With distance learning, many teachers can’t decide if they should put in zeros for missing assignments. To remind students and prioritize accountability, teachers should put them in.

Distance learning puts students at a disadvantage with informal schedules. During asynchronous periods, teachers expect students to finish work but cannot check student progress because of the virtual environment. Putting zeros in for missing assignments reminds the teachers which students are completing assignments — helping students discipline themselves and responsibility.

While putting in zeros may stress students out, it can serve as a reminder to complete an assignment. If students aren’t aware of missing work, the unit assignments can pile up. Students can prioritize assignments and projects because they can see their impact on their grades. The zeros don’t have to be a stressor; they can refresh students’ memories and account for missing work.

Implementing zeros for missing work can serve as a mode of communication. Many students don’t communicate with their teachers; some teachers reach out through email or Schoology to check in with students, but many students forget or don’t respond. A zero is a powerful tool; it can effectively remind and communicate with a struggling student.

Putting in zeros directly after due dates gives students valuable time. If a teacher waits until the unit is done, the typical leeway for missing work, a student may forget and have a zero permanently. Filling in zeros beforehand is temporary, not something ingrained in a transcript. Students can easily replace a zero once they finish their assignment.

Teachers putting in zeros after the due date checks in with students and accounts for their distance learning progress. It also serves as a reminder and communication tool between students and teachers. Zeros don’t have to stress students; they are provisional. Students can change that zero anytime the assignment is turned in — it is that simple.

Even before the pandemic, students were under constant stress from all of their classes. With the pandemic, this stress has only been exacerbated. Because of this, it is important that teachers only put in zeros for a student’s assignment when it is the final resort, and teachers should instead opt for incompletes.

Getting a zero on an assignment is typically just a reminder to the student to get their late work in quickly. In fact, I would say, very few times the student has forgotten about the whole assignment altogether or has chosen to not do the assignment and deal with the zero. In either of these cases, it is preferable to either contact the student or their parent directly in order to inform them about the missing assignment, or simply put in an incomplete.

Communication is key in distance learning. Although it may be easier and faster to simply put in a zero instead of reaching out to the student beforehand, by putting in that extra bit of work, there is the potential to save a lot of stress on the student’s end and has the ability to give the student the drive necessary to complete the assignment.

Even without direct communication, putting in an incomplete is preferable to a zero.  According to the experiences of teacher Andrew Miller, “Zeros do not reflect student learning. They reflect compliance. Instead of zeros, we should enter incompletes, and use these moments to correct behavioral errors and mistakes.” Zeros create the perception of permanence; if you see a zero in a grade book, it seems as though the time resolution is gone. With incompletes, however, that is not the case.

More slack should be given to students in distance learning as opposed to traditional, in-person learning. Even in the case that a student still hasn’t turned in an assignment after contacting them, it is important to remember the burdens of distance learning and the possible extenuating circumstances that may be stopping a student from completing an assignment in the given time frame. It is also important that class policies take this into account as well, such as more general rules regarding these issues rather than just viewing them on a case-by-case basis.

This pandemic is a stressful time for everyone, and the burden to reduce that anxiety lays not just on ourselves, but on our educators as well. In order to create a stress-free environment, there needs to be an open dialogue between students and teachers. Zeros accomplish nothing that couldn’t have been accomplished in a dozen more beneficial ways.