Why AI is a Great Fit for Grading

Teachers today face an ever-growing challenge: balancing quality instruction with the demanding task of grading. With teachers often teaching 120-150 students each, the emergence of AI-powered grading tools offers a promising solution that could revolutionize how educators spend their time and energy.  Students are also affected: they are not getting enough out of formative assessments due to limitations in grading and feedback.  Teachers can only grade so many assignments each week, and providing useful feedback is even more time-consuming.  AI-assisted grading shows strong potential to benefit both students and teachers.

Reclaiming Valuable Teaching Time Using AI Teaching Tools

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of AI-powered grading is the dramatic time savings. The average teacher spends 10-12 hours per week grading assignments – and most of that time is on nights and weekends. AI grading solutions can reduce this time burden by up to 90%, freeing educators to focus on what truly matters: creating engaging lessons, providing individualized student support, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Reducing Human Bias in Assessment

While teachers strive for objectivity in their assessments, human nature inevitably introduces certain biases into the grading process. Fatigue, time constraints, and unconscious preferences can affect how student work is evaluated. 

AI-powered systems provide a baseline of unbiased scoring and feedback. Every paper receives equal consideration, whether the essay is graded at 9 AM or 9 PM, on a full or empty stomach, or on a topic the teacher finds interesting or objectionable. The result is a more equitable grading process that gives every student's work the same thorough, unbiased evaluation it deserves.

Enhanced Feedback Systems

One of the most exciting aspects of AI-powered grading is its ability to provide comprehensive, timely feedback. Modern AI grading assistants, like Braide, can:

  • Provide detailed rubric-based feedback

  • Identify particular strengths in student work

  • Highlight areas needing improvement

  • Align feedback with educational standards

This systematic approach ensures that every student receives detailed, actionable feedback that they can use to improve their understanding and performance. And teachers understand the value:

“I would do a lot more graded assignments, but I can’t get students feedback before we have moved on. With Braide, I am giving feedback on my formative assessments more frequently, in greater detail, and getting it to the students much sooner.”

  • Thinh M.

Supporting Teacher Development

AI grading tools don't just benefit students – they can provide valuable insights to teachers as well. By analyzing patterns in student submissions, these tools can provide insights into class-wide or student-specific learning gaps and provide detailed feedback on how to improve lessons.  And, that feedback comes privately, directly to the teacher.

The Cooperative Approach

It's crucial to understand that AI-powered grading isn't about replacing teachers – it's about augmenting their capabilities. Modern grading tools are designed to work collaboratively with educators.

"I would have made far more mistakes than Braide. Now I can focus on the students’ submission and making sure that the feedback is right versus trying to power through 130 assignments.”

  • Brad C.

With modern AI grading tools like Braide, teachers can review and adjust AI-generated grades and feedback.  AI can generate rubrics, and teachers can edit them to taste.  Teachers can change any aspect of the grading results.  And the process is many times faster than working alone.

Moving Forward Thoughtfully

AI-assisted grading can be a powerful tool for teachers and students.  As this new technology is adopted globally, it's important to implement these tools thoughtfully and strategically. The goal isn't to remove the human element from education, but to enhance it by pairing teachers with powerful tools that provide better results and saving time.

By adopting AI-powered grading solutions, schools can create a more efficient, equitable, and effective educational environment. Teachers can focus more on teaching, students can receive more timely and detailed feedback, and the entire educational process can become more streamlined and productive.

Computers, and then the internet have revolutionized education.  AI is another revolutionary technology, and AI-grading will be a key part of this new and better world.


Previous
Previous

David Ross: Is Homework a Formative Assessment?