Teachers may soon be free of the chore of marking students’ essays after a university revealed details of software, which, it claims, can grade work as competently as a human. Researchers at the University of Colorado have developed Intelligent Essay Assessor that uses mathematical analysis to measure the quality of knowledge in an essay, according to the Daily Telegraph. Teachers have to grade a few essays to allow the computer a good statistical sample and then it can make comparisons with the essays it marks. Students back the new system – given a choice they would prefer to be graded by a computer rather than a human.
