A student deserves feedback that names a possible improvement rather than a fixed limitation.

Feedback splits into two kinds: what to change, and what you are. One gives a person somewhere to go next; the other quietly closes a door and calls it honesty. Statements about ability tend to be absorbed as permanent, especially by someone young or new, and they can outlast every fact that contradicted them.

Before your next piece of feedback, check whether it describes a behavior or a person. Give one specific thing to try and one reason it will help. Leave conclusions about how far someone can go out of it entirely.