Neuse River Middle School
From Missing Assignments to Academic Growth: Empowering Students with Simple Checklists
From Missing Assignments to Academic Growth: Empowering Students with Simple Checklists
Neuse River Middle School in Wake County, North Carolina, faced growing concerns about students falling behind due to incomplete or missing assignments. By piloting a simple, student-driven checklist system, teacher Jessica Gibbons helped students take ownership of their work, recover failing grades, and improve academic performance — all without adding complex interventions or new technology.
75% of failing students raised their grades to passing
Five of the eight students in the pilot who were previously failing improved enough to pass by the end of the quarter.
Student Ownership
The checklist tool empowered students to independently track assignments, prioritize missing work, and reflect on their progress.
Scalable and Sustainable
The approach spread across multiple grades, subjects, and schools, demonstrating that simple tools can drive meaningful academic improvement.
At Neuse River Middle School, Jessica Gibbons noticed a growing pattern: many students were falling behind because they had difficulty keeping track of assignments. Despite teacher reminders, missing and incomplete work continued to pile up for some students, which led to failing grades and frustration. Jessica wanted to find a simple way to help students see where they stood and take ownership of their academic progress.
Starting small, Jessica piloted a new approach with a small group of eight students. She created a checklist that listed every assignment for the quarter. Next to each assignment were three simple options: Completed, Completed but would like to make revisions, and Incomplete. Each student updated their own checklist weekly and met with Jessica individually or in small groups to reflect on their progress.
THE GOAL
Help students increase assignment completion, reduce missing work, and take greater ownership of their academic performance by providing a simple visual tracking system and ongoing reflection.
THE SOLUTION
Jessica designed a quarter-long checklist tool that allowed students to track every assignment across three progress categories. She regularly met with students to review their checklists, discuss any missing or low-performing work, and create specific plans to improve. The meetings were conducted either one-on-one or in small groups to ensure students felt comfortable and supported.
Jessica was intentional in presenting the checklist not as another assignment but as a helpful tool to make things easier. Many students shared that the checklist made it simple to find what was missing or what they wanted to improve, especially while balancing at-home learning challenges. For students who had completed all work, the checklist became a source of validation and confidence.
As the approach proved successful, other teachers on Jessica’s team began adopting the strategy. Eventually, the checklist spread beyond her classroom to other subjects, grades, and schools.
Presentation matters: Framing the checklist as a student support tool encouraged buy-in.
Addressing struggles: The checklist made it easier for students to locate missing or low-performing work.
Positive validation: Students who were caught up enjoyed confirming their success with teachers and parents.
Simple solutions can scale: A low-tech, student-centered approach can yield strong results across different classrooms and subjects.
