AI marking tools for teachers: what to look for
AI can draft marks and feedback. The question is whether the teacher is still the one doing the judging.
Marking is where teaching and learning meet. It is how a teacher finds out what each student understood, and how a student finds out what to do next. That is why AI marking deserves more care than most classroom tools.
Used badly, it puts a machine between teacher and student. Used well, it gives students more feedback, sooner, while the judgement stays with the teacher. This guide sets out how to tell the difference before you choose a tool.
The risk most reviews skip
Most comparisons focus on speed. The bigger risk is trust. When students and parents believe a machine marked the work, the feedback loses its weight, and schools have told us parents push back hard when feedback reads as copied from an AI.
- Copy-paste feedback. Comments that read the same for every student tell students nobody read their work.
- Anchoring. If a teacher sees the AI's mark before forming their own, the AI has effectively marked the paper, and the school cannot later show otherwise.
- Deskilling. Teachers get better at marking by marking. A tool that removes the judgement removes the practice too.
None of this means avoiding AI. It means choosing a tool designed around the teacher's judgement rather than around replacing it.
Seven questions to ask any AI marking tool
| Ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Can I record my own judgement before I see the AI's? | Blind marking keeps the mark yours, and makes it auditable rather than assumed. |
| Is AI feedback clearly separate from mine? | Students should always know which comments came from their teacher. |
| Does it mark against my board's official criteria? | Generic rubrics miss what VCAA, NESA, QCAA, SCSA and the IB actually reward. |
| Who decides when feedback reaches students? | The teacher should set the mode and see everything that is released. |
| Can it handle handwritten work? | Much senior assessment is still handwritten, often on purpose. |
| Does it help with moderation? | Consistency across a department matters as much as speed for one teacher. |
| Where is student work stored, and what certifications does it hold? | Check data residency, security certification and ST4S status before anything else. |
Formative and summative are different jobs
Formative work is where AI helps most. Students can get feedback on every draft rather than one a term, and a teacher can review and add to it before or after it is released. Many teachers turn marks off for drafts so students read the feedback instead of the number.
Summative and high-stakes work needs a tighter process. The teacher should mark first, the AI should act as a second reader at most where your system allows it at all, and moderation should compare markers across the cohort. Victorian government schools may not use generative AI to judge student achievement. For senior certificates, follow your board's rules on school-based assessment.
How Edexia handles this
- Blind marking. Teachers can record their own judgement against the rubric first. That initial mark locks, and only the final mark is moderated.
- Teacher and AI feedback are visibly separate, so students always know what their teacher wrote. Teachers can add their own comments and voice notes in the same thread.
- Official criteria. Feedback is written against the official criteria for each course Edexia supports, across VCE, HSC, QCE, WACE and IB.
- The teacher sets the mode. Feedback can go to students instantly on practice work or wait for the teacher's review, and the teacher always sees everything.
- Handwriting. Scan handwritten work on a phone and it is transcribed. For exams, one scan of the whole pile is split by student and question.
- Moderation. Departments can mark blind, compare markers and moderate in one place, with student and teacher names hidden if you choose.
- Data. Student work is stored in Australia. Edexia is SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified and ST4S assessed.
And on the student side, Edexia's tutor questions and explains but never writes the response for the student.
Common questions
Is there a free AI marking tool for teachers?
Edexia is free for teachers with a school email. School and department plans are available on request.
Can AI mark HSC or VCE English essays?
AI can draft a mark and feedback against the official criteria, and that is useful for practice and drafts. For work that counts toward the HSC or VCE, the teacher's judgement should come first and the school's assessment and moderation rules still apply.
Should students know when AI has been used in their feedback?
Yes. Students should always be able to tell which feedback came from their teacher. Tools that blur the two damage trust when students find out.
How accurate is AI marking?
It depends on the subject, the task and the rubric, so ask any vendor how agreement with teachers was measured, on what work and by whom. We share our own method and results with schools on request.
Does AI marking save teachers time?
It can, mostly on transcription, organising and first-draft comments. Some teachers use the time to give more feedback rather than less, which is often the better outcome for students.