"It's taken a turn from 'Here's what you need to improve on' to 'Here's what you've done right,' " Powell said. "It's not that we're not pointing out mistakes, it's just that the method in which it's delivered is more positive."

Her students, she said, might tune out red because they are so used to it. So she grades with whatever color — turquoise blue, hot pink, lime green — appeals to them.

That is a sound approach, said Leatrice Eiseman, a color specialist with a background in psychology who has written several books on the ties between colors and communication.

"The human eye is notoriously fickle and is always searching for something new to look at it," she said. "If you use a color that has long been used in a traditional way, you can lose people's attention, especially if they have a history of a lot of red marks on their papers."

Purple may be rising in popularity, Eiseman said, because teachers know it is a mix of blue and red. As she put it: "You still have that element of the danger aspect — the red — but it's kind of subtle, subliminal. It's in the color, rather than being in your face."

In Charles County, Md., reading and writing specialist Janet Jones helps other teachers lead their lessons. The students at Berry Elementary School in Waldorf, Md., use colored pencils to edit each other's papers. By the time teachers get to grading, Jones said, the color they use isn't that important.

"I don't think changing to purple or green will make a huge difference if the teaching doesn't go along with it," Jones said. "If you're just looking at avoiding the color red, the students might not be as frightened, but they won't be better writers."

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On The Net:

Leatrice Eiseman: www.colorexpert.com

Daniels Farm Elementary School: www.trumbullps.org/df/

Public School 188: www.ps188.org/

Snowshoe Elementary School: sse.matsuk12.us/

Berry Elementary School: www.ccboe.com/berry/

Thaddeus Stevens Elementary: www.pps.k12.pa.us/StevensElementaryFactSheet.asp