Late Work or Missed Assessment Policy

Missed Deadlines for Assessments

When a student misses an assessment deadline or an assessment (e.g. unit test, written assignment, presentation, oral), both their own learning and that of others can be negatively impacted:

• Summative assessments are placed at the end of a sequence of learning and accurate measurement of progress requires assessment at a specific point in time and provides a platform for further learning.

• Delayed feedback to other students who took the assessment at the scheduled time can result, so affecting their learning and progress due to delayed feedback

• Unfair advantage can be gained by submitting an assessment or  taking the test at a later date as they have more time and possibly resources to prepare

• Meeting deadlines is a life skill and a learning goal which we aim for.

By our own definition, missed in-class assessments through an unverified absence or missing an assignment deadline without permission to extend, are behaviours that are assumed to be trying to gain an academic advantage, and can be regarded as Academic Misconduct.  Academic Misconduct is a violation of our Code of Ethics and Conduct, and is viewed differently than a student exhibiting poor academic practice.  

Communication of deadlines

It is an expectation that students meet deadlines and that all assessments are completed by the student. 

Deadlines are not set on weekends/holidays or outside regular school hours. All assessments are collected (electronically or physically) when the class meets during the school day.

If the student is present in the class and chooses not to submit their work, sit the assessment or present the assessment, a family meeting will be held with the teacher and counselor. A make up assessment will be completed in Structured Study Hall. The teacher and PLC will decide if it will be graded as a formative or summative, depending on the situation.

If a student is absent, and the work can be uploaded electronically, the work needs to be uploaded on the day and by the end of the scheduled class time. 

At the start of each semester, teachers provide students a course outline, agreed by the PLC, that communicates the number of and types of assessments. During the semester, teachers should provide sufficient advance notice for the students of summative assessment deadlines to the students.

Please note - Consideration will be given for missed assessments due to the student representing the school; see: Makeup work

Request for deadline extension

If a student believes they will have difficulties meeting an assignment deadline, they may request an extension.  The student must email the teacher or meet with them in person no later than 24 hours before the deadline to discuss a possible extension.  If the teacher believes the circumstances merit an extension they will grant one, but only one extension may be granted for any assignment.  

If the student fails to submit the work within 24 hours of the extension, then the assessment will receive the highest failing grade.

Please note that asking for an extension should only apply to projects that have been developed over time such as an essay or “project.”  The request for extension is not intended to be applied to oral presentations or in-class written assessments. However, if a student believes circumstances warrant an extension for these items, they can apply. It is the teacher’s decision whether an extension is granted.

Response to missed assessments

If a summative assessment (test or other assessment item) is missed by a student, then the following procedures are followed, depending on whether the absence is verified or unverified:

1. Take attendance  

If a verified (eg. I, P, K) or excused (eg. IASAS, F, X) absence already appears email the attendance officer to request that the absence be changed to TV (Test Verified).  Otherwise, mark the student AT (Absent during Test). 

 2a. Verified Absence

*If a student misses more than 2 assessments in any course, the parents must submit evidence of the absence from a third party (doctor, immigration, etc.) in order for the absence to be officially verified.

Organizing a new make-up assessment date or deadline

• If the absence has already been verified or is verified within 24 hours of the assessment, the student must organize with the teacher a makeup date (if this is possible, depending on the nature of the assessment) and communicate confirmation of this new date through email, with both the teacher and at least one of his/her parents. The attendance record will be changed to “TV” (Test Verified). It is required that the student contact the teacher within 24 hours of the missed assessment due to a verified absence to arrange the make up. This can be done in class or Structured Study Hall and the assessment will be graded against the rubric.

• If students do not arrange the make up within 24 hours, then the teacher will communicate with the AP for Student Life and Well-being and the student will be assigned the next available Structured Study Hall to complete the assessment

  • The assessment is undertaken and submitted by the student at the end of the Structured Study Hall.  When you receive the assessment, grade the assessment according to the rubric or mark scheme associated with it.  The work is then assigned a grade reduced by one full letter grade e.g. A* becomes an A, A becomes a B etc.

Make ups of Make ups

• There is no make up for a make up  (regardless of the reason for missing the assessment, even if verified, ill, KITAS, etc. A student cannot arrange an alternative date for a make up (the date agreed to by the teacher and the student or the date assigned by the AP for Student Life and Well-being). By missing the make up date, the student forgoes the opportunity for the assessment to be graded as a summative. The student will complete the assessment in detention and the grade will be recorded as formative evidence in Power School. Note that formative evidence may be used in final grade reporting upon the teacher's professional judgment.

• If an absence extends beyond 5 school days (7 calendar days) after the assessment was given, the assessment will be taken upon return to school in Structured Study Hall and may be recorded as formative evidence, in line with PLC/department practices. The summative will be marked as "M" for missing in Powerschool.

• The teacher and PLC reserve the right to use formative evidence to help determine a semester or end of year grade.

• For students who display a pattern of missing assessments: A pattern of missed assessments will require a family meeting with their counselor. In addition, make-up assessments may only be available on Saturday Catch Up days (this may mean a student will need to take multiple assessments on that day).

2b. Unverified absence from class 

The following applies to all skipped summatives:

If the absence is not verified (i.e. a TV does not appear) within 24 hours of the assessment, the student will receive a detention, and during the detention, the student will undertake the assessment. Please provide the assessment for the student to the AP for Student Life and Well-being. The AP for Student Life and Well-being will communicate this consequence to the parents.

The assessment is undertaken and submitted by the student at the end of the next available detention.  When you receive the assessment, grade the assessment according to the rubric or mark scheme associated with it.  The work is then assigned a grade reduced by one full letter grade e.g. A* becomes an A, A becomes a B etc.

If a student does not attend the detention or submit any work by the end of the detention, the AP of Student Life and Well-being will meet with the student and communicate home. The assessment receives the highest failing grade.

Missed End of Semester Assessments

There may be situations in which students are absent from school at the end of the first semester. Below is guidance on which policies apply to some common situations:

• Semester Course: Missed Culminating Assessments 

• Yearlong Course: Missed Assessments 

• Long-term Deadline: Late Work 

Late work - failing to meet summative assessment deadlines

1. If a student fails to submit a summative assessment on time and has not contacted the teacher at least 24 hours before the deadline to request an extension, then the teacher emails the parents, with cc to:

• The student

• The student’s counselor

• The Associate Principal for Student Life and Well-being

on the same day as the missed deadline, notifying them of the uncompleted assessment.

2) The student has 24 hours from the time the assessment was due to submit their work (complete or incomplete) so that it can be evaluated against the rubric or mark scheme for the assignment. 

3) If the student fails to submit the work within 24 hours, then according to the evaluation criteria, they receive the highest failing grade.

*Students have the right to appeal to the administration for consideration of extenuating circumstances

If a student continues not to meet deadlines, they will be asked to meet with their counselor and may be referred to SSH as a preventative measure before deadlines approach.

Appeal procedure in case of failing a course due to late work or missed assessments

If a student fails a course at the end of a semester due to late work or missed summative assessments, and they believe there are valid circumstances that have contributed to this outcome, they may appeal to the High School Principal for within 5 school days of receiving their semester grade for a review of the situation.  This appeal must be lodged in writing directly to the Principal. The matter will then be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Principal in consultation with other administrators, teachers and/or counselors. A determination will then be made regards the award of a grade (maximum C).

IB Internal Assessment Components & External (Non-Exam) Components

The school/teacher determines timelines to receive drafts, finals, performances, orals etc. The timelines set have to be consistent with both external constraints (such as postage travel times, electronic submission, deadlines from the IB) and internal factors (teaching sequence, internal moderation/grading, calendar etc).

If a student misses an internal IB deadline, the late work policy will be enacted. However, given the nature of the work, an internal suspension may be the consequence until the work is submitted.

Important principles to guide this policy

1. Our underpinning philosophy related to the principles and practices of assessment and grading is to be honored with this policy. For example, very low grades should be redeemable, most recent evidence, etc.

2. If a teacher believes the circumstances warrant an alternative consequence they may appeal to the AP of Curriculum and Learning for an alternative consequence for the student. 

3. Deadlines are set by the PLC team or the teacher but can, in some situations, be differentiated according to the nature of the work to be submitted (e.g. visual art).  It is expected that all assessment is set to class meeting times so the student and work can be viewed by the teacher and notification to parents and administration about unsubmitted work is timely.  

4. Our goal is to develop further a healthy behavioral culture to one of respecting deadlines and also using opportunities to seek support. These are crucial life skills. The above policy sends a clear message that we support students who are doing the right thing.