My Own Experience: The Challenge of Testing Writing and Speaking
Twenty years ago, I began my career as an English teacher at a secondary school in Eritrea, preparing over 350 students for their national exams. Testing skills like grammar and reading comprehension was challenging enough, but testing writing and speaking felt almost impossible. The time required to read and grade hundreds of essays, or run speaking tests, meant delays in feedback, inconsistent grading, and just a struggle to provide meaningful assessments. There simply weren’t enough hours in the day to do it fairly and efficiently.
Institutions worldwide face a similar challenge: how to deliver accurate, fast, and fair assessments across all four skills. While grammar, vocabulary, listening and reading can be relatively easily tested, writing and speaking have long required human judgment – leading to slow, inconsistent, and costly grading.
EnglishScore’s Solution: AI-Powered Grading for Speaking and Writing
EnglishScore’s new AI scoring model seamlessly integrates speaking and writing assessments alongside our Core Skills test (grammar, vocabulary reading & listening), ensuring a more efficient, reliable, and accessible four-skills evaluation. Our AI-powered scoring model was developed and calibrated using thousands of expert-graded, real-world responses – providing precise and consistent English proficiency measurement.
The results?
- Accurate scoring – AI grading aligned to the CEFR, providing reliable and standardised assessment results.
- Instant scoring – no more waiting! AI delivers reliable results in minutes, not hours.
- Fair and scalable – EnglishScore’s AI grading model delivers accurate and consistent scores, whether assessing a single test taker or thousands.
Why This Matters for Institutions and Test Takers
- A more complete language assessment – institutions need a full picture of language ability, not just a test taker’s knowledge of grammar or vocabulary. EnglishScore’s assessments allow universities, employers, and training providers to efficiently evaluate speaking and writing at scale, ensuring a more comprehensive and accurate measure of proficiency.
- Cost-effective and efficient – AI-powered grading reduces the burden on institutions by streamlining assessments, lowering costs, and eliminating logistical challenges associated with human grading.
- Fair and objective – our AI scoring model is continuously monitored and calibrated to ensure fairness, consistency, and reliability over time. It evaluates responses based on real linguistic criteria, not personal judgment.
- Mobile and accessible – the EnglishScore test is taken entirely on the test taker’s phone, making it convenient and widely accessible.
The Future of English Testing is Here
EnglishScore’s AI grading is a significant step forward in mobile language assessment. By removing the challenges of traditional grading, we’re making high-quality English assessment more accessible, reliable, and efficient for learners and institutions alike.
And for me, the journey has come full circle. From the challenges of manually assessing large groups of students to now helping schools, universities and companies implement AI-driven assessments, I’ve seen how technology can transform language evaluation.
EnglishScore’s AI grading enables institutions to deliver accurate, fair, and scalable English assessments, meeting the needs of modern education and employment sectors. AI is shaping the future of English language testing, and we’re excited to be part of this change.
Want to see EnglishScore’s AI grading in action? Contact your Account Manager or get in touch with us today!