Imposing a penalty for late or incomplete homework assignments, Dueck says, neither inspires learning nor provides accurate grades. Dueck lists four rules that a teacher must follow if penalties for inadequate homework are to be efficient in prodding students to do that work. The usual homework penalty structures violate each of these four rules. Nor is punitive grading helpful in instilling a work ethic among students, as many teachers wish. Dueck, a high school history teacher, discusses alternative practices to punitively grading homework: tying in-class quizzes to specific practice homework (started in class); using a grade of "incomplete" and interventions to support students until they finish; and using projects tied to student interests.