Why it’s hard for students to “just turn in” missing assignments, and how to get them unstuck
Mar 29, 2023 | Blog
With the end of the semester on the horizon, many students may feel overwhelmed by low grades or feeling behind in some of their classes.
As a parent, it can be stressful to see that your student has overdue work, or get notifications from their teacher that they’re missing assignments.
It’s even more frustrating when you’ve told them over and over again how important it is to “just turn it in”…but the work is still showing up as missing.
The reality is that no matter how simple it might seem to an outside observer, doing missing work is almost never as easy as “just getting it done.” If they haven’t done the work yet, there’s a good chance that something is getting in their way.
If you can figure out what the problem is before jumping in to help them (or make them) do the work, you’ll dramatically increase your chances of success.
In our experience, there are usually 3 main reasons students resist submitting their missing work…even when it seems like “just turning it in” would be SO much easier!
Reason 1: They think it won’t make a difference
Once the due date for an assignment has passed, students often de-prioritize it and move on to focus on upcoming assignments instead. It’s tempting for students to justify this by thinking “there are lots of other assignments, missing one or two won’t matter.”
But what they often don’t realize is that because of the way most grading scales are weighted, even one or two zeros can have an enormous impact on their grade. Showing students the difference it makes to turn in just a few assignments can increase their motivation to get the work done.
Here’s an example of the difference it can make to turn in just a few missing assignments before the end of the semester:
Overall grade with 3 missing assignments: 78.3%
Overall grade when assignments are turned in: 90.1%
It’s hard for students to calculate these averages in their head, so it can be really powerful for them to run the numbers and see firsthand exactly how much they have to gain from making up their missing assignments.
When we do calculations like this with our students, they are almost always surprised by how much this makeup work could improve their grades, and feel much more motivated to submit the assignments when they can see for themselves the difference it will make.
Reason 2: They think it’s too late
Another reason students often resist doing makeup work is that they think it’s too late to get credit for it.
Even if they’ve done the math and know that submitting the work would make a difference in their grade, they still won’t want to turn it in if they think the teacher won’t accept it.
Especially for introverted or anxious students, it can be very intimidating to have conversations with their teachers. They might think they’ll get in trouble for asking to submit their work late, or worry that the teacher will say “no.”
The good news is that many teachers are flexible with their late work policies and allow students to turn in overdue assignments even when it is past the “official” deadline to submit them.
So if students can find the courage to ask for help, there is a good chance that their teachers will respond positively and allow them an opportunity to make up the work.
For students who are struggling to reach out to teachers, we often find it is helpful to roleplay these conversations in coaching sessions if they’re not sure what to say, or work with them to email their teachers if they’re not sure what to say.
Reason 3: They feel overwhelmed
Students who are behind on their work often have challenges keeping track of due dates, managing time, breaking down complex assignments, prioritizing work, staying focused, or following through with plans….which is why they fell behind in the first place.
These challenges can become even more daunting when they are behind in their classes, and trying to complete makeup assignments on top of their normal workload.
This can feel so stressful that a lot of students avoid or put off doing makeup work even when they know how much it would improve their grade.
For these students to get their work submitted, it’s essential to help them find ways to…
- Break down the assignments so they have a realistic plan for getting the work done that they’re confident they can actually follow through with
- Lower the stress they feel while they are doing the work so they will be less tempted to avoid it
- Visualize the progress they are making so they can see that their efforts are making a difference
Providing support
When students have a lot of makeup work to complete, having some additional support to help them work through it can be invaluable.
For some students, this may mean finding a tutor to help them with the content they didn’t understand when their teacher was first presenting the material.
For other students, having a family member or friend nearby as a source of moral support to keep them company while they are working (and a motivating reward to look forward to as soon as the work is completed) can be enormously helpful.
Other students may benefit from working with an academic coach to help them get unstuck and started on their missing work. Sometimes, having someone else who is not a family member step in to help can reduce stress and conflict at home and make it easier for students to take the steps they need to get back on track in their classes. If you think this type of support would be helpful for your student, please feel free to reach out and we’ll be happy to help!
Top 10 Strategies For Catching Up on Missed Schoolwork and Ending The Year Successfully
It’s that time of year when many of the sessions in my private practice involves a discussion with my child or teen clients about strategizing ways to catch up a long list of missed assignments and end the school year successfully.
As a child psychologist and Modern Parenting Expert, I’ve unfortunately seen this scenario play out with many of my clients every year and it breaks my heart. It makes sense that many kids find themselves overwhelmed by late work in the second half of the school year. The first half of the year takes off slowly, allowing the child or teen to ease on in to homework, projects, and the material. Then, Christmas break happens and the child gets used to a slower pace for a while, and then January hits with a BANG!
Teachers mean business after the holidays are over. There is no more easing into the material and work, and the expectations are very high when it comes to producing work. In addition to this less-understanding attitude of the teacher, the academic material naturally becomes more complex and intense too. This scenario oftentimes creates a situation where it becomes very easy for kids and teens of become overwhelmed by the new demands of the second half of the school year.
But I have good news for you: even if your child is SUPER behind in their schoolwork, they can still end the school year on a positive note (and pass all of their classes!) by using the 10 strategies below. These are the same exact strategies that I use with all of my private practice clients, and I’ve seen many families rejoice with relief at the end of the year when their child brings home their well-deserved good grades.
The Strategies
Strategy #1: If you haven’t already, talk to your child’s teacher(s) to get an accurate accounting of the missed assignments and ask for extra time to get these assignments turned in.
For younger kids, the parent definitely needs to take control of this. Kids who are in elementary, middle school, and junior high just don’t have the communication skills necessary to have this important conversation with their teacher(s) and then report accurately back to mom and dad. Do yourself a favor, and take charge of this conversation yourself.
For kids who are in high school, these older kids can be encouraged to have this discussion on their own; however, if your child has a history of procrastination, lying, or academic anxiety, then it is probably better than you get involved in this conversation as well.
The point of this conversation is to get an accurate accounting of what assignments are actually missing. I know that when both my kids were in school, the online grading programs were not always accurate (we used Aries), so talking to the teacher(s) is the only way to ensure that you are getting an accurate idea of the amount of work that needs to be made up.
In addition to discussing which assignments are due, also see if the teacher is on board with your child turning in the assignments late. I’ve found that most teachers (even the grumpy ones) would rather a student turn in their work late than not at all, so most teachers will work with you on a new timeline for missing work.
Strategy #2: Make a realistic weekday AND weekend plan for completing missing assignments.
Now that you know exactly what you child is up against, sit down with them and create a realistic plan for getting it all done. What does realistic mean? It means that both you and your child need to come to terms with the fact that this won’t get fixed overnight. This will take time.
I recommend starting off slow because most kids at this point are so overwhelmed with the idea of making up so much work, that they need to first see that they are capable of tackling this big task. Many parents (and sometimes kids) want to start off by planning that the child or teen will spend all of their free time on homework.
This is just setting your child up for failure.
Look at your list of missing assignments and due dates. Plan to have your child work on 2-4 missing assignments per day on the weekday and more on the weekend (depedning on weekend family activities). Don’t expect your child to complete more that this even if they were able to complete 4 assignments in a half an hour and they have tons of time left in the day. Make a plan and stick to it. The point is to help your child see that they can take a problem, devise a solution, and work consistently on the solution successfully.
Especially with kids and teens who also experience anxiety, this step of the plan helps to manage the anxiety surrounding the missed work. When kids are using all of their cognitive capacity to worry about their academic work, they don’t have much cognitive energy left to actually work on their assignments. By creating a realistic plan, managing the anxiety surrounding the academic stress, and then plugging away every day at the plan, your child or teen will actually be able to work on their assignments more efficiently.
Strategy #3: Go For The Quick Win.
This step is counterintuitive to what most parents instinctively want to do. I’ve seen many parents set their child or teen up for failure when they encourage their child to work on hard assignments first, but this ALWAYS backfires.
For example, let’s say your plan is to have your teenager tackle 3 missing assignments per day and you tell your child to work on a science report that is worth a lot of points as 1 of their assignments for the day. More than likely, this assignment takes a long time to complete because it is really involved. Many kids and teens get discouraged at this point because they don’t see the plan working.
Instead of going for those larger projects first (and I totally understand the reasoning behind why you would want them to start with these projects) start with the “easy wins” first. Choose short assignments, Or assignments in the classes that your child likes or finds easier than other classes.
The point here is to allow your child to experience progress and success. If they see the plan working, then they are more likely to continue with the plan and have a better attitude about working on their missing assignments.
Strategy #4: Create a New Habit Routine – And Don’t Forget The Reward Phase.
Scientific research shows us that creating a “Habit Loop” is the best way of establishing – and keeping – positive behavior patterns. The image below illustrates Charles Duhigg’s Habit Loop. A new behavior needs a reminder (like a particular time of the day) which influences the desired behavior. In order to keep the habit going, the subject must experience some kind of reward after performing the behavior such as some well-earned video game time, the ability to facetime a friend, etc.
Most of the time, I recommend that the reward be something that the child likes to do in their down time.
For more on the Habit Loop, check out THIS ARTICLE on my Parenting The Modern Family blog .
Strategy #5: Take Care of HALTS Before Starting Homework.
It’s hard for anyone to concentrate if they are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired, or Stressed; as such, be sure these common discomforts are addressed. I always recommend that kids should have a snack before starting homework – and research backs me up here. A healthy and quick snack increases their glucose level (the energy needed for your child’s brain to function well), so ensuring they are not hungry goes a long way in helping them get their missing assignments done.
If your child or teen seems angry – or bothered by any other negative emotion – then allow them to deal with that emotion. For example, if your child is angry that they need to do homework instead of play outside with their friends, allow them to talk about their anger and then have a positive discussion with them that they can play with their friend as soon as their homework for the day is finished. If you allow your child to “push down” their emotions, then they’ll just sit there giving cognitive energy to their emotions instead of their homework.
Likewise, if your child is lonely, offer to sit with them while they work – or have the family dog or cat keep them company. If they are tired, re-evaluate their bedtime. Maybe they need to go to bed a half hour earlier. And if they are stressed about their homework, help them decrease their stress levels by using this technique .
As you can see, taking care of your child or teen’s physical and emotional needs goes a long way in meeting the goal of catching up with their missed assignments.
Strategy #6: Consider Pausing Extracurriculars For a While.
If your child or teen has a long list of work that needs to be made up, it might make sense to pause their extracurricular activities. This really isn’t meant to be a punishment per se, but it is a natural consequence of taking care of major responsibilities first. You know your child and the situation regarding their extracurriculars best, so if it makes sense to “pause” their extracurriculars, then go ahead and do so.
Strategy #7: Deal With The Overwhelm.
Dealing with overwhelm is a life skill that most kids haven’t learned yet. Yes – this is a LEARNED SKILL.
It can be very frustrating working with a child or teen who only focus on the goal (getting all the missing assignments completed) and not the small steps in attaining that goal (working on one task at a time). Many young clients sit in my office and focus only on the overwhelming idea of a mountain of work that must be done. When I begin working with them about developing a plan to address their missing work, they shut down and can’t seem to even concentrate on thinking of a plan. They tell me, “That will never work – I have too much to do,” and I have to remind them, “Yes, but you can’t do it all at once. You can only do one task at a time, so which task should you concentrate on first?”.
When your child starts “spiraling” at the thought of so much work that needs to be done, bring them back to reality by reminding them that they can’t do every task right now. Ask them to choose only 1 task to think about (and try to make it a quick win – see strategy #3 above).
Strategy # 8: Get Educational Support For Your Child.
Many kids ignore assignments because they are too difficult for them. Every child has their own unique strengths and weaknesses, which means that most kids won’t be great at every class. If your child is struggling with a particular subject (especially in the last half of the year when the subject matter becomes more complex and difficult) then consider a tutor.
Now, a tutor can mean several things. One type of tutor is someone who has been trained in education and makes a living helping kids overcome their educational struggles. This can be very expensive though. I often ask parents if they have a teenage or college-age person in the family who might be able to come and work with the child for a short period of time. Older kids often like mentoring younger family members. Not only is this a cheaper alternative, but I’ve seen this situation really be effective.
If you need to, get creative with looking for someone to act as a tutor for your child.
Strategy #9: Remember To Take Breaks.
Adults have learned to “power through” things, but kids and most teens still have not developed this life skill yet. Because of this, they will need to take frequent breaks when working on long session of homework. I recommend that kids and teens should take a break every 45 minutes, take a 10-15 minute break, and then get back to work again.
A great technique is the pomodoro method, and this method has some scientific backing that it is very useful. All you have to do is set a timer (there are even tons of pomodoro apps for your phone!) for 45 minutes. When the timer goes off, let your child take a break. They can look at their phones, watch a short Youtube video, go to the bathroom, etc. Set the timer for again for the break time (10 or 15 minutes). When the timer goes off again, that’s the signal that it’s back to work. Set the timer again for 45 minutes and repeat.
You can even challenge your child or teen to work through several pomodoro sessions. This method works well because the timer never lies, and the child learns to take their cues from the sound of the timer.
Strategy #10: Contact a Child Therapist To Help Your Child Work Through Difficult Feelings That Are Holding Them Back From Achieving Their True Potential.
There’s nothing I hate more than seeing kids or teens not living up to their full potential, but this happens a lot when they are also dealing with feelings of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, or difficulties with concentration (such as ADHD). The only way for your child or teen to move past these feelings that are sidelining them is to deal with them in therapy.
In my private practice, I am passionate about helping kids reach their goals. As a child psychologist and Modern Parenting Expert, I have specific training in helping kids overcome obstacles that are common to this generation of young people. I have helped kids and teens overcome problems with motivation, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and many other issues.
Call (909) 326-2562 today to schedule a free 20-minute phone consultation to see if I am a good fit in working with your child. Or click here to use my online scheduler to schedule the phone consultation today.
Your child or teen CAN overcome any obstacle with the right support!
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4 strategies to get those missing assignments turned in
Published: May 13, 2022
As we get closer and closer to the end of the school year, it happens as reliably as the changing of the seasons—students notice the late, missing, or forgotten assignments that might have a real impact on their grade.
Sound familiar?
Most teachers spend too much valuable time toward the end of the school year reminding students about their missing assignments. This process doesn’t have to be time-consuming or painful though.
Here are 3 simple and repeatable tips to help classroom teachers encourage students to—finally—submit those late, missing, or forgotten assignments.
1. Help students manage their own assignment completion
There’s no better way to promote accountability than to help students to keep track of and manage their own assignments list. LMS tools like Schoology or Google Classroom make the process easier than ever before.
With clear assignment instructions and due dates, every student can log into their LMS and see a clean list of which assignments have been turned in, and which are still outstanding—even if they miss a class!
2. Get parents, families, and caregivers on board to help keep students on track
One of the best ways to keep students from getting too far behind is to recruit the champions they have outside school. When parents and guardians are kept in the loop about the assignments that are upcoming—along with expectations and due dates—they can help students avoid missing assignments well before the due date.
Keeping parents and guardians aware when assignments become late or get entered as missing increases the likelihood that assignment will get completed too. The Parent/Guardian Portal in Schoolytics gives parents and guardians easy access to student assignments in each of their classes. There are even reminders you can automate when an assignment is late or counted missing.
3. Send automated reminders when assignments are past due
You know what they say about an ounce of prevention…
Setting up a Schoolytics account and syncing it with your Google Classroom ( remember: it’s free to sign up! ) lets teachers set up an automated report of late or missing assignments. You never have to click into each Classroom for assignment details!
You can even set up automatic reports for late or missing assignments—Friday late work roundup anyone? And now you can send a bulk reminder to every student with a link to their missing work.
4. Try a new communication method
Each generation of students is more online than the last, and Gen Z is spending most of its time on video-forward platforms like YouTube and TikTok. As teachers, we can either fight this reality or lean into it in our communication with students.
The good news is that the rise of online video has coincided with the advent of easy-to-use video creation tools, making it easier than ever to create engaging videos for free. Tools like Veed are great for trimming videos and testing your webcam to ensure you get the perfect take to keep students engaged and on top of their assignments.
In conclusion...
These interventions make it quick and simple to keep students on track for assignment completion. And they reduce the headache for teachers to have to manage chasing down late or missing assignments.
Have any other tips for helping keep late and missing assignments under control? Let us know on Twitter at @Schoolytics
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32 other terms for missed assignment - words and phrases with similar meaning. academic arrear. academic backlog. academic fail. academic failure. academic failures. academic regress. academic regression. academic underperformance.
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Find 38 different ways to say ASSIGNMENT, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com.
Synonyms for ASSIGNMENT: task, job, duty, project, mission, chore, responsibility, function; Antonyms of ASSIGNMENT: dismissal, discharge, firing, expulsion ...
Post assignments clearly - in more than one place if possible (in the classroom and on your class website). Email parents to keep them in the loop. - Laurie O. Reduce or eliminate homework. If your students work well in the classroom but just don't do their homework, this radical-sounding idea might be just the solution you've been ...
Here's an example of the difference it can make to turn in just a few missing assignments before the end of the semester: Overall grade with 3 missing assignments: 78.3%. Overall grade when assignments are turned in: 90.1%.
Plan to have your child work on 2-4 missing assignments per day on the weekday and more on the weekend (depedning on weekend family activities). Don't expect your child to complete more that this even if they were able to complete 4 assignments in a half an hour and they have tons of time left in the day. Make a plan and stick to it.
2. Get parents, families, and caregivers on board to help keep students on track. One of the best ways to keep students from getting too far behind is to recruit the champions they have outside school. When parents and guardians are kept in the loop about the assignments that are upcoming—along with expectations and due dates—they can help ...
Synonyms for assignment include job, charge, task, duty, mission, commission, responsibility, work, business and chore. Find more similar words at wordhippo.com!
recognitions. imputations. adscriptions. placements. referrals. "What followed was an assignment of tasks to staff based on their skillset.". Noun. . Plural for an act of making a legal transfer of a right or liability.
Let's state the most important thing first, and that is. Forgive yourself. Regardless of the circumstances why you weren't able to hand in your assignment on time. Acknowledging you've made a mistake and that you need to correct it is the first step towards improvement. Come to terms with what has happened and then let go; after all ...
Synonyms for ASSIGNMENTS: tasks, duties, jobs, projects, chores, missions, responsibilities, functions; Antonyms of ASSIGNMENTS: dismissals, firings, discharges ...
Another way to say Assignments? Synonyms for Assignments (other words and phrases for Assignments).
Find 38 different ways to say ASSIGNMENTS, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com.
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ASSIGNMENT - Synonyms, related words and examples | Cambridge English Thesaurus
Synonyms for ASSIGN: task, entrust, charge, trust, impose, intrust, confer, allocate; Antonyms of ASSIGN: deny, retain, deprive (of), withhold, keep, begrudge ...
Find all the synonyms and alternative words for assignments at Synonyms.com, the largest free online thesaurus, antonyms, definitions and translations resource on the web.
Most related words/phrases with sentence examples define Assignments meaning and usage. Thesaurus for Assignments. Related terms for assignments- synonyms, antonyms and sentences with assignments. Lists. synonyms. antonyms. definitions. sentences. thesaurus. Parts of speech. nouns. verbs. Synonyms Similar meaning. View all. tasks.
the instrument by which a claim or right or interest or property is transferred from one person to another. Synonyms: appointment, assigning, duty assignment, designation, grant, naming. assignment, assigning noun. the act of distributing something to designated places or persons. "the first task is the assignment of an address to each datum".
Synonyms for ASSIGNMENTS: distributions, nominations, divisions, authorizations, appointments, designations, allotments, allocations, tasks, homeworks, jobs ...