AI writing assessment for Australian primary schools

Assess writing with AI and teacher judgement

Comparative judgement starts with a straightforward question: which of these two pieces of writing is better?

Teachers and AI judges make a series of comparisons. A statistical model brings those decisions together to produce a score for each student.

For national assessments, our recommended balance is 90% AI judgements and 10% human judgements. Schools can adjust that balance, and teachers can review where their decisions differ from the AI’s.

This reduces the number of comparisons teachers need to complete while keeping their expertise within the assessment.

How the Australian programme works

1. 1

   Use a shared national writing task

   Take part in two national assessment windows each year for participating primary year groups. We provide the task and assessment timetable so schools assess writing under shared conditions.

2. 2

   Let students write by hand

   Download personalised answer sheets for your students. After the assessment, scan and upload their responses. AI transcribes the handwriting, allowing teachers to switch between the original script and transcribed text.

3. 3

   Complete the judging

   Teachers compare pairs of responses, and AI judges complete the agreed share of comparisons. Review the results and the report of human–AI disagreements.

4. 4

   Use the results to guide teaching

   Download your school’s assessment and feedback reports. Identify patterns across the class, discuss individual students’ next steps and track progress across assessments.

What your school receives

• A clearer picture of attainment and progress. Scaled scores and writing ages help you understand students’ writing. Comparisons with other participating Australian schools give your results a wider context. Our linked assessments allow you to follow progress over time.
• Feedback students can act on. Personalised feedback identifies areas for improvement and provides follow-up activities, including targeted multiple-choice questions. Teachers receive separate reports with more detail to help plan lessons.
• A way to examine the AI’s decisions. The disagreement report shows where human and AI judgements differ. Teachers can examine those comparisons alongside the assessment’s reliability.
• Your teachers’ observations, captured efficiently. Teachers can record spoken comments while judging. AI turns those observations into written feedback, giving students comments grounded in their teacher’s reading of the work.

What is included in the subscription?

Your school’s annual subscription includes:

• National writing assessment windows for participating year groups.
• AI judging for national assessments when AI features are enabled.
• Assessment results and feedback reports.
• Access to the Writing Hub’s teaching resources and professional development.
• Access to Automark for paper-based multiple-choice assessments.
• Helpdesk support and guidance through the assessment process.

You can also run custom writing assessments using your own tasks and deadlines. AI features for custom assessments use additional credits.

Annual school pricing

One school subscription covers the national assessment windows for participating year groups. Pricing is based on the total number of students enrolled at the school.

Explore subscription options.