in the course.  However, fewer than 10% of the students who are working on the same major project have yet to show me any work; work that is due no later than tomorrow.  By the time I review their assignments, there will not be enough time left for them to complete revisions before the semester ends next Monday; just five days from today.

Several years ago, I had a student throw a temper tantrum because, a week before the semester ended, I identified a series of errors in a manuscript and asked her to make revisions.  While stamping her feet, she angrily asked “Why I am just hearing about these problems now?”  My response, “Because today is the first time I have seen your paper.”   For the next few years, it was an amusing cautionary tale because only one or two students would not provide drafts when requested.  Today, not providing drafts has become the norm.

During the next few days, I will be grading papers and projects that I will be seeing for the first time.  Therefore, I cannot quickly confirm that improvements previously discussed have been made; discussions that should have begun as long as three or four weeks ago.  Because those discussions did not take place, grades will likely be lower that the 4.0s I gave when grading was easier.

As I wrote in “’Good Enough’ Isn’t Good Enough,” I would hate to sound as if I am going to break into a chorus from Bye Bye Birdie and begin singing “What’s the matter with kids today?”  The majority of my students still do quality work; especially when they are working in teams.   In one of my classes this semester, the ungraded team presentations were of the highest quality.  The quality of the student written memorable moments published in the Today in History blog remains high.  And two of my students had lightning talks accepted for presentation at the 2014 LAND Conference. However, I am concerned.

My concern about the growing minority of students who used to settle for “good enough” is that they no longer strive for mediocrity; they have started doing nothing.

–Steven L. Berg, PhD

 

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