SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NoRedInk, a provider of online writing curriculum used in more than 60% of U.S. school districts, today announces that its innovative AI-powered Grading Assistant will be available to all NoRedInk Premium teachers at the start of the 2024–2025 school year.
Designed to augment the student writing experience and lighten teachers’ grading workloads, NoRedInk’s Grading Assistant evaluates student writing submissions against a range of rubric items, suggesting scores and specific, supportive, actionable written feedback. By automating the most time-consuming aspects of grading, the Grading Assistant enables teachers to focus on delivering stronger writing instruction and developing deeper connections with students.
After using the beta version of NoRedInk’s Grading Assistant for two months, 95% of teachers reported that the tool increased the amount of feedback they provided to students, including 50% who said it greatly increased the amount of feedback they provided. The Grading Assistant also cut the amount of time teachers spent on grading in half. All told, students whose teachers used the beta version of the Grading Assistant were over five times more likely to receive feedback on their written work than students whose teachers didn’t.
“It’s time-consuming to leave feedback on each student’s writing. Either I have to spend a ton of time working outside normal hours or I have to conference with students in class, and the students who don’t ask questions are left without feedback,” said Becca Bachmann, an ELA Teacher at Aspen Creek Middle School in Omaha, Nebraska. “NoRedInk’s Grading Assistant drastically reduces the amount of time it takes to give feedback and ensures that each student gets the feedback they need.”
While it’s powered by AI, the Grading Assistant is designed to supercharge teachers’ experience and insight, not replace them. Once the Grading Assistant evaluates a piece of student writing, teachers can review its suggested feedback (and, if they so desire, add overarching comments). Teachers in the beta cohort agreed with the Grading Assistant’s scores and feedback more than nine times out of ten. The bottom line is that students will never see feedback from the Grading Assistant until their teacher approves it.
“My teachers have said the Grading Assistant gives very good, very kid-friendly feedback,” said Jennifer Young, an ELA Curriculum Specialist at Paradise Valley Unified School District in Phoenix, Arizona. “I like that the Grading Assistant ensures that all students are assessed in the same way on the same traits of writing. It not only streamlines the grading process but it makes it less subjective, too.”
“Our Grading Assistant has been helping teachers improve their writing instruction while saving them significant time, and we’re thrilled to expand these benefits to all our customers this Fall,” said Jeff Scheur, Founder and CEO of NoRedInk. “Students need frequent feedback in order to build confidence in their skills, so it’s exciting to see schools achieve such strong results when incorporating our AI functionality into their instructional practice.”
To learn more, visit www.noredink.com.
