“What I have said to NZQA, who’s our qualifications authority, [is] by 2028 when we roll this in, I want you to be in a position where every single assessment, internal [and] external, is marked by you externally,” Stanford said. “Take that load off teachers. It’s one of the single biggest time sucks for them.”
When asked by Garner how NZQA would be able to manage such a massive task, Stanford responded clearly: “AI, my friend, they’re already doing it.”
Stanford explained that NZQA is already using artificial intelligence to mark literacy and numeracy co-requisite assessments. “It’s mostly digital and then it’s AI marked. Most of it means we can do it quickly. It’s world-leading.” She added that international education ministers have expressed admiration, telling her: “We can only dream of that.”
Garner pressed her further: “So AI, so we’ve got the tools to mark all our external and internal assessments without hiring more people?” Stanford replied, “That’s the plan.”
She went on to assure listeners that the technology had already undergone extensive testing: “They’ve already done a whole lot of moderation. They always check the results and actually they’re on par with, if not better than, humans. It’s amazing.”
This transformation is part of a broader strategy by the government to ease the workload of teachers, many of whom have been overwhelmed not just by marking but also by the gaps in students’ foundational knowledge.
“The workload on those teachers at high school is phenomenal because they are having to make up for years,” Stanford said, referring to students entering secondary school well behind expected curriculum levels.
She outlined a three-pronged solution: clearer curriculum content, ensuring students are up to standard by the time they reach high school, and taking the burden of marking off teachers.
While a full rollout is planned by 2028, Stanford said the implementation will be gradual. “We’ve made sure it’s carefully staged and rolled out over time.” She also noted that her principal advisory group had put forward proposals for managing the change and that public consultation would follow.
The move to AI marking may mark one of the biggest structural shifts in New Zealand’s education system in decades - promising reduced teacher burnout, faster feedback, and a more consistent national standard, if the technology holds up under scale.
Matua Kahurangi is just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes. He blogs on https://matuakahurangi.com/ where this article was sourced.
5 comments:
Stanford is an absolute star, shining in the most unwanted ministerial post.
Keep up the great work Erica.
More details please.
Of course a machine can mark a multiple choice test as accurately as a human being (indeed probably more so as humans make little mistakes such as adding up the ticks wrongly). But what about open-ended answers such as essays?
Stanford is not a star until she disobey Luxon's orders and removes all that Maori crap from the curriculum and academic agenda.
Aaahhhh.. the customary Labour spin doctor, anti Luxon, racist rant.
Check the latest Roy Morgan poll, it's not working!
M A friends doctor uses AI for producing her notes and gives her a copy . It was biased toward a certain mainstream medical perspective -drugs not supplements or diet and anti -vax. The programming was clearly not broad enough considering 40 % of the population use at least one supplement for medical conditions. But Big Pharma doesn't encourage that.
Anyway , I see few problems in marking maths, technical drawing computing and other technical areas , languages , music subjects and non biological western science but plenty for history where if you don't write politically correct , cancel culture , Maori culture , DEI answers and anti -colonisation you could be marked down because the AI provider has been selectively programmed for these.
However that also could be true if the class teacher is brainwashed into these indoctrinations as well.
Find a school which has Cambridge or IB , or International A levels exams instead or do only STEM subjects. We need more STEM graduates.
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