Are Students Reading and Using Your Feedback?

Have you ever spent hours writing comments on students' submitted work, like a SOAP note, and then, when they hand in the next one, it still has all the same mistakes you commented on the last time? You're not alone. So, I'm here to confirm what you already know. Students tend to ignore feedback. Why is that? 

We all know that the goal of feedback is to provide students with specific, detailed information about their learning so they can use it to improve (Martin, 2023). Providing feedback to students is one of the most essential aspects for teaching and learning (Mather & Scheepers, 2025; Orlando, 2017). Most of us spend a significant amount of time providing feedback to our students in various forms. So, why don't students read it? 

A common form that is most commonly overlooked, underused, or misinterpreted by students is written or typed feedback (Colella, 2026). There are several reasons for this, including timing, specificity, and access to the feedback. Fortunately, there are also practical approaches we can use to help students better use our feedback to support their learning. 

Timing

You've heard the saying "Timing is everything." Well, it's true, especially for feedback. 

For students, the longer the time between completion and feedback, the greater their detachment from the work and the less motivated they are to read or use the feedback when they do receive it (Colella, 2025). 

Research supports that feedback is most effective when given as soon as possible after the assessment or assignment. This approach allows for the immediate integration of corrective information and reinforces learning as an ongoing process, not just a one-time event (Colella, 2025; Haughney et al., 2020). 

I know, sometimes it can't be helped. As someone who had to grade 60, 4-6 page final exam papers, it took a while. The important point here is that, when planning your courses and deciding on assessments or assignments, factor in the time it will take you to provide feedback and how you can do so effectively and efficiently to get the information back to students quickly. 

Specificity and Clarity

If students don't understand the feedback, they commonly skip over it. 

As important as the timeliness of feedback is, so too is its quality. This means that what we provide needs to be detailed, clear, and specific to the assessment or assignment, and that we provide detailed comments to offer the student usable information. 

Feedback can effectively promote learning if it is personal, manageable, motivational, and directly related to what is being taught and assessed (Hatziapostolou & Paraskakis, 2010). We need to provide the kind of detail needed that clearly describes what the student did well or correct, and where they did not. Using vague statements like "good work," "I would have liked to see more," and "this is subpar" does not provide students with clear guidance on their strengths and weaknesses. Effective feedback needs to provide specific guidance on how to improve (Colella, 2025; Orlando, 2017). 

Student feedback should also foster active engagement and self-reflection. When feedback is focused and detailed, it helps students monitor their learning, make adjustments throughout the process, and ultimately better understand their strengths and areas for improvement (Martin, 2023).  

Access

If students can't find the feedback, they won't read it (Colella, 2026). 

In today's digital and AI environment, students must know where and how to find feedback. Just because they grew up with digital devices doesn't mean they are tech-savvy or know how to use educational technology effectively, such as learning management systems (LMS). It is important to take the time to ensure students know where and how to find comments in Word or PDF documents, or when using a rubric on Canvas, Blackboard, or even Examsoft. 

Taking a few minutes to ensure students know how to find the feedback can lead them to actually read it. 

Feedback Literacy

Feedback literacy refers to the importance of students understanding how to work with the feedback they receive and effectively apply it to their learning (Peterson-Ahmad et al., 2022). This means we need to provide effective, usable feedback. But first, we need to help students know how to work with feedback by developing their feedback literacy. 

The important point here is that students need to actively participate in feedback. Simply reading or listening to the faculty member's comment is not enough. (Interested in learning more about feedback literacy - CLICK HERE) 

Questions

Most students don't ask follow-up questions about feedback they don't understand. This is not the same as them not agreeing with it. 

Another way to ensure feedback is meaningful is for students to know it is acceptable to ask questions about the feedback to gain clarity and clear up any misunderstandings, so the student can accurately apply the information given.

 Feedback is essential to learning and makes a difference when students receive the feedback, understand it, and know how to apply it to their learning. Some factors influence whether they take the time to engage with the feedback in a meaningful way. Taking a few steps to ensure feedback is timely, focused, clear, and easily accessible can help students be more engaged.  

References

Colella, J. (2026, April 13). Why students ignore feedback and tips to fix it! Faculty Focus. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/why-students-ignore-feedback-and-tips-to-fix-it/ 

Hatziapostolou, T., & Paraskakis, I. (2010). Enhancing the impact of formative feedback on student learning through an online feedback system. Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 8(2). 111-122 

Haughney, K., Wakeman, S., & Hart, L. (2020). Quality of feedback in higher education: A review of literature. Education Sciences 10(3), 60-75.     https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10030060 

Martin, D. J. (2023). Are your assessments fair and balanced? Faculty Focus. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/are-your-assessments-fair-and-balanced/ 

Mather, N., & Scheepers, L. (2025). Feedback on feedback: An exploratory case study of online facilitators' perceptions regarding their feedback practices in higher education. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 26(1), 220-232.   

Orlando, J. (2017). The failure of feedback. The Teaching Professor. https://www.teachingprofessor.com/topics/online-teaching-and-learning/grading-feedback-online-learning/the-failure-of-feedback/ 

Peterson-Ahmad, M. B., Keeley, R. G., & Roberts, M. (2022). "They don't read my feedback!" Strategies to encourage reception and application of course feedback. Faculty Focus. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/they-dont-read-my-feedback-strategies-to-encourage-reception-and-application-of-course-feedback