Grading Homework with OCR

Overview of OCR Grading

One of the most powerful features for teachers is the ability to grade handwritten homework using AI-powered optical character recognition (OCR). Instead of manually comparing each student's answers against an answer key, you upload a photo of their completed worksheet and the system reads their handwriting, extracts answers, and calculates a score automatically.

Navigating to the Grading Page

From your Teacher Dashboard, click Grade Homework to open the grading interface. On the left sidebar, you will see a series of selectors that let you narrow down to a specific submission:

• Select class — Choose the class the homework belongs to.
• Select student — Pick the student whose work you are grading.
• Select worksheet — Choose which assignment or worksheet this submission is for.

Uploading a Homework Photo

Once you have selected the class, student, and worksheet, click Upload Homework Photos. You can either drag and drop a photo onto the upload area or click to browse your files. On mobile devices, the browse option also lets you take a photo directly with your camera. Supported formats are JPEG, PNG, WebP, and HEIC, with a maximum file size of 10MB.

After selecting or dropping your file, click Upload & Process. The AI will analyze the image and attempt to read each handwritten answer.

Reviewing OCR Results

After processing, the OCR Review screen appears with a split-panel layout:

• Left side — The uploaded homework image with zoom controls that let you zoom in from 50% to 300% for a closer look at the student's handwriting.
• Right side — A list of extracted answers, one per problem. Each answer shows the extracted text and a confidence score indicating how certain the AI is about its reading.

Confidence scores are color-coded for quick assessment:

• Green (80%+) — High confidence. The AI is fairly certain it read the answer correctly.
• Yellow (60-80%) — Medium confidence. You should verify this answer against the image.
• Red (below 60%) — Low confidence. The AI struggled to read this answer and it likely needs correction.

If the AI could not read an answer at all, an "UNREADABLE" warning appears instead of a confidence score. You will need to enter the answer manually for these items.

Correcting Misread Answers

Click on any answer's input field to edit it. Use the zoom controls on the left to examine the student's handwriting closely, then type the correct value. Corrected fields are highlighted so you can see which ones you have changed. This correction step ensures that even if the AI misreads a few answers, the final grade is accurate.

Accepting and Grading

Once you have reviewed and corrected any misread answers, click Accept & Grade. The system compares the final set of answers (including your corrections) against the answer key and calculates the student's score. The score is saved to the student's record and appears in your class analytics.

The OCR engine handles a variety of handwriting styles and answer formats, including fractions, negative numbers, coordinates, and variables. Even messy handwriting is usually readable, though you may need to correct more answers for students with particularly difficult-to-read writing.

Tip: Encourage your students to write neatly and use dark ink or pencil. Clear handwriting dramatically improves OCR accuracy and saves you time during the review step.