AI-enhanced Post-16 writing assessment
No More Marking and the Sixth Form Colleges Association are launching a new pilot assessment of Post-16 writing.
The project provides colleges with a quick, reliable baseline assessment of Year 12 writing, while keeping teachers engaged with students' work.
Benefits of Post-16
A reliable Year 12 baseline
Get a clear picture of students' strengths and weaknesses in writing at the start of their Post-16 studies, without creating a large moderation workload.
National benchmarking
Responses are assessed on a common national scale, so colleges can compare their students' performance with others taking part in the project.
Personalised feedback
Every student receives personalised feedback on their writing, helping them understand their next steps and supporting intervention and target-setting.
Examiner's report
Teachers receive a cohort report that highlights common strengths, weaknesses, and recommended next steps for teaching.
Teacher oversight
The assessment supports teacher judgement rather than replacing it. Colleges can choose the level of teacher involvement that best suits their needs.
Broad Post-16 coverage
The prompt is designed to work across A levels, T levels, GCSE resits, and other Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications.
Human in the loop
With our flexible approach, you can choose your preferred blend of human and AI judging. We recommend 10% human judgements and 90% AI. If you follow this approach, each piece of pupil writing is seen twice by a human and 18 times by AI, typically requiring just 10-15 minutes of teacher time. Teachers can also choose to leave audio comments on each piece of writing, which will be transcribed by AI and turned into a polished paragraph of written feedback.
Comparative Judgement in 4 steps
1.We set the task, so everyone is responding to the same question.
2.Upload your pupils’ scripts on our specially coded paper.
3.Judge writing, comparing two pieces of writing on screen, side-by-side to determine which is best.
4.Benchmark attainment and progress across your school, and nationally, with the information and statistics in your school's individual report.
Post-16 Summary
Academic Year
There is one national Post-16 writing assessment window each academic year. View the full calendar here.
Students
The project is designed for Year 12 students across the attainment range. Colleges can submit all Year 12 students, or a smaller cohort if preferred.
Writing Prompt
We provide a short non-fiction writing prompt on a relevant issue that students can access regardless of their programme of study.
Submission
Students respond in independent conditions. The responses are handwritten and uploaded to the No More Marking website.
Judgement
We use a blend of human and AI judgement to assess the writing, with teacher involvement set at the level that suits each college.
Reporting
Colleges receive nationally-standardised writing scores, personalised student feedback, and an examiner's report for the cohort.
Why are colleges taking part?
Speed
The blend of human and AI judgement makes large-scale writing assessment manageable at the start of Year 12.
Insight
Colleges get meaningful information about students' writing strengths and weaknesses early enough to shape teaching and support.
Validity
Teachers remain connected to the writing while results are placed on a common scale that supports fair comparison across participating colleges.
Reporting that supports next steps
Product Feature
Detailed Reporting
Receive nationally-standardised scores for every student, personalised feedback, and a cohort examiner's report that identifies common strengths, weaknesses, and recommended next steps.
Learn more
Product Feature
Accessible Writing Prompt
The pilot uses a short non-fiction prompt on a relevant issue. It is intended to be accessible to students across the attainment range, regardless of their subjects or qualifications.
Your pilot includes
Student Feedback
Personalised reports
Every student receives feedback on their writing, helping them understand what they are already doing well and what to work on next.
Cohort Insight
Examiner's report
Teachers receive a report outlining strengths and weaknesses across the cohort, giving departments a practical basis for planning teaching, intervention, and target-setting.
Technical support and training via chat 24 hours per day
We support you every step of the way. We are online and happy to chat on the site or to talk you through any questions you have. Our dedicated support team will check all the writing you submit to ensure the process is smooth, secure and efficient.