Grading is one of the most tedious tasks for educators, especially those with larger classes with dozens of students. You have to go through a pile of papers, check the work’s accuracy, and grade them accordingly.
Doing so manually usually takes hours or even days, but the good news is you no longer have to spend your weekends grading dozens of documents. Thanks to advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), the process can now be easily automated.
In this guide, we discuss the best 10 AI grading tools to help you in this process.
What Is an AI Grading Tool?
An AI grading tool is a software or program that uses machine learning algorithms to automatically grade student assignments, quizzes, assessments, and exams. These tools can grade written responses, multiple-choice questions, and even coding assignments with high accuracy.
They can also provide immediate feedback that you can then convey to the students.
What to Look For In an AI Grading Tool?
Here's what to look at when searching for a reliable AI grading tool.
Accuracy. You don't want to mark your students' exams unfairly. So, the first thing to look for in an AI grading tool is its accuracy. The higher the accuracy, the better.
Flexibility. Different educators have varying grading methods. Choose a tool that allows you to customize the grading criteria to fit your assessment needs.
Integration. Pick a tool that integrates with your existing learning management system (LMS) or teaching platform for seamless use.
Pricing. Opt for a tool that offers affordable pricing and value for your money. Some tools even offer free trials or plans for educators to try out before committing.
Best 10 AI Grading Tools for Educators
Here's an overview of the best 10 AI grading tools. Explore each tool's features to determine which one suits your grading needs.
Gradescope
Gradescope is an AI grader by Turnitin that lets you grade your assignments in class or online. It is used by over 140k instructors from universities like Purdue and NYU.
Features
Multiple Subjects: Gradescope supports fixed-template and variable-length assignments. So, you can use it to grade problem sets, bubble sheets, quizzes, exams, and worksheets.
Paper-based Assignments: You can simply scan paper assignments to grade them online.
Feedback: The tool offers a flexible rubric and comment functionality to provide students with meaningful feedback.
Detailed Analytics: You get per-rubric and per-paper statistics to assess student performance.
Cost
Pricing is available upon request.
Coursebox
Coursebox is an all-in-one learning and grading platform with AI capabilities. You can use it to create and grade courses for students of all levels.
Features
AI Assessments: You can set marking criteria and rubrics for the tool to grade assignments.
AI Chatbot: Train a chatbot on your course to give learners instant feedback and assistance.
AI Quiz Generator: The tool generates long answer assignment questions and quizzes for your course in seconds.
Integration: Coursebox integrates with Moodle, D2L, Blackboard, and Canvas Learning Management Systems (LMS).
Cost
The Creator plan costs $17 per month, the Expert plan $42 per month, and the LXP Insanity plan $1,083 per month. A Free plan with limited features is also available.
Magic School AI
Magic School AI is an AI resource used by over 1.5 million educators. It allows educators to plan lessons, write assignments, communicate with students, and grade work.
Features
60+ Tools: Magic School offers over 60 AI tools for grading, lesson planning, IEP writing, and more.
Interoperability: The tool interoperates with Microsoft Exports and Google Classroom with a single click.
FERPA Compliance: Magic School AI is compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Exemplars: Each tool comes with exemplars so educators can see how to use it.
Cost
Individual subscribers pay $12.99 monthly, while schools can get in touch for custom pricing. A Free plan is also available.
Markr
Markr is an AI-assisted grading tool that can check open-ended questions and give detailed feedback to students.
Features
Targeted Feedback: Markr's AI assistant provides targeted feedback to students to help them improve their answers.
Standardized Grading: The tool ensures consistent and objective grading by following preset criteria.
Easy Integration: Markr integrates seamlessly with popular LMS platforms. Custom integrations are also available.
Cost
Pricing is available upon request.
ChatGPT
It might come as a surprise that the good old ChatGPT can also be used for grading. But the GPT Store has a ton of customized and pre-built models, including those for grading exams and essays. For instance, the Grade My Essay GPT provides detailed essay feedback and offers tips on how students can improve their writing.
Features
Simple Interface: You've probably already used ChatGPT, so there's no need to learn a new interface.
Custom Models: You can use existing models or create a custom model to suit your grading needs.
Versatility: ChatGPT can also be used for other tasks, such as creating quizzes, generating exams, curating study guides, creating brief summaries, and more.
Cost
ChatGPT Plus, which includes access to the GPT Store and customized models, is priced at $20 per month.
Essay Grader
Essay Grader is a powerful AI grading assistant that significantly cuts your grading time. The tool claims to minimize grading time per essay from 10 minutes to 30 seconds. Since Essay Grader is trained on a large dataset, including websites, articles, and books, it can offer relevant writing feedback and score essays based on various criteria.
Features
Error Detection: Essay Grader checks the essays for coherence, grammar, clarity, spelling, punctuation, and other errors. It also provides detailed reports on fixing the errors.
Custom Rubrics: You can create your own rubrics and grading criteria or use the existing ones provided by Essay Grader.
Bulk Uploading: The tool allows you to upload multiple essays at once, making it easier to quickly grade a larger number of essays.
Summarizer: Essay Grader's summarizer automatically generates a brief summary of the essay.
AI Detection: You can use Essay Grader's built-in AI detector to identify AI writing.
Cost
The Lite plan costs $8.99 per month, while the Pro plan comes at $19.99 per month. A free plan is available for checking 10 monthly essays, 1,000 words each.
CoGrader
With CoGrader, you can save 80% of the time you'd otherwise spend grading while providing detailed feedback on your students' work. The tool has an objective grading system that removes human biases and ensures fairness in grading. Plus, you can see class analytics to spot strengths and challenges.
Features
Schoology and Canvas Compatibility: CoGrader integrates with Schoology and Canvas. So, you can export assignments in bulk and upload them with a single click.
Google Classroom Integration: You can import assignments from Google Classroom, grade them using CoGrader, and then export them back to Google Classroom.
Grades and Feedback: The tool generates detailed feedback along with justification for the grade. It also highlights mistakes and areas of improvement.
Cost
CoGrader Pro is $15 per month for unlimited graded answers. A free plan is available for 100 graded answers a month.
Graide
Graide is a handy AI grading tool that lets you deliver immediate feedback to students along with suggestions on how they can improve their performance. The tool works for essays, short texts, and math exams.
Features
Analytics: Graide provides a question-level breakdown of student performance to see where they struggle the most. You can also see a histogram of all grades for a holistic overview.
Integration: The tool integrates with Moodle, brightspace, Canvas, and Blackboard.
GDPR Compliance: Graide fully complies with GDPR regulations, so you can rest easy knowing your students' information is safe.
Dynamic Learning: Graide doesn't merely group answers for grading. It uses previously graded answers (by you) and adapts to give appropriate feedback.
Cost
Pricing is available upon request.
Progressay
Progressay's AI grading tool is perfect for educators who want a hands-off approach to grading. With Progressay, you can grade assignments while pointing out errors like sentence structure, inferences, punctuation, understanding of knowledge, grammar, etc.
Features
High Accuracy: Person's trials of Progressay have shown that the tool gets computer-to-human agreement rates of 85%.
AI Rubric: You can build your rubric around your grading style, and Progressay will automatically grade all assignments according to it.
Detailed Feedback: Along with grades, Progressay provides a breakdown of the student's performance in various areas, allowing for targeted feedback.
Cost
Pricing is available upon request.
Marking.ai
Marking.ai promises to save you 11 hours each week by grading assignments for you. It's a comprehensive tool where you can create credible assignments, share them with your students through Marking's integrated system, and then grade them within the platform.
Features
Assessment Creation: With Marking.ai, you can create valid assessments in minutes.
Automatic Grading: Marking.ai's algorithm ensures consistency and accuracy in grading.
Personalized Feedback: The AI grader also provides customized feedback for each student.
Analysis Dashboards: A built-in dashboard provides an overview of student performance and highlights areas where your class may need more help.
Cost
Pricing is available upon request. The free version is also available.
Conclusion
Now that you have a list of the best 10 AI grading tools, you can go ahead and try them out for yourself.
At its core, each tool grades students' work and provides feedback. The difference lies in their accuracy and suitability for different subjects. So, keep your subject and grading style in mind when choosing the right tool for you.