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"Last fall, Alberta Education sent two 2013 diploma-exam questions along with nearly 1,900 student essay answers that had been graded by teachers to LightSide, a Pennsylvania company that develops computer software to score student essays. LightSide's automated algorithms outperformed human reliability in the Alberta study by about 20 per cent, said the company's January 2014 report to the government."

"Good automated feedback gets students writing more. This is the most important thing that any scaffolding for writing can do. The best thing that writers can do to improve their writing is to write more, and to keep practicing. Many students, though, are going to be stuck at the first draft above - they won't see how they can expand. Inexperienced writers need to be nudged in the right direction with advice like this teacher gives. By giving specific suggestions for how a writer can improve, this teacher is keeping students engaged in the writing process."