Mark My Words
Big Write & VCOP
Criterion Scale MarkingWhat AI can see, and what only teachers can
When assessing Big Write samples, our model estimates where each student sits on the Criterion Scale and drafts marks across nearby descriptors. Here is a clear look at how it reads student writing, where its boundaries lie, and why teacher moderation remains essential.
A starting draft, not a final score
The AI fills in baseline evidence so you never start from a blank rubric. Confirm, adjust, or reject any mark with a click.
Calibrated by expert markers
A share of samples is independently double-marked by experienced teachers to keep the model aligned with expert Criterion Scale judgement.
Clear and transparent
We show exactly how decisions are made, so you know when to trust the draft and when to take a closer look.
How the model marks a piece of work
Four simple steps from handwritten page to a ready-to-review class set.
Transcribing the page
Handwriting converts to digital text. Word choices, punctuation, and sentence structures carry through cleanly.
Finding the working level
The model estimates the student’s Criterion Scale band based on overall vocabulary and sentence control.
Drafting the marks
Descriptors at and around that working level receive suggested marks (tick, dot, or cross).
Teacher review
You review suggested marks in the rubric view, adjust based on student context, and save.
Did you know?
Language models can't count words.
AI models recognise patterns rather than counting words. When a descriptor specifies a frequency condition (like mostly, half the time, or at least twice), the model estimates the match from language patterns — it never tallies the exact count.
These frequency-based marks are always worth a quick double-check during your review.
Strand by strand analysis
To make your review fast and focused, here is what the model sees on the page and where teacher input is needed:
Textual evidence
Features that carry across clearly when handwriting is converted into digital text.
VCOP
- Vocabulary
- Spotting descriptive words, topic vocabulary, figurative language, and ambitious word choices.
- Connectives
- Tracking conjunctions, time transitions, and causal linkers that join clauses and connect ideas.
- Openers
- Looking at how sentences start across the piece, including fronted adverbials and varied sentence starters.
- Punctuation
- Checking sentence boundaries and marks across the punctuation pyramid, from capital letters and full stops up to colons, dashes, and semicolons.
Wider text features
- Spelling
- Recognising phonological attempts, high-frequency sight words, prefixes, suffixes, and level-appropriate vocabulary.
- Grammar and sentence control
- Checking subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, and control across simple, compound, and complex sentences.
- Text structure
- Looking at overall text organization, logical sequencing of ideas, and paragraph flow.
Visual & contextual limits
Elements that need a look at the original scan or knowledge of classroom context.
Visual & layout constraints
- Handwriting and letter formation
- Letter sizing, neatness, and cursive joins require viewing the original handwritten page.
- Visual paragraph spacing
- Indents and line breaks can compress in digital text, though topic shifts remain identifiable.
Context outside the written piece
- Editing and up-levelling
- A final piece does not show live classroom revisions, drafts, or verbal self-corrections.
- Emergent early-years descriptors
- Early scale indicators often describe pencil grip, oral storytelling, and classroom behaviours.
Qualitative criteria
Areas where textual evidence is visible, but deciding the mark requires teacher discernment and professional judgement.
- Audience, tone, and authorial voice
- Deciding whether writing effectively entertains, persuades, or builds suspense requires teacher judgement.
- Overall level placement
- The model suggests a working level as a starting point; confirming final placement always rests with teachers.
Teacher-led assessment
Faster to the judgement, not instead of it
Mark My Words handles the time-consuming groundwork: transcribing handwriting, highlighting VCOP features, and drafting initial Criterion Scale descriptors across the class.
Instead of starting from a blank rubric for every student, you start with a structured draft — giving you more time for moderation, student feedback, and planning next steps.
Final assessment decisions always stay with the teacher.