Student With ADHD Keeps Turning Work in Late and Teacher Docks Grade, Causes Split Reactions

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Oct 20, 2022 3:00 PM EDT

This teacher tried to enforce their late policy and docked a student's grade for two consecutive essays, but there's an added layer here. The student has ADHD and the school has limited accommodations. This thread was posted to Reddit's r/AmITheA**hole subreddit by u/phootfreek. 

 

Despite trying to reach out to the student on several occasions, their work continued to come in weeks after the deadline. By the time first quarter grades came in, the student was upset by their C- grade, despite the fact that the grade itself was actually generously rounded up. 

 

This one's a tough call, as evidenced by the split reactions in the comments section. On the one hand, this teacher is clearly going above and beyond for a student who is having trouble meeting her halfway. On the other, students with learning differences are rarely supported in class. There are valuable lessons in communication and time management here that could prepare the student for college and beyond, but also the punitive treatment and low grades could hurt this student's future in a serious way. 

 

Keep scrolling below for the full discussion! For more, check out this post about an entitled student who reported their professor for having reasonable boundaries.

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  • 01
    Font - AITA for sticking to the late policy in my class even though the student has ADHD? Reddit, I'm a high school teacher in the US who has ADHD myself. I wasn't diagnosed until college and want to preface this by saying I'm not perfect. For example, I have lost student's papers before. The issue at hand happened in my 10th grade class where the kids are 15-16 years old.
    via u/phootfreek
  • 02
    Font - I've always taken off points for essays, projects, and homework assignments turned in late. I explain this on day one and put it in the syllabus. They lose 10% for each day it's late but I never take off more than 50% as a late penalty. Usually kids won't turn in major projects more than 1-2 days late. This year I had a student with ADHD turn in an essay 6 weeks late, they did an excellent job but I only gave them a 50% because of how late it was. The second essay counted for 30% of their
    via u/phootfreek
  • 03
    Font - For the first essay their excuse was that it was done but they felt like they half sed it and wanted to do it right. It went above and beyond and was far longer than it needed to be. I explained I prefer they turn something in on time rather than exceed expectations but turning it in 6 weeks late. The only explanation for the second essay was that they had it saved on a specific computer at home that they didn't have access too. Their previous English teacher never really had much of a pe
    via u/phootfreek
  • 04
    Font - In my defense, they could still earn an A for the course, but they would essentially have to maintain around a 95% average for the rest of the course including the midterm and final exams. College is so expensive in the US and I don't want to affect students averages over an assignment being a few days late but I also feel like I'm not truly preparing students for college/university/the workforce by letting them turn in work when it's convenient with them without consequence. So AITA for
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  • 05
    Font - EDIT: People keep asking about IEPS and accommodation plans. I work at a private school that offers very limited accommodations and we have no special ed department. We do not offer extended time on long assignments, we will only chunk them into smaller, more manageable pieces. We only offer extended time for quizzes/tests. Despite parents being aware of ADHD, I realized this student has no file, so I will definitely be talking to the guidance counselor. Even though my school doesn't offe
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  • 06
    Font - SECOND EDIT: I also give class time. They usually get around 2-3 hours of class time to write, ask me questions, do peer revisions. Some of them waste their time by talking or going on their phones. I tell them I'm not gonna get into arguments if they want to waste their time but that I'm always there to provide any help and support while they work. Usually I have a constant line of kids asking for help so I can't dedicate time to focus and observe this one specific student's work habits
    via u/phootfreek
  • 07
    Font - THIRD EDIT: I did contact the parents after the first missing essay and admin knows they got a C- due to late work. I tell students to talk to me BEFORE the due date to make arrangements on late work. I'm pretty lenient if we com up with a plan ahead of time. I tell them don't tell me the day it's due unless it's something serious like a death, hospitalization, car accident, etc. For example, a student recently failed a quiz. I followed up and the student broke down saying it was due to f
    via u/phootfreek
  • 08
    Font - FOURTH EDIT: Yes I've spoken to the student! I reminded them in person and email but they would ignore me or say "I'll do it." After the second essay was 2-3 days late I finally forced them to discuss this in more detail where I explained the policy, why I have it, how it affects their grade. They seemed pretty receptive until I pulled them aside the following week to discuss why they only earned a C- for the first quarter. They thought it would all balance out because they got As on the
    via u/phootfreek
  • 09
    Font - 2017 dazedkatwoman. 17 hr. ago Certified Proctologist [24] NTA. We aren't talking about a class period or two. We're talking about 6 weeks the first time and 4 weeks the second. ADHD is fairly common, lots of kids with ADHD manage to get their assignments in on time or only a little late. But 6 weeks? No. There's accommodation and then there's no accountability. What's the point of a deadline if you don't actually adhere to it. 5.0k Reply Share
    via u/phootfreek
  • 10
    Font - therealnotrealtaako 15 hr. ago You went above and beyond for this student by bumping their grade up. A lot of my teachers would only bump up a grade by rounding up to the nearest digit, not raise it by almost 2 points. It sucks that their ADHD affects their school, but you've done a lot to accommodate your students based off of your OP. 184 Reply
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  • 11
    Font - Unconcerned Cat 15 hr. ago I agree with NTA. At this age, teaching real life skills come into play. One side you mentioned in your edits is yes, diverse accommodations is something to definitely be investigated and considered. Other side is, if you are at a job and turn in a project 6 weeks late, you're fired most likely. Even with accommodations. 114 Reply
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  • 12
    Font - Ścej f Aware-Ad-9095 - 12 hr. ago Jumping up here after reading many comments. My doctoral dissertation is titled, "The Transition From High School to College for Students With Learning Disabilities." Totally intriguing, right. I spent 5 years in graduate school learning everything I could about LDs and most of my 28 year practice. Many people are expressing opinions with no real knowledge of the realities. I am most intrigued/learning about how students with LDS perceive all this. 67 Rep
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  • 13
    Font - (2) Sword_Of_Storms. 7 hr. ago Colo-rectal Surgeon [35] As someone with a LD - these comments do not surprise me. People do not understand that no amount of therapy or medication will make some of us perform at the expected NT standard. People hate us unless we can be medicated to the point of being normal and indistinguishable from those without LD's. We're never, ever allowed to use our LD as an "excuse" to be different despite the fact that those same people will them rub our differenc
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  • 14
    Font - BecauseICanTest 8 hr. ago Between my ADHD and Dyslexia extended time and accommodations for spelling were big factors in me graduating on with an engineering degree.
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  • 15
    Font - emt blue 13 hr. ago Partassipant [1] I had formal accommodations in high school that allowed me to turn things in late. It took a me a long time to figure out my executive dysfunction. I'm in medical school now and I'd like to think I have got a decent handle on things. Also, I don't think the fact that the kid is 15-16 matters at all kids with adhd are behind maturity-wise. 6 weeks is too long, but 4 classes could be within reason in 504 accommodations.
    via u/phootfreek

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