Beyond the Red Pen: Providing Targeted Student Feedback

Feedback goes far beyond the red pen. It’s not about crossing out mistakes or writing “good job” in the margins—it’s about offering students clear, actionable guidance they can use to improve and grow. Rubric B-3: Providing and Interpreting Targeted Student Feedback in the EPiC™ Key Assessment Implementation series highlights feedback as a powerful instructional tool. This rubric emphasizes responses that are specific, connected to learning goals, and designed to help students apply insights to future tasks.

The strategies that follow demonstrate how feedback, when done well, becomes more than a response—it becomes an integral part of the learning process itself.

📽️ Watch: Tips for Rubric B-3 – Providing and Interpreting Targeted Student Feedback

✓ Tailor Feedback to Individual Needs

Tip: Provide feedback that is specific to each student’s work, noting both strengths (“glows”) and areas for growth.

Example: If a student struggles with evidence-based writing, suggest actionable strategies—such as using a graphic organizer—to strengthen their argument.

✓ Align Feedback with Learning Goals

Tip: Connect feedback directly to lesson objectives and learning targets so students see the purpose behind it.

Example: Highlight how a student’s creative approach met the criteria for innovation in problem-solving, linking the feedback to established learning goals.

✓ Foster Student Application of Feedback

Tip: Provide clear steps for students to apply feedback and revise their work, or guide future learning.

Example: Encourage students to transfer feedback—such as improving clarity in explanations—to other assignments and new contexts.

✓ Support Student Understanding of Feedback

Tip: Anticipate areas where students may struggle to understand feedback and provide scaffolds to help.

Example: Use exemplars, follow-up questions, or one-on-one check-ins to ensure feedback is clear. For students who need enrichment, consider adding higher-order challenges or extension tasks.

✓ Use Evidence to Guide Feedback

Tip: Ground all feedback in specific examples from student work to make it meaningful and transparent.

Example: “Your writing shows strong sentence variety, but the thesis is unclear—try revising your opening paragraph to state your central argument more directly.”

✓ Plan Next Steps for Each Student

Tip: Provide targeted, detailed next steps that include both strategies and timelines for action.

Example: Students needing more support might revisit a mini-lesson or complete additional practice. Students ready for enrichment could apply the skill to a more complex project.

By offering feedback that is clear, targeted, and evidence-based, teacher candidates demonstrate the ability to guide students toward measurable improvement and deeper understanding. Rubric B-3 reminds us that the most impactful feedback is not final—it’s forward-looking.