Computers To Mark English Essays

digitig writes "According to The Guardian, computers are to be used in the UK to mark English examination essays. 'Pearson, the American-based parent company of Edexcel, is to use computers to "read" and assess essays for international English tests in a move that has fueled speculation that GCSEs and A-levels will be next. ... Pearson claims this will be more accurate than human marking.' Can computers now understand all the subtle nuances of language, or are people going to have to learn an especially bland form of English to pass exams?"

Comments

Re:Don't they already do this?

[carp3_noct3m]

Please note the excessive amount of libation I have participated in (I have now run out of beer and am sipping 1800 Repasado Tequila) while trying to sound even slightly intellectual. Your one word response deserves nothing more than a..."English, do you speak it motherfucker?!"

Re:Plus good

[Anne Thwacks]

The average English speaker knows roughly 35k words in their lifetime. However they only use 1200 (average) in any given week.

30 years ago that would not have been true in London, but these days it probably would. The problem is that about 25% of London's population has a vocabulary of less than 1200 words in English. Some speak a first language with little more than 1200 words anyway. A significant proportion of people in the UK work environment have little or no grasp of English grammar either.

Problem very plenty, OK? Yes, Boss