Introducing Our New Paper-Grading Solution: Lightning Grader

The story of Lightning Grader starts in the classroom. As a seventh- and eighth-grade math teacher, I had a need to get student assessment data quickly to identify student’s strengths and weaknesses so I could adapt my instruction to increase their learning.

As a math teacher, I ran into challenges with other edtech solutions in the arena of paper grading. The problem is that students need to show their work in math. Even if a student got an answer “right” or “wrong,” the math problem solving process is very important to measure student’s understanding. These complex skills can’t be measured purely with multiple choices.

That’s why I came up with the idea of Lightning Grader. It allows educators to create different types of assessments while allowing students to show their work.

Once the document is uploaded into Illuminate’s Data & Assessment system (DnA) either via camera or copy machine, educators no longer have to take home a stack of paper, but simply score the student’s work right inside the assessment system.

Review the student’s work by question

Review the student’s work by student

All of the useful multiple-choice functionality and rubric scoring via paper is available.

That’s not all. Educators will be able to look deeper into a student’s understanding by easily and quickly examining the student’s work. According to research by Allison Pease, even simple one-minute writing reflections can “increase the degree to which students think about, understand, and learn the content of a course, can organize their thinking about a subject, and has been proven to help students retain what they learn.”

We’re excited to team up with Illuminate and share about the countless ways that educators will be able to use this new functionality. As our LiG team proceeds in the upcoming months, we will continue to innovate and improve upon the feedback we receive from educators all across the nation!

Illuminate Education is a provider of educational technology and services offering innovative data, assessment and student information solutions. Serving K-12 schools, our cloud-based software and services currently assist more than 1,600 school districts in promoting student achievement and success. We also offer professional learning workshops and consultation.

Ready to discover your one-stop shop for your district’s educational needs? Let’s talk.