Speakable allows teachers to configure how student responses—both written and spoken—are evaluated, and what kind of feedback students receive. This article explains how automatic grading and feedback works so you can confidently set up Open Response pages in your activities.
Automatic Grading
Automatic grading helps teachers evaluate student responses efficiently and consistently. When adding an Open Response page to an activity, you’ll choose the grading method and set any relevant evaluation criteria.
Grading Method Options
There are three grading methods available:
Manual: Teachers review and grade each response individually.
Pass-Fail: Speakable compares the student’s response to a reference prompt and determines whether it meets expectations.
Rubric: Student responses are scored using a rubric that includes multiple evaluation criteria, each with defined levels of performance.
Evaluation Criteria
The evaluation criteria are based on the selected grading method:
Manual: No criteria are required, as grading is completed manually by the teacher.
Pass-Fail: You’ll write a prompt that describes what a correct or acceptable response should include. Speakable evaluates whether the student’s answer meets this prompt.
Rubric: You’ll define a rubric with specific scoring criteria (such as accuracy, completeness, or fluency). Each criterion will include descriptors for different performance levels.
Setup and Grading Process
During activity creation, select the grading method and configure the evaluation criteria.
Once a student submits a response, Speakable will automatically evaluate it (if auto-grading is enabled).
The results are recorded in your gradebook immediately.
You can control whether students are allowed to retry questions to improve their scores.
Instant Feedback
When automatic grading is used in Practice Mode, students always receive instant feedback after completing a response. This helps them understand their performance and know how to improve.
Feedback Summary
The feedback summary varies depending on the grading method:
Pass-Fail: Students see a summary that indicates whether they passed and provides suggestions for improvement.
Rubric: Students receive detailed scores for each rubric criterion, along with explanations for each rating.
Additional Feedback Types
Teachers can choose to enable the following feedback types for more comprehensive support:
Grammar Insights: Identifies grammar mistakes in the response and explains the issues.
Model Response (Suggested Response): Shows a suggested correct response to help students compare and learn.
Proficiency Level Estimate: Provides an estimate of the student’s language proficiency level using ACTFL-aligned standards, WIDA-aligned standards, or your custom standards.
These options can be enabled individually depending on what level of feedback you want students to receive.
Summary
Speakable’s automatic grading and feedback features are designed to support both teacher efficiency and student learning. By choosing the appropriate grading method and feedback options, you can streamline your workflow while helping students improve their skills through targeted feedback.
To get started, add an Open Response page in your next activity, select a grading method, and configure your feedback settings. You’ll be ready to provide clear, actionable results for every student response.
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