Time spent on marking impacting classroom time
Two thirds of teachers in the UK claim that they are spending too much time marking which is negatively impacting their teaching time.
New research, by Canvas, has revealed that 17 per cent of teachers in the UK are spending more than 11 hours a week on marking and assessments. As part of an international study collating results from surveys covering 3,328 primary and secondary teachers in the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Brazil, the US and Australia, the report shows that the 11 hours is considerably more than those in the US (nine per cent) and Australia (seven per cent) where the time spent on teaching is typically higher.
Additionally, 68 per cent of UK teachers said the amount of time they spent marking impacted negatively on classroom time with pupils, with a high proportion stating the situation had worsened over the last five years, with assessment tracking, Ofsted inspections and benchmarking being cited as the main reasons.
Samantha Blyth, director of schools at Canvas, said: “There is no doubt that teachers in the UK do a fantastic job of multitasking; juggling marking, reporting and lesson planning, with face-to-face teaching in the classroom. But there is a growing perception that the sheer amount of admin is leaving them unable to do the job they love – to actually teach their students.”
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