Latest news with #Grading
Telegraph
12-07-2025
- Science
- Telegraph
AI to help mark student exams
Artificial Intelligence is to help grade A-level and GCSE exam papers. Exam board AQA is working with King's College London academics to create an AI virtual assistant to assist and support exam paper markers. More than £600,000 of taxpayer money is funding the three-year scheme which intends to boost the accuracy and reliability of the grading process. Professor Yulan He, an expert in using machine learning to understand written text, is leading the work and said the aim is to reduce errors, make mark schemes fairer, and give quicker feedback to students. 'We aim to create an AI technology that can add a layer of quality control and support experts mark accurately and consistently,' Professor Yulan told The Telegraph. 'The goal is very much not to create an AI system that replaces examiners marking students' work, but recognises that marking is a really demanding task and supports them to mark more consistently and faster.' The AI assistant could be used to check the marks given by a human and detect any scores which seem erroneously low or high based on the AI's own assessment. Other possible applications are to check the quality of answers from students using language analysis machine learning and scrutinising the relevance, factuality, coherence and logical reasoning of an answer. The AI could also be used to refine the mark scheme if there is a flaw in how marks are given to ensure fairer marking and also to give AI-generated explanations to students as to why they did or did not get a question correct. Government backing for AI in education Peter Kyle, the Science and Technology Secretary, told The Telegraph the project will help pupils reach their potential and 'open as many doors as possible'. 'The central, most exciting, opportunity that AI affords us is not where it can replace human expertise, but where it will enhance it,' he said. 'By adding a layer of support and quality control for exam markers, this work by King's College London can make sure every student receives the fair assessment they deserve, to fulfil their potential and open as many doors as possible for their future success. 'These projects are combining cutting-edge research with professional expertise to turn research into practical solutions that can improve people's daily lives and drive growth as part of our Plan for Change.' Prof Yulan insisted the human involvement in marking papers is critical to the process and AI will be used to facilitate and refine instead of to replace. 'This is not to replace the human marker. Humans in the loop are very important. Our AI technology will just add a layer of quality control and support experts mark accurately and consistently,' she said. 'There is no danger of this being used to mark next year's exam papers unsupervised, for example. 'We aim to develop a safe and reliable virtual assistant in collaboration with teachers, learners and subject experts, that could be used in the future to assist examiners when they mark.' Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'If AI can provide an extra level of quality assurance, which supports examiners and improves the accuracy and consistency of grading, then that is clearly a good thing which we very much support. 'As with any project to utilise AI, it is absolutely essential that it is robustly tested before being rolled out into the real world, and that exam scripts are always seen by human beings. We're pleased to see assurances to this effect. 'The process of marking and grading exams is a major undertaking which has to be delivered to tight deadlines, so the potential of technology to support this process is certainly something which should be explored. We look forward to seeing how this project develops.' 'People should always remain in control' AQA is one of the country's largest examination boards. Around 1.4 million students sat one of its qualifications last year and more than nine in ten schools have at least one AQA course in its curriculum. Around 30,000 teachers, lecturers, subject experts and academics help design its tests and mark exams each year. Cesare Aloisi, AQA's head of assessment innovations, said: 'We're always looking for ways to enhance the support we give the examiners who mark our exam papers and to develop even more sophisticated quality controls. 'AI can help us do that with the important guiding principle that it is there to help human expert judgment, and that people should always remain in control. 'For example AI could flag marks that may be too lenient or too severe, but it would always be a person deciding what mark to give. We think it is essential that our expert examiners, and not AI, make these decisions that are so important for young people's futures.'
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grading Jakob Poeltl's $104 million Raptors contract extension
The post Grading Jakob Poeltl's $104 million Raptors contract extension appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Toronto Raptors were much more competitive than their 50-win 2024-25 season would indicate. They would keep games close even against the best teams in the league, giving way to what some would call 'ethical tanking'. In the end, they were rewarded with promising prospect Collin Murray-Boyles for their troubles — adding another quality young player to the Raptors' growing core. Advertisement It appears as though the Raptors will be gunning for a playoff spot in the wide-open Eastern Conference in 2025, and their moves over the past year or so certainly suggest this inclination. They traded for Brandon Ingram in a buy-low move with the New Orleans Pelicans, and in the early goings of free agency, they agreed with Jakob Poeltl on a new contract that's set to pay him $104 million from the 2026-27 campaign until 2029-30, with Toronto tacking on three additional years worth around $84 million to keep Poeltl for the long haul. Considering the going rate for players of Poeltl's caliber, did the Raptors overpay? Did they even need to pony up the huge sum of money to keep Poeltl when he had a player option worth $19 million for the 2026-27 season anyway? Did the Raptors jump the gun with Jakob Poeltl extension? John Hefti-Imagn Images Make no mistake about it, Poeltl was quite impressive when he was active for the Raptors this past season. He put up career-best stats of 14.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest, and he may have averaged a double-double if he was allowed by the Raptors to actually play his usual number of minutes instead of being held out of games to fight for better lottery odds. Advertisement While Toronto was not a good team with or without Poeltl, the 29-year-old center definitely made the team better. The Raptors were over six points better whenever Poeltl was on the court, according to PBP Stats, and that net rating is nothing to scoff at. He is a defensive anchor, strong glass cleaner, and is fairly agile on the perimeter, which means he isn't completely lost when switched out to a perimeter player. Poeltl has also made plenty of strides as a playmaker, doing his job as a handoff machine to give the Raptors' ballhandlers space to work with. There's a reason why many contending teams have sought Poeltl's services from the Raptors ever since they acquired him from the San Antonio Spurs in 2023. The salary cap is rising fast, as it can increase up to a maximum of 10 percent from the previous year (this was what happened for this offseason). So by the time Poeltl's exorbitant extension kicks in, it will take up a less portion of the team's salary cap. Even then, the Raptors appear to have overpaid to keep him around; Poeltl will be 32 when he begins to make around $26 million a year, and in the final year of his contract (when he'll be 34), he'll be making around $30 million per year. The Raptors could argue that this is the going rate for players of Poeltl's caliber these days. Isaiah Hartenstein, notably, is set to make $28.5 million for this upcoming season, with a player option worth the same dollar amount for the 2026-27 campaign. Nicolas Claxton is making around $25 million this season, although his salary is front-loaded, which means that he'll be making progressively less in the final two years of his deal. Advertisement The $104 million the Raptors signed Poeltl for is a similar amount for what the Milwaukee Bucks ended up snagging Myles Turner away from the Indiana Pacers for ($107 million). Even Naz Reid signed for a similar amount of money per year ($25 million average annual value across five years). But unlike those players, Poeltl didn't even reach free agency. The Raptors ended up outbidding themselves when a similar amount of money could have gotten a deal done in 2026, when Poeltl could have reached free agency by declining his player option. Poeltl would've been perhaps the second-best or best center in the unrestricted free-agent market had he actually reached free agency in 2026. (Hartenstein could be a free agent as well, and it's a toss-up as to who's a better player between those two.) Even then, it's not like NBA teams are going to pay significantly more than what it required the Raptors to pony up to keep Poeltl, especially when he doesn't provide any floor-spacing utility and would, most likely, be deployed situationally anyway in the hypothetical universe where the Raptors make it deep into the playoffs. Advertisement This contract extension, while a fair amount to keep Poeltl around, wasn't quite necessary for the Raptors to offer yet. Perhaps they're looking to protect the asset, but there's a good chance they could be stuck with that contract for the next few years. Grade: C+ Related: Raptors, Jakob Poeltl agree on $104 million contract extension Related: Raptors make first NBA free agency move after Masai Ujiri firing
The Sun
13-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Penang Cracks Down on Durian Fraud in Balik Pulau
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government takes a serious view of the exploitation of local growers by rogue traders who import durians (from other states or Thailand) and sell it under the authentic Balik Pulau brand. State Agrotechnology, Food Security and Cooperative Development Committee chairman Fahmi Zainol said yesterday that his office had collaborated with police, the Department of Agriculture, the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) and the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Service (MAQIS) to set up roadblocks to detain agricultural products that do not comply with regulations. 'This operation is being carried out due to the issue of durians from outside Penang being brought into the state by unscrupulous traders to sell the fruit under the Balik Pulau durian brand. This issue was raised during the last State Assembly session. 'This restriction was also imposed to inspect vegetables and fruits to ensure they comply with the GPL (Grading, Packaging and Labelling) 2008 Regulations under FAMA ACT 141. Yesterday itself, three violation notices related to GPL were issued,' he said in a statement today. The GPL 2008 Regulations require that agricultural products must be graded, packaged and labelled before being marketed. The GPLs issued yesterday were the first of such imposed on wholesalers, who will face a maximum fine of up to RM25,000. Fahmi said the roadblock carried out from 8 pm to 11.30 pm yesterday was also the first of its kind held in Penang and will be implemented again at different locations in the future, to reinforce the state's commitment in protecting local farmers and consumers. Balik Pulau is famed for its many durian orchards, which produce the finest of varieties, such as Black Thorn, Red Prawn, Tupai King and Musang King.
The Sun
13-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Penang acts to protect growers from rogue traders exploiting state's authentic durian brand
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government takes a serious view of the exploitation of local growers by rogue traders who import durians (from other states or Thailand) and sell it under the authentic Balik Pulau brand. State Agrotechnology, Food Security and Cooperative Development Committee chairman Fahmi Zainol said yesterday that his office had collaborated with police, the Department of Agriculture, the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) and the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Service (MAQIS) to set up roadblocks to detain agricultural products that do not comply with regulations. 'This operation is being carried out due to the issue of durians from outside Penang being brought into the state by unscrupulous traders to sell the fruit under the Balik Pulau durian brand. This issue was raised during the last State Assembly session. 'This restriction was also imposed to inspect vegetables and fruits to ensure they comply with the GPL (Grading, Packaging and Labelling) 2008 Regulations under FAMA ACT 141. Yesterday itself, three violation notices related to GPL were issued,' he said in a statement today. The GPL 2008 Regulations require that agricultural products must be graded, packaged and labelled before being marketed. The GPLs issued yesterday were the first of such imposed on wholesalers, who will face a maximum fine of up to RM25,000. Fahmi said the roadblock carried out from 8 pm to 11.30 pm yesterday was also the first of its kind held in Penang and will be implemented again at different locations in the future, to reinforce the state's commitment in protecting local farmers and consumers. Balik Pulau is famed for its many durian orchards, which produce the finest of varieties, such as Black Thorn, Red Prawn, Tupai King and Musang King.
