Evaluative feedback, such as a letter grade or written praise or criticism, judges student work, while descriptive feedback provides information about how a student can become more competent.

Ohio State University, Columbus

Students receiving descriptive feedback, but not evaluative feedback, on an initial assignment, performed significantly better on follow-up quantitative tasks and problem-solving tasks than did students receiving grades or students receiving no feedback. Although the quality of the descriptive feedback can determine how students perform, most students still perfer descriptive feedback over evaluatgive. 

Effectiveness of receiving letter grades

Schinske, J., & Tanner, K. (2014). Teaching More by Grading Less (or Differently). CBE life sciences education, 13(2), 159–166. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.cbe-14-03-0054

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