ABSTRACT
The Workload Survey of 2016 led to research into ways of reducing workload, undertaken by 12 schools in 2017 and published on the Department for Education (DfE) website. The Workload Toolkit was published in July 2018 in response to research funded by the DfE. Teachers of English face a substantial marking load. Because the written word, increasingly moving towards the extended essay, is the most usual assessment focus, there is a larger “outcome space”–that is, a wider range of possible approaches and material, as well as a perceived need to write more detailed, differentiated comments to enable pupils to improve. The most useful advice within the Report of the Marking Policy Review Group is that all marking should be: Meaningful: marking varies by age group, subject, and what works best for the pupil and teacher in relation to any particular piece of work.
