Study Supports Essay-Grading Technology

After a recent study that suggested automated essay graders are as effective as their human counterparts in judging essay exams, "roboreaders" are receiving a new wave of publicity surrounding their possible inclusion in assessments and classrooms. But while developers of the technology are happy to have the attention, they insist the high profile has more to do with timing of policy changes such as the push to common standards than with any dramatic evolution in the essay-grading tools themselves. "What's changed is the claims people are willing to make about it. "I think, over time, a mixture of technologies will make this really good not only for scoring essays," but also for other assignments, said Mr. Cohen, the director of AIR's assessment program. "But we really need to be clear about the limits of the applications we are using today so we can get there." The study, underwritten by the Menlo Park, Calif.-based William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, is driven by the push to improve assessments related to the shift to the Common Core State Standards in English/language arts and math, and is based on the examination of essays written specifically for assessments.