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What if assessment isn’t neutral — and never has been? In this episode, I unpack how grades, rubrics, and feedback can either build student confidence… or quietly teach kids to fear learning. Through a personal story from my own school years, I explore what happens when students stop asking “What can I learn?” and start asking “How do I not fail?”
 We’ll look at the shift from grades to goals, how rubrics can act as maps (not verdicts), and what feedback sounds like when it actually fuels progress and flow. This is an episode about designing assessment with students — so learning becomes clearer, safer, and more empowering.

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