How can teachers reduce the burden of assessing students?

When it comes to a teacher's job, many people often imagine standing in class, lecturing, managing students, shouting, and correcting as the most tiring.

But few people know that one of the most energy-consuming and mentally demanding tasks for teachers is evaluating students.

As a full-time instructor, my biggest obsession was assessment, especially regular assessment.

Students in every subject I teach have dozens of assessment columns, from short quizzes, exit tickets, pair discussions, group discussions, essays...

Each class must collect all papers in a plastic bag, after grading, hire an assistant to enter them into a common score file, then calculate the average score regularly.

I rarely give final exams, except for general subjects for the entire teacher training college. Most of my subjects require essays. If I read an article that seems “different”, I have to type some passages into Google to check if the students have copied.

At that time, technology was not as prevalent as it is now, and there were no tools to support teachers in assessment. I was so obsessed that I had to go for a PhD in educational assessment, choosing to focus on regular assessment.

Assessment is more than just grading a test. It is a series of tasks: observing learning, recording progress, comparing it to program standards, and then considering how to provide feedback that is appropriate, fair, and motivating.

Just preparing test questions is enough to give many teachers a headache, because they have to ensure that the questions are suitable for the abilities of the majority of students, classify students with outstanding abilities, and not make weak students feel stuck.

An average elementary school teacher teaches more than 40 students per class. This means that after each test, the teacher must read, grade, and comment on more than 40 papers, not to mention daily observation checklists or periodic reports to parents.

Many teachers admit that they often have to stay up late to complete grade books and documents. Many describe feeling “exhausted” after final exams - when the assessment work takes up almost all of their private time.

Pressure also comes from societal expectations. Parents want detailed feedback, schools demand full data reporting, and regulators demand accurate evidence.

Amid these expectations, teachers inevitably feel “eroded.” They want to spend more time creating innovative teaching methods or connecting with students, but in reality, they have to spend hours typing reports or filling out feedback forms.

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) TALIS (Teachers and School Administrators Survey) 2018 found that teachers around the world spend an average of 20-30% of their working time on assessments and documentation, or nearly a third of their effort not directly related to teaching.

Notably, Learnosity's 2025 survey of American teachers found that the average teacher spends 9.9 hours/week just grading assignments.

95% of teachers take grading home with them. 62% of teachers say grading is one of the most frustrating parts of their job. 34% of teachers feel burned out, and 26% feel overwhelmed by the amount of grading.

Nearly a third of teachers (32%) have considered leaving the profession in the past 12 months because of the pressure of marking. And more than half (56%) said their marking workload had increased compared to the previous year.

What are the solutions to reduce teacher burnout from student assessment work?

In my opinion, there are 5 steps: Applying technology, simplifying documents, innovating assessment methods, sharing responsibility and taking care of teachers' mental health.

Nowadays, technology is very developed, many online grading systems or learning management software (LMS) can automatically synthesize results, analyze data, and even suggest sample comments. This helps teachers save time entering scores and writing reports.

If there is no learning management software, teachers can also use basic excel, google sheets, free platforms like padlet to store students' work and products.

In terms of documentation, instead of requiring too much discrete evidence, schools can allow teachers to focus on core evidence, enough to reflect student progress without turning it into a “mountain of paperwork”. Teachers and school boards need to be trained to understand assessment correctly by adhering to the requirements.

In terms of assessment methods, it is advisable to combine formative assessment with oral feedback, quick comments in class, or forms of students self-assess each other. These methods both reduce the workload and help students be more proactive in the learning process.

Schools should also encourage teachers and professional groups to build a question bank and common observation forms so that no one has to "swim alone" in the heavy work.

Finally, while workloads cannot be reduced immediately, creating a work environment that listens, provides psychological support, and respects teachers' private time can also help them maintain balance.

Assessment is of course necessary to understand how well students are learning and what support they need. But the way assessment is organized - if it is too heavy and formal - can unintentionally become a burden for both teachers and students.

What teachers certainly want is not to completely eliminate assessment, but to be given compact, smart tools, along with a real support mechanism, so that they can both ensure quality and retain positive energy for teaching, so that teaching and learning can truly be a joy.

Dr. of Education Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/lam-the-nao-de-giao-vien-bot-ganh-nang-danh-gia-hoc-sinh-20250921233126924.htm