Wow, some high quality BOTL wandering in. I feel honored.
As a rule, I hope for the best, plan for the worst. All I can do is my best with rules and consequences that force them to do their best. Then, it's really up to the students. When I retire in 20+ years, I hope I've "created" an army of science people. But, that's then. Now, I've just got to prepare. School starts 2 weeks from Monday...and in-service starts Monday, so two weeks learning the rules and prepping with teachers who know.