A controversial plan to utilise computers to mark National Naplan tests has been scrapped, following significant backlash from parents and various teachers’ unions.

While the decision was made in december last year,  it has only just been revealed by council statements over the Australia Day long weekend, with education ministers quietly ditching the plan for so-called ‘robot marking’.

If the plan were to go ahead it would have seen computers mark and assess various english assessments, a task many parents and teachers believe computers cannot adequately accomplish due to the nuances of creative writing.