It is not a secret that students who play a sport might have to leave school early to go to a game or meet. When the athletes leave school early, they are required to make up an work that they miss.

This generally isn’t a problem until teachers start grading the work for those athletes differently than for the rest of the class.  This is not referring to work that was going to be graded for accuracy, but instead is referring to work that if the student had been present, would have been graded for completion.

For example, if a student does not receive a math worksheet because of a volleyball game on Wednesday, then on Tuesday he or she should have asked for the worksheet in advance and be ready to turn it in on Thursday so that it can be graded on completion. As long as the paper is turned in in advance, the paper should be graded the same as any other classmate.

It is unfair that a student is being unfairly graded for trying to be an active member in the school. Some might argue that it is the student’s fault for joining the sport. However, this doesn’t only apply to athletes, but also students who were sick, went on field trips or just had to leave school early.

It would be much easier for both parties if the homework was graded on completion. This way, the teacher doesn’t have to spend extra time grading all the papers from absent students and the student would have his or her paper graded the way it should be. Just because a teacher grades assignments differently for those absent from class does not mean that he or she is a bad teacher, it just means that this one aspect of his or her teaching needs to be reconsidered.