eSkilled Launches AI-Assisted Marking Tool to Improve Assessment Consistency and Compliance in Vocational Training

eSkilled Student and Learning Management System

eSkilled launches AI-Assisted Marking to improve fairness, reduce bias, and ensure consistent, compliant assessment in vocational education.

This technology isn’t about replacing trainers—it’s about supporting them”

— Will Cowie, Co-founder of eSkilled

BRISBANE, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA, August 6, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- eSkilled has announced the launch of its new AI-Assisted Marking feature across its Student Management System (SMS) and Learning Management System (LMS), designed to address long-standing concerns around inconsistent and biased assessment in vocational education.

The release comes amid mounting evidence that human-led grading practices—particularly in adult and vocational education—lack consistency and are vulnerable to unconscious bias. A 2023 Australian parliamentary inquiry noted that “assessment processes in the VET sector are inconsistent across providers and courses,” warning that employers are “losing trust in the competency verification system” as a result.

The same concerns have been echoed in higher education. Studies show that essay-style assessments are often marked subjectively, with teachers’ scores varying widely due to a lack of standardisation. A 2024 paper published in Frontiers in Education highlighted how teacher bias can influence marking, finding that both pre-service and in-service educators assigned lower scores to identical work when they believed it was written by a student with a migration background.

Additional findings underscore how even factors like grading order can introduce bias. A 2023 study of 30 million+ university records revealed that students with surnames beginning with letters toward the end of the alphabet consistently received lower grades—attributed to grader fatigue as instructors became less attentive over time.

𝐀𝐈 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭
To address these issues, eSkilled’s new AI-Assisted Marking tool enables trainers and assessors to automate the initial grading of essay-type responses based on customisable criteria. Unlike manual grading, the AI applies consistent logic to every response—removing variability caused by fatigue or unconscious bias.

Recent research supports AI’s consistency advantages. In a 2023 study using OpenAI’s GPT-4 to grade university-level responses, scores achieved near-perfect inter-rater reliability (ICC 0.94 to 0.99), significantly higher than the consistency typically seen between human markers.

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔—𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎”, said Will Cowie, Co-founder of eSkilled. “𝑩𝒚 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕-𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔, 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑨𝑰-𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑹𝑻𝑶𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒕”.
 
𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬
• 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: Supports written responses using AI aligned with your marking criteria.
• 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞: Removes subjective variation, delivering repeatable results across learners.
• 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: Final control remains with qualified assessors, ensuring regulatory compliance.
• 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠: Reduces grading load, giving trainers more time for learner engagement.
 
The tool complements eSkilled’s broader suite of compliance-focused features, including LLND Quick Assess—an automated pre-enrolment LLN and digital skills testing solution aligned with the upcoming Standards for RTOs 2025.
 
For more information or to request a demo, visit https://eskilled.com.au or contact marketing@eskilled.com.au.

Harmony Sanderson
eSkilled
+61 7 3710 8273
h.sanderson@eskilled.com.au
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