COMMENT | In recent columns, I have written about how we often mistake the signals produced by assessment systems for learning itself, our fixation on examination rankings, and assessment design that prioritises comparison over information.

These debates can sound abstract and even academic, but their effects are felt most acutely not in policy documents or score reports, but in everyday classroom interactions, including mine.

Every semester, a familiar pattern repeats itself. As assignment deadlines approach, my inbox fills with questions - not about substantive ideas, arguments, or how to bridge theory and practice, but about margins, word counts, phrasing, and very particular, minute things to check if they are “correct”.

I take a deep breath and answer the questions as well as I can, but collectively, they tell a troubling story.

Many students are not...