AI marking for teachers: A real way to save time?

The easiest way to use AI for marking is when students submit their work digitally. If they’ve created their work on a laptop or tablet, it can be uploaded to an AI platform, which then analyses and marks/grades it appropriately. For multiple-choice style tasks, this works very efficiently.

But I know what you’re thinking… What about that pile of English books from that Year 7 group?

The real question here is: Can AI help mark handwritten work? And what if a child’s handwriting is particularly messy?

This is where AI might struggle. There is a workaround, but it involves an extra step. You’d need to take a photo of the work, upload it to the AI platform, and then get it to analyse the text and provide feedback. As a teacher, it might not be practical to take pictures of 30 pieces of work and manually upload them—but your TA could help with that. Or, five minutes before the end of the lesson, you could ask students to take photos of their own work.

Then, at the end of the day, you can upload those images to your AI tool with a clear prompt like: 

“Provide feedback on each piece of work, giving three positives and three areas to improve.”

Bottom line: AI can work in practice, but when it comes to handwritten work, there are definitely some hurdles.

Practical steps for using AI for hand-written work

1. Scan or photograph the handwritten work

• The teacher (or student) takes a clear photo or scans the written page.
• Ideally, the image should have good lighting, no blur, and clear handwriting.

2. Convert handwriting to text (OCR)

This step uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology—specialised software that can read and digitise handwriting.

Examples of OCR tools:

• Microsoft OneNote (has built-in handwriting recognition)
• Google Lens or Google Drive OCR
• AI grading platforms with OCR built in (like Gradescope)

Accuracy depends a lot on handwriting quality. Neat, printed handwriting works better than cursive or messy notes.

3. Feed the converted text into an AI marking tool

Once the handwriting is digitised, the AI can:

• Analyse grammar, structure, or argument strength
• Check answers against a rubric
• Generate comments or scoring suggestions

Some platforms can combine OCR + AI marking automatically, so teachers don’t have to do it in separate apps.

Many professionals have started to experiment with the use of AI for marking. Here’s some recent findings:

• A Gallup poll found that teachers saved around 5.9 hours per week using AI for marking. That adds up to six extra weeks over the course of a school year!
• In Australia, where teachers face high levels of unpaid overtime, AI users reported saving 5 hours per week—freeing up time for more meaningful teaching.
• In the U.S., 60% of teachers used AI during the 2024–2025 school year. Frequent users saved up to six hours weekly.
• In the UK, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is actively exploring how AI can help reduce administrative burdens for teachers.

It’s clear to see that AI is being actively used across the globe, with many citing its ability to cut down on admin, saving up to six hours per week. 

If you’re thinking about using AI to support your marking, it’s important to weigh up the pros and cons.

Pros of AI marking for teachers

Saves time

We’ll start with the obvious. When used properly, AI can mark objective questions or generate draft feedback instantly.

Consistency

AI can apply making criteria evenly across all students. It’s less influenced by mood, tiredness or unconscious bias which, let’s face it, we’re all guilty of.

Faster feedback for students

The school environment is fast-paced. The quicker you can provide feedback to your students, the quicker they’re able to action it and the more purposeful it will be – as opposed to having the students wait days for feedback.

Supports differentiated feedback

AI has the ability to differentiate and personalise the comments based on ability level or response quality. You just have to make sure your prompt is clear enough.

Identifies patterns

AI can quickly identify questions where most studets struggled, uncovering an overall lack of understanding – which can then inform your follow-up teaching. This is great for lesson planning and interventions,

Reduces administrative workload

Some tools automatically input marks into spreadsheets, track progress or generate reports for parents.

Cons of AI marking for teachers

Inaccuracy or misunderstanding

AI may misinterpret nuanced answers, sarcasm, creativity or context – making it less reliable for open-ended work like essays and creative writing.

Limited support for handwriting or diagrams

AI struggles with messy or cursive handwriting. It also isn’t great at interpreting visual working out, drawings or annotations.

Over-reliance risks

Time-strapped teachers may begin to rely on AI judgements without proper review, impacting overall teaching quality and potentially class results.

Loss of human touch

Remember what you went into teaching for – that connection with your students. And while it’s time-consuming, marking is a great way to learn and understand more about your students.

Data privacy concerns

Uploading student work to AI tools can raise questions about data storage and consent. Ensure your AI tools comply with education-sector privacy standards.

Here at GCSEPod, we’re all about saving teachers time – and our latest functionality aims to do just that.

Introducing the all-new Marking Assistant: an AI-powered tool built directly into the platform to deliver fast, accurate assignment marking and feedback.

It automatically marks submissions, generates scores, and provides instant suggestions for improvement, including spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

Marking Assistant is one of four new AI-driven features, alongside the Lesson Planning Wizard, Feed Notifications, and Assignment Creation – all designed to save you time and enhance your teaching experience

Curious about GCSEPod? Check out this short video to see what the platform has to offer:

It’s fair to say that AI marking for teachers is still in its early days. There’s plenty of evidence to suggest these tools can save a significant amount of time — but with a few caveats. If students are submitting work digitally, then great.

But if you’re an English teacher hoping to use AI to analyse large amounts of handwritten text, it gets a bit trickier.

There are workarounds, but it’s not as efficient as it could be... yet. Who knows what’s on the horizon?

Many digital platforms are adopting AI to enhance the functionality of tools teachers already use. Here at GCSEPod, we’re one of them. Our latest AI-powered tools are designed to save you time and simplify your everyday tasks. If you’d like to see GCSEPod in action, download a brochure or schedule a demo.