Can AI accurately grade student essays?

Send us Fan MailFind out moreHighlights* A University of Cambridge study found that top AI models like Claude and ChatGPT matched human degree classifications only about 50% of the time when grading university essays.* AI consistently undervalued top-tier work and overvalued lowest-ranked essays, exhibiting a "central tendency bias" by assigning middling marks to most submissions.* AI systems were overly sensitive to linguistic features like essay length, vocabulary variation, and sentence complexity, often rewarding style over substance rather than deep critical thinking.* The research reinforces that current assessment tasks may not demand enough "depth, care, and imagination" if AI can score well based on surface-level features.* AI can serve as a supportive tool for error detection, consistency checks, or triaging feedback, freeing educators for higher-order tasks, but it's not ready for final grading.* Both students and staff emphasized that human assessment is fundamental to trust, motivation, and the "social contract" of education, which AI cannot replicate.* School leaders should adopt AI strategically, focusing on enhancing human capabilities and addressing existing workflows, rather than solely automating grading for efficiency.Mentioned* Dr. Deborah Talmi* Dr. Alexandru Marcoci* Dr. Yael Benn* Claude* ChatGPT* Three Ps of assessment (Product, Process, Performance)* Cognitive stretch