Who would you hold responsible if your grades were not what you expected? Or how would you determine if the grading has been done correctly? These questions bother the experts a lot when it comes to choosing between an automatic essay grader and a human grading system. The war between man and machines has increased in leaps and bounds, and the entire world is struggling to find the one that will own the future.
Presently, there are many institutions that look for an essay grader online to get the tedious grading work done in a jiffy. But if it is the best way to go forward remains unanswered. Research shows that the best essay graders showed an accuracy rate of 75% and did just as well as humans.
With students relying on automated tools, institutions are also looking forward to bringing technology into their grading system for better monitoring. But is it the most effective way to go forward? Let’s understand.
| Automated Grading | Manual Grading |
| Saves Time | In-depth Analysis and Personalised Feedback |
| Fast Feedback | Promotes Consistency and Fairness |
| More Objective | Time-Consuming |
- Efficiency
Teachers have a tough time completing their syllabus, and on top of that, if they have to check every academic paper, things might just go out of hand. Well, if technology was meant to save effort and time, why not use it? So, similar to websites that offer help with writing essays for money with one click on ‘Visit Us’, the same ed-tech applies to essay graders. The tools are designed to get things done fast and have proved to be efficient. Despite some initial resistance, the percentage of faculty members using automated tools has increased from 9% to 22% during the last few years. So, when it comes to efficiency, the automated grading system takes the prize.
- Subjectivity
Essay grading depends on a lot of things beyond writing, such as:
- Creativity
- Relevant facts
- Critical thinking
All of these are crucial, and students need to understand where they lack and work on their essays accordingly. Now, this is something machines cannot do. An automated grading system looks at the basics of essays and grades them accordingly. However, it is not possible for machines to analyse if the essay has all the above elements or not. It is only possible for your teacher to check and share insights accordingly. This is one of the points where human grading beats automated grading.
- Fast Feedback
There are instances where students have to wait for a long time to know about their flaws and work on them. Human grading is slower compared to essay grading, and it delays the entire process of improving essay writing skills. Automation speeds up the process and helps students work on their skills without any delays. This can be helpful for assignments that help in learning. Teachers look into a lot of things and have to deal with numerous papers. So, they can’t share feedback quickly. It is, therefore, essential to find a way to help students start working on their essay writing skills as fast as possible. The automated grading system wins this category and is probably the best way going forward.
- Complexity
You will not be working on the same kind of essays every time. There are numerous subjects that require proper problem-solving skills. This is something the automated essay graders cannot understand. The machines fail to analyse and interpret subjects that need:
- High-order thinking skills
- Mastery of complex concepts
- Problem-solving skills
So, when these subject papers are put for grading using these tools, the results are not accurate. The results need human interpretations, and it is one of the major limitations of the automated grading system. Teachers have a proper understanding of the subjects they are teaching and ensure that the assignments are properly analysed and graded correctly.
- Objectivity
Automated grading systems have proved to be more consistent when compared to human grading. In fact, as per recent research, the chances of error are 44% lower than human grading system. The fact here is there are chances of teachers being biased and not grading all students fairly. This has always been a major concern among students and teachers. With essay graders taking centre stage, things are looking good for the future. Since machines don’t know people, there is no chance of the results being biased. That is one of the major advantages of using an automated grading system.
- Cost
The most important concern among institutions across the globe is how much will the automated grading systems cost. While there are several websites offering free access to automated tools, the cost of implementing a grading system is high. Therefore, the system is mostly restricted to a few institutions that can afford to implement it. Hiring and paying teachers is less compared to automation, and that is one of the many reasons a lot of institutions stick to the traditional way of grading.
Endnote:
Finding the right one among the two, essay grader and traditional human grading, is tough. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. The fact that technology is making its presence felt in almost all fields makes automation important and a step ahead of human grading. However, it is crucial to understand what helps the education system and how students can learn and advance in their careers. The points above highlight both the pros and cons of automation and human grading. Be the judge and choose the one you feel will be the best going forward.
