“My student didn’t know the difference between uppercase and lowercase letters...”

"I think it's due to a combination of reasons. Part of it is COVID and post-lockdown policies that limited deadlines and created no sense of urgency. Part of it is a lack of consequences for not completing work. When I was their age, three missing assignments meant detention, where you worked on them. Another part is a lack of focus. The last part is poor numeracy. They don't understand the math behind figuring out how many points they need to earn a certain grade."