I bring up notebooks in responding to this query only in connection with grading, a recent topic on moretprs.
I forgot to mention notebooks as a great slush fund for grades. There were certain handouts that had to be in the notebook and quite a few pages of notes taken from the board (yes, a black board, you whippersnappers), along with a couple of small projects, etc. This was part of a larger project in my teaching of teaching students how to manage material they would need. As many of you have experienced, students, esp the “good” students, love to throw out everything. How many times did I hear a student cry out, “I didn’t know we’d need that!” There seemed to be a tone of anger accompanying these purges, often at the end of a semester, as if the course didn’t continue another semester (and, in the cases of Latin and Russian, another year or two).
So I designed tests that required that the student access such material. I also built such reference material into my lectures, etc. This was easy to do when I was teaching a lot of grammar.
Sometimes a student had a hard time passing tests, turning homework in, etc., but if they kept assignments, I’d give them time at the end of the grading period to complete the work for partial credit, etc. Most students didn’t need all that, but for a few, it was a life-saver. That, of course, assumes you are wanting to help the student keep his grades up. Some teachers would like to see the kid “learn his lesson” — you know the type.
But for us wimpy types, a passing grade could be justified by a well-kept notebook, etc. along with some level of performance.