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Marking a class spelling test

Give the test on paper, then photograph the sheets with your phone or upload one scan. The app reads and marks every sheet for you.

Overview

Every pupil gets their own printed sheet with a QR code. After the test, hold your phone over each sheet, or scan the whole pile on the school scanner. The app works out whose sheet it is, reads each word and marks it. You check the few lines it is unsure about, with the paper in front of you or later on.

Who this is for

Teachers

Test the whole class on paper and get every result into the app without typing a single mark.

Tutors

Run the same test with a small group, and mark it on your phone before they leave.

Parents

This is for a class. For one child at home, use the Dictation test instead.

How it works

  1. Print the sheetsOne per pupil, with their name and a QR code.
  2. Give the testOn paper, as you always do.
  3. Photograph or scanYour phone, or one PDF from the scanner.
  4. Marked for youEvery word is read and checked against the list.
  5. Check and save Sure: already marked Not sure: flagged for you to check

Step by step

1. Print the test sheets. Assign the list to your class, then tap Print test sheets on its card. The first page is your copy: the words in order, each with a sentence to read out. Every page after it is one pupil's sheet.
2. Give the test. Read each word, its sentence, then the word again. Pupils write on their own sheet. Collect the sheets at the end.
3. Open the marking screen. Tap Upload scanned tests on the same card. Choose Take photos to use your camera, or Add a PDF or files for a scan.
4. Choose how to check. The first time, you are asked Check each sheet as I go or Check them all at the end. Your phone remembers your choice, and you can switch on the camera screen.
5. Photograph the sheets. Hold the phone over a sheet so the QR code is in the dashed square. When it turns green the photo is taken by itself. Move on to the next sheet.
6. Check and save. Look at anything flagged, fix a misread word, then press Save and next (as you go) or Save class results (at the end).
A printed pupil test sheet: the pupil's name at the top, a QR code in the corner, and six numbered lines with handwritten words.
Each pupil's sheet carries their name and a QR code.
The Mark scanned tests screen on a phone, with a Take photos button and an Add a PDF or files button.
Take photos, or add a scanned PDF.
The camera held over a test sheet. The QR code sits in a green square and the hint says the sheet is taken and to move on to the next one.
The square turns green and the photo is taken by itself.

Which way to choose

All three read and mark the sheets the same way. They differ in when you check, and what you need.

Check each sheet as I go

Each sheet is marked straight after its photo. You check it against the paper in your hand and save it, then the camera comes back for the next one.

Good for: checking with the paper in front of you. Every saved sheet is kept, so you can stop part-way and finish later.

Bear in mind: it takes a little longer per sheet.

Check them all at the end

Photograph the whole pile first, in a minute or two. Then tap Mark and check every sheet together, with each photo beside its answers.

Good for: getting the photos done quickly and checking when you have a quiet moment.

Bear in mind: nothing is saved until you press Save class results, so keep the screen open until then.

Upload a scanned PDF

Scan the whole pile on the school scanner as one PDF, then add it with Add a PDF or files.

Good for: a big class, or when the sheets are already going through the copier.

Bear in mind: you need a scanner and the file on your device, and you check at the end.

Marking at your desk with the pile in front of you: Check each sheet as I go.
Collecting sheets in a busy classroom: Check them all at the end, then check after the lesson.
A whole year group, or no phone handy: scan the pile and upload the PDF.
The question How do you want to check the marks?, with two choices: Check each sheet as I go, and Check them all at the end.
You choose once; the phone remembers.
Checking one sheet as you go: the pupil's answers with ticks and crosses, one line flagged as only 54% sure, and a Save and next button.
Check each sheet as I go: save, and the camera comes back.

Checking and fixing

You only need to look at the lines the app is not sure about.

Flagged lines. A line the app is unsure of says how sure it is, such as "only 54% sure". The score shows as provisional until you have checked it. Tap Show the sheet to see the photo.
Fix a misread word. On a phone, tap between two letters to put the cursor there, or slide your finger along the word to move it. Tap the pencil beside the box for big letter tiles: tap a letter to take it out, or tap + to add one. The tick or cross updates as you change the word.
Change a mark. Tap the tick or cross to switch it. Tap again to leave the line out, and it is not saved. A blank line counts as wrong.
Skip a sheet. If a sheet is upside down, scribbled on or for the wrong pupil, skip it and say why. Nothing is saved for that pupil.
Checking the sheets on a phone: each word with its tick or cross on the same line, and a wide box under it showing what the pupil wrote, with a pencil button beside it.
On a phone the word and its mark sit on one line, with the box under them.
The letter editor: the misread word shown as large letter tiles with a plus sign between each pair, and Undo, Cancel and Done buttons.
The pencil opens big letter tiles for a quick fix.

Where the results go. Saved results go to each pupil's progress report, the class report and their spaced repetition, like any other test. A sheet can also count as the cold or hot test in a pupil's weekly plan (see Bulk scan marking).

Questions

Do I need a scanner?

No. A phone or tablet camera is enough. A scanner is still handy for a big pile, and both ways mark the sheets the same way.

Does it work in the app and in a browser?

Yes, on a phone or tablet, in the Spelling.Live app or in Safari or Chrome. If the live camera will not start, your phone's own camera opens instead, one photo at a time.

What if a QR code will not read?

After a few seconds the camera offers the shutter button. Tap it and the sheet is matched by the name printed on it. If that does not work either, you choose the pupil from a list.

What if I photograph the same sheet twice?

It is held back. The camera says it already has that pupil's sheet, and a sheet already saved for this test is never saved twice.

Can I stop part-way?

With Check each sheet as I go, every sheet you saved is kept, so you can open the camera later and carry on with the rest. With Check them all at the end, nothing is saved until you press Save class results.

Are the photos kept?

Yes, privately, so you can look at a sheet again later. Only you can open them, and they are deleted on 1 September after the school year. You can delete a file at any time, and that also deletes the results saved from it.

Does the app decide the marks?

It reads what each pupil wrote and compares it with the word on the list. You check the lines it is not sure about, and you can change any mark before saving.

What does marking cost?

Most schools pay a yearly subscription for each pupil, and marking is part of it, however many tests you run. A school that chooses credits instead pays 10 credits per pupil sheet. Nothing is ever billed to a pupil's family account.

Troubleshooting

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Key takeaways