This is a great point. I've taken a similar approach. The essay about Abraham Lincoln isn't really designed to teach you about the 16th president of the US--it

This is a great point. I've taken a similar approach. The essay about Abraham Lincoln isn't really designed to teach you about the 16th president of the US--it teaches sentence structure, argumentation, clarity, research, etc. The grades are for the school to use to prepare next year's funding package; the assignment is for you to learn skills that may help put food on your table someday. Shifting the focus from grades to skills tends to give them a greater incentive to excel.