AI now reads your child’s answer sheet: Chennai teachers reveal how it actually works

Behind the scenes at several Chennai schools, answer sheets are increasingly being read not just by teachers but by AI-powered platforms. Answer keys are fed into the system, and the software analyses student responses, offering insights into language through comparison.

“It involves some work from the backend too on the teachers’ side. But the platforms are evolving. Once they notice a pattern, they automatically provide analysis without referring to answer sheets,” said a teacher at a prominent IB school on the OMR.

The analysis is only one part of a broader move toward mobile and web-based AI-powered enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools such as My Classboard and Neverskip, which charge schools on a per-student basis. These platforms also inform parents about homework, fees and transport, and create a shared communication space between parents and teachers.

At Vellammal Bodhi Campus, parent R Vidya has felt the difference directly. “My son can also take tests on the app, designed by the school themselves. Apart from the results of tests and internal assessments, the school uploads report cards and attendance details, to ensure transparency,” she said, adding that she no longer needs her son to update her on how he performed.

Not all parents have this option yet. Beena, whose son studied at Chennai Public School until Class 10, said a parents’ dashboard there once let her pose queries directly and simply — a contrast to the ‘chaotic’ school group chats she now navigates at his current school, which has no such platform.

Educationists point to the pandemic as the turning point that pushed schools toward digital systems in the first place. “Today, ERPs have become vital to run a school, especially if the strength is high,” said Prem Shankar, chairman, Holy Sai Group of Institutions.

[Wikimedia Commons/by McKay Savage]