I occasionally get students who submit their assignments, but I only notice that they've submitted the wrong assignment when I begin grading. I can think of three possibilities to explain this:
- They made an honest mistake
- They are trying to buy some time to submit their assignment by making it seem like an honest mistake
- They didn't do the assignment at all and are trying to get some kind of credit
Sometimes I allow students a few hours or 24 hours to resubmit the correct assignment (is 24 hours too long?). If they don't, then I usually assume they haven't actually completed it. Other times, I'm just tempted to give them a zero.
The student in question submitted an assignment that was submitted previously in the semester.
Is there a better way that you know of to confirm whether they're being honest or not?
By the way, I'm looking for a general answer that can apply across multiple situations. In this specific situation, due to many different factors, I decided to allow the student to resubmit. She resubmitted right away, which seems to demonstrate it was an honest mistake.