@SQUEEKY2 – In Elementary through High School my work was hand-written because it was the ‘70s through early ‘80s. Spacing is less obvious with handwriting than in printed form. In college and grad school, my work was typed on a typewriter or PC, and they did grade on grammar – even in courses that were not English or Writing. When I was in a position that we typed out narrative medical reports for each patient, we always had a colleague proofread our work before we sent it in the mail. Now with Electronic Medical Records, typos in the chart are far more common, but reported to be mailed are typically dictated and typed by a transcription it’s who knows the proper rules of grammar.
I am unsure, but I have the impression that you are at least my age (mid- to late-40s), and that you did not attend post-secondary education. If the impression I have is correct, all or most of your schoolwork was hand-written, and you were not taught how to type. That is most likely why you do not recall being taught about or graded on spacing. If I am incorrect, and you did take typing or keyboarding in school or presented typed work for grading, then either your memory is lacking, or you had inadequate instruction.