With reports suggesting that one in four teachers are working 60 hour weeks, the issue of teacher workload is one that isn’t going away anytime soon. Of course, for many teachers, a considerable amount of their time is taken up with marking. Teacher Workload Surveys have found that the amount of time teachers are spending marking has decreased since 2016, but there is still an argument that marking could be cut down further still. It would obviously make a big difference to a teacher’s workload if they can find ways to do this.
Marking can sometimes feel like a burden, especially if a school’s policy around marking and feedback concentrates on the amount of it that is done. More marking is not necessarily better marking – but as marking is fundamental to teaching and learning, there is always a tendency to simply do more of it.
