Pardon me while I vent

I had a student in one of my classes this year who is taking it for at least the third time. His previous grade was a D, and he really wanted to get it up to a C. However, he had trouble with one particular course component. So he stopped doing it.

He was doing OK on the exams -- an A on the first, a B on the second -- but his course average was still a low C. He asked me what he could do to get it up, and I suggested that he start turning in the assignments. After the drop deadline, he came to me and asked if he should drop. I told him that it was too late, and that anyway he could get that C. I suggested again that he should start turning in the assignments. Every little bit helps, I told him.

You'll never guess what happened. Apparently, he would never have guessed what was going to happen. He did relatively poorly on the final, and dropped himself to a D. He had only done 3 of the 20 assignments, and had 14% in that component of the course. If he had gotten 33%, he would have gotten a C.

It frustrates me how predictable this is. And how easily avoided. He didn't have to do stellar on the missing assignments. He just had to do them. But he was too busy, and now he has himself another D.