When I was in high school, there were extremely generous late-work policies. You had three days to turn in late work, and if you didn’t turn it in after those days were up, you’d get a big fat zero. They would threaten zeros, but I knew nary a kid who actually got a zero if they turned something in four days late. That policy wasn’t the best at getting kids to turn in their homework on time (only 10 points would be deducted if you turned something in a day late), but it definitely helped when it came time to turn in large essays and projects. Though the threat of a zero seemed hollow, it was a threat nonetheless, and I took it seriously.

In schools across the country, getting zeros on unfinished work is becoming a thing of the past. One teacher recently shared the wild tale of her AP insisting that no students fail, and it’s wild from start to finish.