In this blog post, we’ll examine the significance and impact of red-pen grading in educational settings.
I’ve solved countless problems and gotten countless problems wrong. A red grading pen was always there with me through it all. When I think of graded test papers, images of red marks scattered across the wide margins of a white or gray background naturally come to mind. Why red, of all colors? Aren’t we taking this custom for granted?
I read the brand story of the “Red Pen” workbook series, which states that it aims to provide learning tailored to South Korea’s curriculum and educational environment. “Red Pen” explains that the red pen symbolizes a teacher’s meticulous and caring feedback. However, I do not believe that what the red pen symbolizes is merely one-way feedback from teacher to student; I do not necessarily view it as caring guidance.
The grading process is meant to help students recognize their own shortcomings and work to improve them. Therefore, it is crucial to communicate these shortcomings to students meticulously and accurately. From this perspective, using the highly visible color red for grading might seem desirable. However, proper educational guidance does not end with simply pointing out mistakes. I believe true educational guidance involves carefully identifying a student’s weaknesses and, based on this, fostering a strong bond between teacher and student through two-way communication—all while growing together. Could it be that the red pen, which enables meticulous corrections, is actually painting the bigger picture of this educational guidance red?
A U.S. study reported that grading with red ink may reduce psychological closeness between teachers and students and negatively impact the learning experience. Effective education is possible only when there is continuous and smooth communication between teachers and students. The communication referred to here encompasses not only the exchange of words but also the process of building mutual rapport. Therefore, the sense of closeness between teachers and students can be considered a crucial element in academic guidance. One might think that two-way communication is inevitably limited in written feedback such as grading. However, grading is a crucial process that allows for an accurate assessment of a student’s current level and the effectiveness of instruction. If factors that weaken the bond between teacher and student exist within this process, it is likely to have a negative impact on the overall learning experience. If we overlook this aspect of red-pen grading—focusing solely on pointing out deficiencies—it will be difficult to achieve desirable educational outcomes.
Furthermore, research indicates that when students see comments or instructions written in red, they tend to perceive the teacher as aggressive or angry. It is said that even when receiving the same grade, students are more likely to feel they have been evaluated more harshly if their work is graded in red. As mentioned earlier, this not only diminishes the rapport between teachers and students but can also cause frustration among students who need encouragement and support to grow. Grading is a process intended to help students grow, not to give up on them.
In the past, some schools in the United Kingdom restricted the use of red pens or encouraged the use of other colors, and similar discussions have taken place in the Australian state of Queensland. On standard paper, sufficient visibility can be achieved even without using red. Therefore, it may be more desirable to grade using a more neutral color, such as blue, rather than red, which can give an aggressive impression. Research on color and cognition has shown that blue can help create a calm and comfortable atmosphere and tends to promote creative thinking in certain tasks. Considering these points, blue pens are likely to play a more positive role in creating an educational environment that helps students engage in creative and challenging thinking in a more relaxed atmosphere. Therefore, I believe that the educational benefits offered by pens of other colors may outweigh the advantages provided by the high visibility of red pens.
Could it be that the advantage of red being highly visible is obscuring the essence of learning, which is far more important? We continue to use red pens simply because it feels so natural. Such customs—perpetuated for the sake of minor convenience right in front of us without seeing the bigger picture—exist not only in educational settings but throughout our society. Perhaps, rather than keeping our heads down and focusing only on the path immediately before us, we need to lift our heads and take another look at the direction we’re heading.
