If you teach full-time in a secondary school, you probably spend somewhere between 8 and 12 hours per week marking. For some subjects, particularly English and the humanities, it can be even more. That is not sustainable, and most teachers know it.
The good news is that marking less does not have to mean marking worse. The teachers who manage their workload best are not cutting corners. They are being strategic about where they spend their time and what kind of feedback actually makes a difference.
Here are five habits that consistently save time.
1. Stop writing the same comment twice
This is the single biggest time-waster in marking, and almost every teacher does it. You are 15 papers into a stack of 30, and you realise you have written some variation of "you need to explain the effect on the reader" on every single one.
If the same feedback applies to most of the class, it does not belong on individual papers. It belongs in a whole-class feedback session.
Here is how to make this work:
- Read through the papers first without writing anything. Just note the common strengths and common weaknesses.
- Write a one-page whole-class feedback sheet covering the patterns you spotted. Include 2-3 strengths, 2-3 areas for improvement, and a model answer or exemplar paragraph.
- On individual papers, only write feedback that is specific to that student. If it applies to more than a third of the class, it goes on the whole-class sheet instead.
This approach is backed by research too. The EEF's guidance on teacher feedback found that whole-class feedback can be just as effective as individual written comments, and it takes a fraction of the time.
2. Use a marking code, not full sentences
Written feedback is valuable, but it does not need to be an essay. A consistent set of marking codes or shorthand saves enormous amounts of time, especially for subjects where you are annotating student work as you go.
For example:
- SP = Spelling error
- EV = More evidence needed
- EX = Explain your reasoning
- GE = Good example
- MT = Missing terminology
Share the codes with students at the start of the year. Stick them in a visible place in the classroom. Once students know the codes, a marginal "EV" communicates just as much as writing "you need to include more evidence to support your point" for the hundredth time.
3. Mark in batches, not marathons
Sitting down to mark 120 papers in one session is a recipe for misery. Your concentration drops after approximately 45 minutes of sustained marking, and the quality of your feedback drops with it.
Instead:
- Mark in 20-30 minute bursts. Set a timer. When it goes off, stop and do something else.
- Mark one question at a time across all papers rather than marking each paper from start to finish. This is faster because you are making the same judgement repeatedly, and your consistency improves.
- Spread it across the week. Marking five papers a day for seven days is far more sustainable than marking 35 papers on a Sunday afternoon.
This is not just about wellbeing, although that matters. Research on examiner reliability shows that marker accuracy declines after extended sessions. Shorter, focused bursts produce better quality marking.
4. Not everything needs detailed marking
This is the habit that experienced teachers understand and new teachers struggle with most. Not every piece of student work requires the same depth of feedback.
Consider a simple framework:
- Quick check (tick and score only): Homework tasks, starter activities, low-stakes quizzes. Students need to know if they got it right, not a paragraph of feedback.
- Focused feedback (one or two targeted comments): Classwork, formative assessments, draft work. Pick one or two specific things to comment on, not everything.
- Deep marking (detailed annotation and feedback): Mock exams, assessed coursework, key assessments. This is where your time has the most impact.
If you deep-mark everything, you will burn out. If you quick-check everything, students will not improve. The skill is knowing which approach to use when.
5. Use technology for the repetitive parts
This is not about replacing teacher judgement. It is about automating the parts of marking that do not require professional expertise.
Scanning a mark scheme and checking whether a student's answer includes the required key points is a task that AI can do reliably. Deciding whether an extended response deserves a Level 3 or Level 4 still benefits from human judgement, but the mechanical checking can be handled by technology.
The practical benefit is significant. If an AI tool can handle the initial marking of a class set of 30 papers in 10 minutes, you can spend your time on the parts that matter: reviewing borderline answers, writing the targeted feedback, and planning your response to common weaknesses.
The goal is not to eliminate marking. It is to make sure every minute you spend marking is time well spent.
Putting it into practice
You do not need to adopt all five habits at once. Pick the one that would save you the most time right now and try it for a fortnight. For most teachers, habit 1 (whole-class feedback instead of repetitive individual comments) is the quickest win.
If you want to explore how AI can handle the mechanical side of marking, try Marky free for 3 days. Upload a past paper, add the mark scheme, and see what you get back.