Jan McArthur draws on the critical theory of Adorno to explore the implications of complex knowledge, and the positive associations of apparent failure. She argues that in order to achieve the triumvirate of learning-feedback-assessment found in Dai Hounsell’s work, we need to reconsider the notion of ‘failure’. She suggests that failure can sometimes be part of a pedagogical process, in which students are asked to engage with complex knowledge in a critical way. Assessment practices should allow for an iterative process of engagement with knowledge, rather than being judged entirely on a first submission. In that way, students are then able to respond to feedback with a strong sense of personal agency, and become both authors and arbiters of their own learning. Enabling students to take greater control over their own learning and encouraging forms of knowledge that can help promote social change, she argues, are means to promote greater social justice.