On Jan. 5, 2015 all 43 faculty members of LT’s Language Arts department met on Institute Day to discuss feedback received regarding the newly minted revision and late work policies geared towards summative assessments that was enacted in the fall of 2015.

The faculty members pored over 2,100 student responses from of a survey taken and distributed throughout both campuses. The department ultimately found a middle ground in determining a modified policy for second semester.

“The compromise is based off what we had first semester and now going into second semester is that we’ve placed a two week parameter on the [summative assessment] revisions,” English teacher Tom Stukel said.

Last semester’s policy, which allowed students to turn in essays until the week before finals, was a wildly debated issue during the Institute Day meeting. Currently, the policy states there will no longer be any more open-ended deadlines, but students still will be allowed to revise assessments at their teacher’s discretion.

Students who want to turn in any work late are highly encouraged to e-mail their teacher and copy their parents on any initial proposal ahead of the original due date. They will be required to meet with their English teacher to discuss the proposal and set a new deadline within two weeks of the meeting, said Language Arts division chair Karen Raino.

However, should any student not complete his or her assignment within the allotted two week time period up to 10 percent of their grade can be marked off.

“I think for students who are motivated by grades, a 10 percent penalty will hurt,” Raino said. “On a big summative paper, project or speech it will be worth a lot of points and not earning an ‘A’ automatically or a ‘B’ or any grade one grade lower than what could have been earned is enough of a motivator for students.”

The impetus for enacting this proposal is based on an educational theory proposed by experts, such as Richard Wormley, who specialize in disassociating a student’s behavior with the grade he or she earns in a class.

According to Raino, a student’s ability to demonstrate their skills and knowledge shouldn’t be diminished because they turned in a paper late.

 “You want grades to be a reflection of ability and not necessarily a behavior,” Raino said. “A 10 percent penalty doesn’t distort the grade for the behavior of turning in an assignment late.”

Some students are confused by this policy and the potential lack of accountability it could generate.

“In college if you don’t turn in your assignments on the day it’s due there’s going to be a significant grade reduction in your final grade,” Trace Mortimer ‘16 said. “Kids are not going to be ready for that [in college] if they can turn their assignments, even two weeks, late in high school.”

Teachers have also raised concerns regarding the capability of the Language Arts department to normalize this policy throughout all four grade levels and individual classrooms.

“I think there needs to be set black and white parameters, and right now there aren’t,” Stukel said. “The goal is to standardize this policy, but there are certain people in the department who think that there should be no parameters when it comes to turning [assessments] in late or revision work and I think that’s outrageous.”

The 43 English faculty members will continue to discuss the policy going forward throughout this semester and going into the 2016-2017 school year with the hopes of solidifying its guidelines further.