Automated Writing Assessment in the Classroom

Automated essay scoring (AWE) software, which uses artificial intelligence to evaluate essays and generate feedback, has been seen as both a boon and a bane in the struggle to improve writing instruction. We used interviews, surveys, and classroom observations to study teachers and students using AWE software in 4 secondary schools. We found AWE to be a modest addition to the arsenal of teaching tools and techniques at the teacher’s disposal, roughly midway between the fears of some and the hopes of others. The program saved teachers’ time and encouraged more revision but did not appear to result in substantially more writing or greater attention to content and organization. Teachers’ use of the software varied from school to school, based partly on students’ socioeconomic status, but more notably on teachers’ prior beliefs about writing pedagogy.