Academics · Subject Resources

Catch up on missing work
one evening at a time.

List what is missing, what it is worth, how long it will take and the last day each teacher will take it. The planner shows what every assignment is still worth after late penalties, what your grades become, and lays the work out night by night so each piece lands before its deadline.

Make my planWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Study skills kit, $29 for 21 items.

The catch-up planner

The worked example is made up: a ninth grader with five missing assignments across five classes, an hour on school nights and an hour and a half on weekends. Use your own gradebook and your teachers’ late-work rules. Nothing you enter leaves this browser.

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What you get

Academics · Subject ResourcesAlso for Academics · Study Skills$5

What you finish with
Each missing assignment’s points after the late penalty and its points per hour of work; each class grade now and with the work turned in; a day-by-day plan in the minutes you have, earliest deadline first, with a finish date for each assignment and a warning for any that cannot make it in time; and a note to copy and send to each teacher. A one-page plan prints and the list downloads as a spreadsheet.
Who it is for
Middle and high school students behind on work, the parents and guardians helping them get caught up, and the teachers and school counselors who sit down with them to plan it.
Format
Browser tool. Works on a phone, tablet or computer; the plan redraws as you type. Up to 40 assignments. Prints a one-page plan with check boxes; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Study skills kit ($29) and the Academics Suite pass ($149), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Subject Resources space in Caveat Academics; also listed for Study Skills (students planning their own catch-up).
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Set the day you start and the minutes you can give it on school nights and on weekend days.
  2. Add each missing assignment: class, title, points, minutes it will take, the late penalty and the last day it is accepted.
  3. Add each class’s points earned and possible from the gradebook to see what each grade becomes.
  4. Copy the note for each teacher and send it before you start, so you know the work still counts.
  5. Follow the plan night by night and tick each assignment as you turn it in.

Make my plan

How the plan is worked out

Points after penalties, grades with the work in, then the earliest deadline first.

1 What each assignment is still worthBio lab report45 points50 × (1 − 10%)History map20 points40 × (1 − 50%)Per hour of work30 vs 10lab: 45 in 90 min; map: 20 in 1202 What the grade becomesBiology now78.0%312 of 400, lab counted as 0With the lab in89.3%(312 + 45) ÷ 4003 The plan: earliest last day first60 minutes on school nights, 90 on weekendsSpanish, Algebra, Biology, English, Historyall five finished Saturday, November 21, each before the last day it is accepted1 Still worthBio lab45 pts50 less 10%History map20 pts40 less 50%Per hour of work30 vs 10 pointslab first, map last2 The gradeBiology now78.0%312 of 400With the lab89.3%357 of 4003 The planEarliest last day firstdone Sat, Nov 21all before their deadlines
The worked example: five missing assignments, worth 120 points after late penalties, all finished by Saturday at an hour a school night.

The arithmetic

An assignment is still worth its points times one minus the late penalty. Points per hour is that, divided by the hours it will take. A class grade with the work in is the points earned plus what the missing work is still worth, over the same points possible, since a gradebook already counts missing work as zero. The plan fills each day’s minutes with the assignment whose last day comes first, breaking ties by points per hour, and splits long ones across days.

Why earliest deadline first

When every piece has its own last day, working in order of deadline finishes the most work on time; if even that order misses a deadline, no order would have met it with the same minutes, so the planner tells you which ones to ask about. Short, scheduled sessions also beat one all-night push: spacing work out is easier to keep up and leaves time to ask for help. Late-work rules belong to each teacher and school, so ask before counting on the points.

Sources

  1. Jackson, J. R. (1955). Scheduling a production line to minimize maximum tardiness. Research Report 43, Management Science Research Project, UCLA: the earliest-due-date rule.
  2. Institute of Education Sciences, What Works Clearinghouse. Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning (Pashler et al., 2007, NCER 2007-2004): spacing learning over time.
  3. U.S. Department of Education. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): parents, and students 18 and older, may review education records, including grades.
  4. Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner: An overview. Theory Into Practice, 41(2), 64–70.

The worked example is made up. The page adds up the points and minutes you enter; each teacher decides whether late work is accepted and how it is graded. Your list stays in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.