(PS140)

Zero Support for No-Zero Policies

Executive Summary

• Many school boards and individual schools across the country have implemented no-zero policies as part of their formal guidelines for teachers. These policies prohibit teachers from giving marks of zero for incomplete work or for academic misconduct such as plagiarism. Since no-zero policies obviously have a major impact on assessment practices, it is important to carefully evaluate the arguments made in favour of this approach.
• It is difficult to quantify how widespread no-zero policies are across Canada, since school boards tend not to advertise their existence. Nevertheless, the media report enough examples of no-zero policies to demonstrate that this practice is widespread.
• The research on no-zero policies is surprisingly weak. In fact, the assessment consultants regularly cite each other as their only sources when defending no-zero policies, and they rarely refer to actual research evidence to support their position.
• There are many reasons why school administrators should avoid no-zero policies. First, they inevitably bring controversy with them, something that is acknowledged by even their strongest proponents.
• Second, no-zero policies unreasonably interfere with the professional discretion of teachers to determine grades. Teachers know their students and realize it is unrealistic to expect the same technique to work with every student. They use a variety of methods to hold students accountable.
• Third, no-zero policies fail to prepare students for life after school. Employees are not paid for doing nothing, and universities do not grant credit to students who choose not to hand in their assignments.
• The arguments against no-zero policies are compelling. No-zero policies always encounter fierce resistance from parents and teachers, unreasonably interfere with the professional discretion of teachers, penalize students who complete all their assignments on time and fail to prepare students for life after school. These are all excellent reasons for school administrators to avoid stepping into the quagmire of no-zero policies.

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Michael C. Zwaagstra

is a research fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy who specializes in education policy. He has extensive teaching experience at a variety of grade levels and currently teaches high school social studies in Manitoba. He received his B.Ed., P.B.C.E., and M.Ed. degrees from the University of Manitoba where he won several academic awards such as the A. W. Hogg Undergraduate Scholarship, the Klieforth Prize in American History, and the Schoolmaster’s Wives Association Scholarship. As an educator, Michael is a strong proponent of raising academic standards, holding schools accountable for their results, and expanding the educational options available to parents. His columns promoting common sense education reform have been published in major daily newspapers including the National Post, Winnipeg Free Press, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, and Calgary Herald. He is also a frequent guest on radio stations across the country. His best-selling first book, What's Wrong with Our Schools and How We Can Fix Them, was released in mid-2010.