I remember feeling pleased with myself as I posted spreadsheets full of marks, several years ago. The essays had been graded, missing assignments had been assigned zeros, and my students would be able to check their progress in anticipation of the upco ming “marks cut – off day.” I occasionally heard a student exclaim, “Argh! She’s giving me 36%!” as he or she examined the spreadsheet. That sort of comment always frustrated me. I was not “giving” the student 36%. Rather, he or she had not submitted as signments. I began to realize that, for some students, the grade on the spreadsheet was the grade that they identified with; they did not see opportunity to improve, but they saw their own “failure” in the course and, therefore, my failure as a teacher.
