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GCSE English Language reading AI marking, 15 marks

Accuracy: Average gap of 1.5 marks from the definitive mark. 13 of 31 matched exactly and 23 of 31 were within 2 marks.

Exemplars
31
Questions worth
15 marks
Engine version
2026.11.04
Tested
6 November 2026

By DeepMark Labs Limited. Last updated 8 November 2026.

The result

Across 31 GCSE English Language reading exemplars worth 15 marks, DeepMark’s marks were an average of 1.5 marks from the definitive mark. 13 matched exactly and 23 were within 2 marks.

Below the top level, DeepMark’s marks match the definitive marks on average: 13 of 22 matched exactly, with an average gap of 0.6 marks. The strongest answers tend to be marked lower, so we recommend a teacher reviews answers DeepMark places near the top.

17 of 31 answers were within 1 mark of the definitive mark
Exact: 13 answers13Exact1 mark: 4 answers41 mark2 marks: 6 answers62 marks3 marks: 4 answers43 marks4 marks: 2 answers24 marks5 marks: 1 answers15 marks6 marks: 1 answers16 marks

Gap from the definitive mark

Accuracy over time

First measured on engine version 2026.11.04, tested 6 November 2026. Every time we change the marking engine we test these same answers again, and each result adds a point to a trend line here.

How we tested it

  1. 1We collected real GCSE English Language answers to 15 mark reading questions that the exam board publishes with the mark it awarded, from several exam series.
  2. 2We loaded each question paper, including the source text the students wrote about, and its mark scheme into DeepMark from the original documents.
  3. 3Handwritten answers were typed up before marking.
  4. 4Each answer was marked by the same marking engine teachers use. Nothing was tuned on these answers.
  5. 5We compared DeepMark's whole mark with the definitive mark for every answer.

Marks against the definitive mark

17 of 31 essays worth 15 marks were within 1 mark of the definitive mark
00448811111515Definitive mark 15, DeepMark 12: 2 essaysDefinitive mark 15, DeepMark 11: 2 essaysDefinitive mark 15, DeepMark 9: 1 essayDefinitive mark 14, DeepMark 12: 1 essayDefinitive mark 14, DeepMark 11: 2 essaysDefinitive mark 13, DeepMark 8: 1 essayDefinitive mark 12, DeepMark 10: 1 essayDefinitive mark 11, DeepMark 11: 3 essaysDefinitive mark 11, DeepMark 9: 2 essaysDefinitive mark 9, DeepMark 9: 1 essayDefinitive mark 8, DeepMark 9: 1 essayDefinitive mark 8, DeepMark 8: 4 essaysDefinitive mark 6, DeepMark 5: 1 essayDefinitive mark 5, DeepMark 6: 1 essayDefinitive mark 5, DeepMark 5: 4 essaysDefinitive mark 3, DeepMark 5: 2 essaysDefinitive mark 3, DeepMark 4: 1 essayDefinitive mark 2, DeepMark 2: 1 essayDefinitive mark (out of 15)DeepMark mark (out of 15)
  • Same mark as the definitive mark
  • Within 1 mark
  • Essays within 1 mark
  • Essays further away
  • Larger dots hold more essays.

Ranking correlation: 0.92. DeepMark puts these answers in very nearly the same order as the definitive marks. The average gap above is the accuracy figure.

Every mark

Every exemplar in the study, with the definitive mark and DeepMark’s mark. We publish marks only, never student writing.

Every mark, answer by answer (31 exemplars)Show
ExemplarQuestion worthDefinitive markDeepMark markDifference
11515123 marks lower
21515123 marks lower
31515114 marks lower
41515114 marks lower
5151596 marks lower
61514122 marks lower
71514113 marks lower
81514113 marks lower
9151385 marks lower
101512102 marks lower
11151111Exact
12151111Exact
13151111Exact
14151192 marks lower
15151192 marks lower
161599Exact
1715891 mark higher
181588Exact
191588Exact
201588Exact
211588Exact
2215651 mark lower
2315561 mark higher
241555Exact
251555Exact
261555Exact
271555Exact
2815352 marks higher
2915352 marks higher
3015341 mark higher
311522Exact

How to read these numbers

Average gap
How far DeepMark's mark was from the definitive mark, on average, ignoring direction. A gap of 1.3 marks means a typical answer was a little over 1 mark away.
Matched exactly
DeepMark gave the same whole mark as the definitive mark. This is the strictest test, and only possible because every DeepMark mark is a whole mark.
Within 1 mark
DeepMark's mark was the definitive mark or 1 mark either side.
Ranking correlation
How closely DeepMark puts answers in the same order as the definitive mark, from 0 to 1. It measures order, not accuracy, so we always show it beside the average gap, never instead of it.

Questions teachers ask

How accurate is DeepMark on GCSE English Language reading?

On 31 GCSE English Language 15 mark reading exemplars, DeepMark's marks were an average of 1.5 marks from the definitive mark. 13 matched exactly and 23 were within 2 marks.

Should a teacher check the marks?

Below the top level, DeepMark's marks match the definitive marks on average. The strongest answers tend to be marked lower, so we recommend a teacher reviews top level answers.

What is the definitive mark?

The mark the exam board published for that exemplar. It is the reference every DeepMark mark is measured against.

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