AI-driven assessment technology
As an Ofsted ‘Good’ education provider we know the challenges of assessment. The challenge of assessor management – recruitment, performance management, and maintaining capacity. The challenge of meeting learner expectations – the timeliness and completeness of feedback all to a high quality. All within an environment of increasing compliance expectations and reduced funding.
That’s why we’ve developed EQUAL Assess within our EQUAL platform: an AI-powered assessment support tool built around real assessor practice, to provide unit-level feedback with compliance at its core.
EQUAL Assess is an AI-powered tool designed to support the production of unit-level feedback.
Essentially, it starts, and ends, with the Assessor.
EQUAL Assess is built around assessor best practice and designed to align with Awarding Organisation and Ofqual requirements and regulations. The assessor remains fully in control throughout the process.
“As an education technology business, we embrace technology whilst remaining learner centred. EQUAL Assess combines the best of human assessment practice with the consistency and efficiency of AI – giving an even better experience and service to our learners.”
Liam Sammon – Executive Director for Education Services and Innovation at The Skills Network
Prefer to see it in action? Keep reading for more detail or scroll down to watch a demo video.
Concerns around GDPR and Awarding Organisation compliance are often the main barriers to AI adoption in assessment. EQUAL Assess provides confidence on both fronts.
Since its launch in August 2025, EQUAL Assess has supported the marking of over 100,000 learner submissions at The Skills Network.
During this time, the organisation has successfully undergone eight External Quality Assurance (EQA) visits from three different Awarding Organisations. EQA feedback has consistently highlighted the strength, consistency, and quality of assessment practice. Critically for Ofqual and AO compliance, the assessment judgement is human, and AI is not triggered until a human assessor completes their marking. Whilst, for GDPR compliance, all personalised data submitted for AI processing is anonymised.
EQUAL Assess is not only compliant, it also delivers measurable efficiency gains. Testing has shown that the time it takes to assess can be reduced by up to 50% using EQUAL Assess – giving educators valuable time back to focus on what they do best: targeted intervention, sharing industry experience, providing learner support, and addressing other pressing priorities.
EQUAL Assess generates a draft feedback response that mirrors the approach of an experienced Assessor, it:
In line with Ofsted best practice, it also:
The tone is always encouraging, developmental, and learner-focused.
Each feedback response concludes with clear next steps:
✔ Speed up assessment turnaround times
✔ Reduce pressure on assessor capacity
✔ Improve consistency across assessors
✔ Strengthen quality assurance processes
✔ Support assessors with structured guidance
No new systems. No complex onboarding. EQUAL Assess can be switched on within your existing EQUAL platform, meaning:
✔ Minimal disruption
✔ Immediate impact
✔ Familiar workflows for Assessors
EQUAL Assess has been deliberately designed with built-in friction, ensuring the Assessor pauses to review and reflect on the AI-generated draft.
Before submission:
EQUAL Assess supports providers in addressing some of their biggest operational challenges:
Early use indicates it can reduce assessment time by up to 50%, helping teams manage increasing demand while maintaining high standards. This means educators have more time for intervention or support for learners that are struggling, or more time to give to other pressing priorities.
Fully aligned with Ofqual guidelines, EQUAL Assess ensures human judgment remains central to the assessment process.
Goes further than the qualification spec, helping learners improve in critical areas like British Values and SPaG (spelling, punctuation, and grammar).
EQUAL Assess delivers efficiency without replacing expertise. Every AI-generated draft is validated by an assessor, ensuring feedback is both high quality and human.
To find out how EQUAL Assess can help provide smarter feedback and more time for teaching, please complete the form below.
Policy position (24 April 2024)
Ofqual explicitly states: “the use of AI as a sole marker of students’ work does not comply with our regulations. Ofqual reached this view partly because such use does not meet requirements for a human based judgement to be used in marking decisions.”
Read more here: Ofqual’s approach to regulating the use of artificial intelligence in the qualifications sector
