Fully automated grading represents the complete automation of the assessment process without human intervention. While this remains unfeasible for open-ended questions due to technical limitations and stakeholder trust concerns, it has been successfully implemented for structured formats. At the Department of Finance, automated grading is effectively used for Excel-based exams through the DF Excel Grading tool, which automatically evaluates spreadsheet formulas, calculations, and specific Excel functions against predefined solutions. Similar success has been achieved with multiple-choice questions and other highly structured assessment formats.
The scope of fully automated grading currently remains limited to:
- Excel-based assessments (formulas, functions, calculations)
- Multiple-choice and single-choice questions
- Simple numerical answers
- Basic text matching (exact matches)
While research in automated essay grading continues (see Ke and NG (2019)), the complexity and nuance required for evaluating open-ended responses means human oversight remains essential for these question types.
Prerequisites
- Text Recognition for digital input
- Automated Grading Suggestions as a stepping stone
In use
- DF Excel Grading for Excel-based exams
- Various tools for multiple-choice assessment