Red is the color generally used for grading papers at school. Students are raised with red ink as a sign of failure. With all the negative thoughts it brings with it, red ink can be very harmful to the growing mind, slowly leading to depression or even worse. For this reason, Red Ink may be one of the worst serial killers ever known to man. Yet, despite its evil habits, schools continue to use it as their number one assessment tool, encouraging this negative spiral to continue turning downward. Teachers tend to use red pens when grading and editing assignments and tests. It is mostly used for editing essays and written responses. As students progress through school, they quickly learn the negativity of red marks. When they look back at their graded homework, they quickly look for how much, or how little, red ink there is on the paper and start comparing the grades to each other. Children who demonstrate that they have more grades than others are labeled as stupid, slackers or slow by their peers. Although the red marks were intended to correct mistakes, help students learn to correct their mistakes, and encourage kids to grow in their knowledge, these marks actually create a caste system within the school. The school is divided into clichés: the A students, the BC group, and then the other kids whose grades seem to get lower and lower as time goes by. Research is finding that the labels children are given at school stick to them, like forehead tattoos, and stay with them for the rest of their lives, often choosing the path the student will follow in life. Students perceived as bad and labeled as below average students tend to live by that label. They see their poor grades and "realize" that they are not as good as others and then give...... middle of paper......ms to divide the student body and put labels that direct the paths i children take in life. Grading red reduces self-esteem as students compare themselves to others. Creating a spiral of negativity, poor grades often boil down to failing grades. With low self-esteem and unsatisfactory grades, students drop out and depression sets in. People always manage to find a way out of their problems, whether with drugs or with death itself. Red ink brings negative thoughts into people's minds and ultimately starts the path towards death. Teachers should take action against this killer called “Red” and classify with softer colors such as green, blue and purple. Changing the color used for assessment can ultimately change students' outlook on life. Although it performs the same classification task, different colors do not carry the same negative label as red.