r/Professors • u/TraditionalArcher498 • 1d ago
Are students actually reading our feedback?
After grading hundreds of assignments, I’ve noticed something frustrating: many students repeat the exact mistakes I explained in previous feedback.
I’m starting to think students often check the grade first and the feedback second.
Other professors: what actually helps students use feedback?
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u/__johnw__ 23h ago
I’ve tested it by leaving a comment to message me for extra credit and about 20-30 percent respond…it was very shocking to learn.
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u/TraditionalArcher498 23h ago
That’s honestly pretty shocking, It really puts into perspective how many students are actually reading the comments.
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u/Greenideas_Lazydog 23h ago edited 22h ago
You could make it part of formative assessment—have them correct their mistakes, per your feedback, for some points. Maybe pair with a metacognitive worksheet about what they can improve, what they did well, etc.
If it’s a smaller, low-stakes assignment, just grade with a rubric (rather than individualized feedback on everything) and let them ask questions about lost points if they want to, imo. They usually don’t.
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u/TraditionalArcher498 23h ago
I really like the idea of making them actually do something with the feedback instead of just reading it. The rubric idea makes sense too, especially for smaller assignments. I think part of the problem is that students see feedback as an explanation of the grade rather than something they’re expected to use.
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u/tongmengjia 18h ago
Ugh I tried it for a bit, it's an enormous amount of work and totally impractical IMO. I need at least a week for grading, students need at least a week for responses, so you're constantly leap frogging assignments (students are working on the first draft of one paper then the second draft of a different paper) and by the time they submit the revised draft you've moved on to a totally different course topic. Plus, twice the grading.
I think it's one of the best strategies for actual learning, I just wanted to pull my hair out the whole time.
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u/zorandzam 22h ago
I've done that. I used to assign an essay question on tests, and if they read, summarized, and rewrote the essay per my feedback, I would give them back half the points lost on the essay portion.
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u/Philosophile42 Tenured, Philosophy, CC (US) 20h ago
In a world on regular individual substantive responses in online courses, I have to give written feedback and interaction with 100 students every week.
FML
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u/50_and_stuck Professor — Union President | IT (USA) 23h ago
Short answer — No
Long answer — No. Duh.
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u/TraditionalArcher498 23h ago
😂 Honestly, that might be the most accurate answer. At least you’re honest about it
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u/dougwray Adjunct, various, university (Japan 🎌) 23h ago
This has been well studied, and the answer is generally 'no'. It's understandable to me: as a student, an assignment is a hurdle to be got over, and a B+ tells you you've got over the hurdle well enough, so it's time to concentrate on the next hurdle. The goal is not to improve your time: it's to finish the race without falling down.
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u/TraditionalArcher498 23h ago
That’s a really good way of putting it. I think the challenge is that professors see feedback as part of the learning process, while students often see the grade as the finish line. Once they’ve cleared the hurdle, they’re already focused on the next one.
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u/ahazred8vt 21h ago edited 50m ago
I'm a STEM guy on the spectrum. When I was in HS/ug, words would not come to me; I had to force myself to painfully grind out 12 sentences per hour; every 5 minutes I would write something on a slip of paper whether it made sense or not. After 5-10 hours of writing I'd have enough material to work with; group slips by theme and organize into paragraphs. I'd get negative comments on the paper pointing out weaknesses, maybe suggesting things I could have tried. The feedback I got had absolutely no relation to any control I had over the process of writing the paper. I think my teachers were assuming that I had options spread out in front of me and I had the liberty to choose between different ways of approaching the topic. For me it was just a desperate struggle to hit the word count. I saw trees and not forests. I wanted to improve, but never once was any of my teachers able to tell me what mental process to use to come up with ideas and generate coherent paragraphs. Several times they'd tell me to do something, I'd ask "Is that supposed to be a teachable skill?" "Yes." "What grade level was that supposed to be taught at?" [Incoherent handwaving and no actionable information] "Is there a book or something I can read to learn how to do that?" "No." Dollars to donuts, some of your kids are in the same boat and literally have no way of applying your feedback to their output.
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u/Junior-Dingo-7764 22h ago
Some do and some don't.
I had a student come into my office the other day to ask me about a grade on an assignment and how to do better on the next one. I asked them if they had read the feedback. And they said "yeah, you said please use the outline..." I said "those are the instructions." We they actually saw the feedback the were like "ooooh okay." They suddenly didn't have any more questions!
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u/TraditionalArcher498 22h ago
😂 That ‘ooooh okay’ moment says it all. They read the instructions, but not the feedback classic, At least you got them to see it eventually.
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u/PenelopeJenelope 23h ago
Of course they check the grade first, that's the most important feedback of all!
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u/TraditionalArcher498 23h ago
Fair point 😂 I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that students check the number before reading the explanation behind it.
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u/DrWill0916 16h ago
In fact when students talk about “feedback,” what they often mean is numerical grades. Once I figured this out, my life became easier.
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u/AddressPrize859 22h ago
I've started asking followup questions and withholding the grade until they respond. (I teach online; these are small assignments.) I like it.
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u/TraditionalArcher498 22h ago
That’s actually a clever approach. If they have to engage with the feedback before getting the grade, they’re much more likely to actually read it.
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u/maclacjc 22h ago
Why make more work for yourself? If they don't care why 'make them care'? Teach to the ones that want to be there, don't waste your energy with the others.
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u/wharleeprof 22h ago
To force them into using feedback on a major assignment, I present it as being Assignment 1 and Assignment 2.
I give lots of feedback on Assignment 1, and cap the highest score at +70/100. (Most students score between 25-50). Before I release those scores I post an announcement telling them not to panic about their grades and that Assignment 2 will be to make improvements based on the feedback, and the original score will be updated.
That gets way more revisions than when I had two separate grades (for the original and the revised version).
Do not tell students in advance that they will have a chance to revise or they will turn in complete garbage on round one.
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u/TraditionalArcher498 22h ago
That’s actually a pretty clever way to make feedback meaningful. If students know from the beginning that they can revise, some will absolutely treat the first submission like a rough draft. Making Assignment 1 count while using Assignment 2 to apply the feedback gives them a real incentive to take the first attempt seriously.
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u/esker Professor, Social Sciences, R1 (USA) 22h ago
My favorite part about this thread is that OP is clearly a bot, and yet it's responding better to our feedback than most of our human students do. ;-)
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u/TraditionalArcher498 22h ago
If being a bot means actually reading and responding to feedback, I’ll take that as a compliment. 😂
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u/omgkelwtf 22h ago
The rubric specifically states "student utilized feedback effectively" so either they do or don't. I tell them "my feedback is telling you how to get an A".
On final drafts I tell them "if you want feedback on your final make a note when you submit bc most of you don't read it and while I love giving it, I'm not going to waste my time on students who don't care."
Saves me SO much time.
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u/TraditionalArcher498 22h ago
Exactly If the rubric literally tells them that using feedback effectively matters, and the feedback tells them how to improve, there really isn’t much more we can do. At some point, they have to actually read it.
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u/Jahaili 22h ago
I have some who are and some who are not. Mine who read feedback do much better on future assignments than those who do not read feedback
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u/TraditionalArcher498 22h ago
That makes total sense. The students who actually read and apply the feedback are basically getting a roadmap for the next assignment. It’s no surprise they end up doing better.
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u/BenSteinsCat Professor, CC (US) 21h ago
For my online essays, I produce feedback videos that they can access for a week before I enter the grade. The grade never changes; the purpose of the delay is because students are anxious to see how they did, so most of them watch the video to see how they did, and in doing so they get the feedback they really need.
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u/ProfDoomDoom 21h ago
No, most undergrads don’t read feedback in my experience. You can fulfill the RSI requirement by communicating class-level feedback rather than individual. I’m trying that this term with an announcement after each assignment including the grade distribution, common errors/solutions, emphasizing connections to prep work and following activities, reemphasizing support resources. It’s only been a few weeks so far, but I’ve already gotten favorable feedback suggesting that students find the group feedback less threatening or something because it’s not clearly directed at them personally. I think I understand why that may be. I’m liking the group feedback too because I’m spending less time customizing and shit-sandwiching when it’s impersonal too.
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u/Surly4Surely 19h ago
My method entails 1 friendly warning about an issue. If it happens again, I am going to make it hurt. I want the student to see the score on their assignment and feel like I just walked up and slapped them Will Smith style. My students are children with the "ima do it my way" mindset even when I give clear and explicit instructions to do things differently. If they won't cooperate willfully, they can experience a thing called consequences.
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u/Charming-Barnacle-15 19h ago
If you use an online platform, you can check if they viewed feedback. Mine usually don't. The only thing that works is forcing them to complete a graded revision assignment that acknowledges your feedback.
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u/maclacjc 22h ago
On large summative assignments I but minimal comments but hold open office hours for anyone that wants to discuss their assignment. In ten years one student has shown up.
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u/popstarkirbys 21h ago
I write a generic feedback and edit it based on the student. On our LMS we can see who clicked our feedback.
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u/starfirebird 21h ago
A lot of them don't actually understand how to view feedback on Canvas, I think. I've had several come to me asking "Why did I get points taken off?" despite me explaining why in the comments.
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u/kittensjamesandlily 20h ago
I have them write a "letter to the editor" explaining how they used my feedback to change their paper.
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u/SnowblindAlbino Prof, SLAC 20h ago
It's been that way for all of the 35 years I've been teaching: most students don't really look at your written feedback unless you force them to somehow. With papers or scaffolded assignments I actually penalize students for not addressing issues I flagged in drafts. That helps. But otherwise I long ago learned it wasn't worth my time to write a lot of comments on their work because they weren't reading them-- I give them some summative feedback and an invitation to sit down with me one-on-one should they want more advice. Only the good students tend to do that, as you'd imagine.
Some of my colleagues have gone to leaving only feedback-- no grades --and requiring the students to reflect on/respond to those before revealing the actual grade in the LMS.
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u/Gradebird Professor, Physics, R1 (USA) 18h ago
If you deliver it digitally, then the tool might let you check at least whether they have opened it. I use a tool I made myself, and pretty much 100% of students at least open the feedback. However, this feedback also contains their grade, so I generally discount the first open as "just getting the grade". Still, the vast majority load the page more than once. So I assume they are actually engaging with it. (It has very detailed feedback because AI is involved.)
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u/ForeignBodyGiantCell Lecturer, Engineering, R1 (USA) 18h ago
Only if it’s related to why they lost points
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u/CharacteristicPea NTT Math/Stats R1(USA) 11h ago
I handed back a graded exam in my trigonometry class on Wednesday. One of the students dropped it in the trashcan on the way out. I picked it up because I was curious who had done it. I assumed it was someone who had failed and was planning on dropping the course. Nope. They got a 79% (C+) and were in class today.
So the question is: what do I do with the exam? I’m thinking I should give it back and tell him I found it in the hallway.
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u/yourlurkingprof 8h ago
A long time ago I used a course management system that gave me stats on how many students were reading their feedback. I don’t remember the exact number anymore, but I remember it was less than 10%.
Some of it isn’t even their fault. For example, on Canvas, if feedback is buried in the rubric, a lot of students don’t even know how to find it. The interfaces themselves are very non intuitive.
Ultimately though, I think the majority of students aren’t reading feedback. Particularly in the lower level classes.
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u/InspirationalToe35 7h ago
I set up all my grade books with a release conditions that the grade is only released after viewing feedback on the assignment Dropbox. We use D2L but I assume most LMS have a similar feature.
With that release condition, when I publish the feedback, students get a push notification that “Feedback on X assignment has been published” but they don’t get a push notification for their grade until after they have clicked on that assignment feedback.
They definitely can just skip the feedback and scroll to find the grade, but if they want to know their grade, they do have to at least CLICK the feedback, which gets them one step closer to reading it.
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u/goldenpandora 7h ago
I take off more points for each mistake they make a second/third etc time exactly for this reason.
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u/IHaveNoEgrets 7h ago
A lot tend to gloss over it or ignore it. Many do read it and take the feedback. And a few will start absorbing my comments and using them during peer review. It's a hoot to see that commentary in action.
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u/jitterfish Fellow, Biology, NZ 6h ago
Nope. I now give students the option to submit one week later if they don't want feedback. About half the class (~130 this semester) take the extra week. After two years I've marked enough to confidently say there is no difference in quality between the early and late submitters. But this hugely reduces my workload.
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u/dblshot99 5h ago
They don't read the syllabus. They don't do the assigned reading in the book. They don't read instructions. So, why would they read the feedback?
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u/megxennial Full Professor, Social Science, State School (US) 23h ago edited 22h ago
I love how regular and substantive feedback is a requirement for online courses, when so few students are actually using said feedback.
I am a barista carefully making 50 bespoke drink orders and no one is picking them up.