Align JeddAI's feedback to achievement standard criteria by entering that standard's achievement criteria, grade descriptors and your success criteria as the rubric JeddAI marks against. Its drafted feedback then references those exact requirements at Achieved, Merit and Excellence, and you review and edit every judgement before it reaches students.
What does aligning feedback to an achievement standard actually mean?
Aligning feedback to an achievement standard means every comment traces back to the standard’s own achievement criteria and grade descriptors, not to a general sense of good work. In NCEA, each achievement standard sets out what a student must show to reach Achieved, and what lifts that evidence to Merit or Excellence. Aligned feedback tells a student exactly where their work meets those criteria and where it falls short.
This matters because achievement standards are criterion-referenced, not marked on a curve. A student is not competing against classmates; they are measured against a fixed description of what each grade looks like. Feedback that only says add more detail leaves the student guessing. Feedback that points to the requirement itself, such as the depth of analysis Merit asks for, turns a grade into a clear next step.
The same principle holds whether the standard is internally or externally assessed. For internal assessment you are making the judgement yourself, so alignment protects consistency and stands up to moderation. For externally assessed work, criterion-aligned feedback during the year prepares students for how NZQA markers will read their evidence against the same criteria.
How do you set JeddAI up with the standard's criteria?
You set JeddAI up by entering the achievement standard’s criteria as the rubric and success criteria it marks against, so the tool has the exact requirements in front of it before it drafts a word. Copy the grade descriptors for Achieved, Merit and Excellence, add any subject-specific explanatory notes, and layer in your own success criteria or comment-bank phrasing for the task.
Treat this as translating the standard into the language you actually use with students. The published wording can be dense, so rephrase each criterion into a plain statement a Year 11 or Year 13 student would recognise, while keeping its meaning intact. The closer your rubric mirrors the standard, the more tightly JeddAI’s drafted feedback maps onto the grade a moderator would expect.
- Enter the standard's grade descriptors for Not Achieved, Achieved, Merit and Excellence.
- Add the subject-specific explanatory notes or assessment specifications that define key terms.
- Include your own success criteria and any comment-bank wording you want reused.
- Keep the phrasing student-facing so feedback reads as guidance, not marking jargon.
How does JeddAI use those criteria when it drafts feedback?
JeddAI uses the criteria you enter as the reference point for every comment it drafts, so its feedback describes the student’s work against the standard rather than in the abstract. Because it is working from your rubric and grade descriptors, a draft comment can point to where a response meets the Achieved criterion and what specific evidence is still missing for Merit.
This is the difference between generic and criterion-linked feedback. A generic tool might praise clear writing; a criterion-aligned draft ties that writing to the standard’s requirement, for instance whether the analysis is developed enough for the grade being claimed. The draft is a starting point built from your criteria, not a verdict, and it surfaces the underlying evidence so you can check the judgement quickly.
You can also ask it to organise feedback the way the standard is structured, either by criterion or in the strength-then-next-step shape your department prefers, so comments land in a form students and whānau can act on. Throughout, the output stays anchored to the criteria you supplied.
How do you keep feedback aligned across Achieved, Merit and Excellence?
You keep feedback aligned across grade steps by making the grade descriptors explicit in your rubric, so JeddAI can distinguish what Achieved, Merit and Excellence each require. In most subjects the step up is qualitative, moving from describing to analysing, or from analysing to evaluating with insight, so feedback at each level should name that shift rather than simply ask for more.
The risk to watch for is grade drift, where encouraging comments quietly imply a higher grade than the evidence supports. Because JeddAI’s draft references your descriptors, you can check each comment against the level it claims and correct anything too generous or too harsh before it goes out. That review is where your professional judgement does the decisive work.
How does criterion-aligned feedback hold up at moderation?
Criterion-aligned feedback holds up at moderation because every judgement traces back to a specific part of the standard, which is exactly what internal moderation checks. NZQA expects internally assessed grades to be consistent nationally, and feedback that names the criterion behind each decision gives you a clear, defensible record when a moderator or a colleague reviews the same piece of work.
It also supports consistency within your own marking. Working from the same rubric across a class means the Merit you award on the first script means the same on the twentieth, rather than shifting as fatigue sets in. Shared criteria and agreed phrasing across a department act like calibration: they keep grades comparable and reduce the back-and-forth of re-moderation.
How does JeddAI keep you in control while saving marking time?
JeddAI keeps you in control by drafting feedback from criteria you supply and leaving every judgement for you to confirm. It reads the student work and your rubric, proposes criterion-linked comments and a suggested grade, then waits for you to review, adjust and approve. Nothing reaches a student until you have signed it off, so the standard is applied your way.
The time saved comes from removing the repetitive first draft, not from removing your judgement. Instead of composing every comment from a blank page, you edit a considered draft that already points to the right criteria, which frees your attention for the borderline calls that genuinely need it. To align feedback to the standards you already mark against, Get started with JeddAI and build your rubric from the criteria your students are assessed on.
| Grade step | What the standard's criteria ask for | What aligned feedback points to |
|---|---|---|
| Not Achieved | Evidence does not yet meet the Achieved criteria | The specific requirement the response is missing |
| Achieved | The core skill or knowledge clearly demonstrated | Where the criterion is met and what secures it |
| Merit | In-depth or convincing treatment of the task | The added depth or reasoning the response still needs |
| Excellence | Comprehensive, perceptive or sophisticated work | The insight or synthesis that lifts it to this level |
Frequently asked questions
Can JeddAI mark NCEA unit standards as well as achievement standards?
Yes. You enter whatever criteria the standard uses, so for a unit standard that means its Achieved or Not Achieved performance criteria. JeddAI aligns its draft feedback to whatever you give it to mark against.
Does aligning to a standard mean JeddAI decides the final grade?
No. JeddAI can suggest a grade against your criteria, but the judgement is yours. You review each comment and confirm or change the grade before anything is recorded or returned.
What if the achievement standard is being revised?
Update the criteria in your rubric to match the current version. Because JeddAI marks against the criteria you enter rather than a fixed template, keeping your rubric current keeps its feedback aligned.
How does this work for Te Marautanga o Aotearoa or bilingual contexts?
You enter the criteria and success statements in the language and framing you assess in. JeddAI drafts feedback from the criteria you provide, so the alignment follows the pathway your students are actually assessed under.
Is criterion-aligned feedback useful before the summative task?
Yes. Applying the standard's criteria to drafts helps students see the gap between their current work and the grade they are aiming for, which is where feedback most changes results.
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