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Frequently Asked Questions
The quick answers to the questions schools ask us most, from getting set up through to exporting your feedback. Where there's a full guide on a topic, we've linked to it.
Getting started
How do we get access to Top Marks AI?
We work with schools through a pilot first, so you can see how the platform handles your own scripts before committing to anything longer term. Rather than setting an account up yourself, book a demo through our website. One of our School Partnership Managers will arrange a call to talk through what a pilot would look like for your department, and we'll set your account up from there.
Our registration or activation link has expired.
These links are time-limited, so this happens fairly often and is a quick fix. Ask us on live chat and we'll send a fresh invite.
How long does it take to get up and running?
Most schools are marking within a week or two. The main variable is connecting your student data. A Wonde integration to your school’s MIS usually completes within a couple of hours of your data manager approving it, though Wonde's own checks on a new request can take up to a working day.
What is Wonde?
Wonde is a data integration service that connects your MIS to the software your school uses, and most schools already have it in place. It's how your classes, year groups and student names reach Top Marks without anyone typing them in. Your data manager approves the request and decides which year groups we can see, so nothing comes through until they've said yes.
Full guide: Connecting Your Student Data via Wonde
Which subjects, exam boards and qualifications are covered?
Coverage is expanding continually, so the Qualifications page on our website is the definitive list. Our tools are built against each exam board's current specification, broadly 2025 onwards, so if you're using an older or since-changed paper format, some question parts or mark totals may not line up. Tell us what you'd like to see and we'll pass it to our Tool Development team.
Can we use our own mark scheme or our own questions?
Our tools mark against the exam board mark schemes and rubrics already built into the platform, so we can't take a custom mark scheme. You can absolutely use your own questions, though. They don't need to come from a past paper, as long as they still map onto the marking criteria of a supported scheme.
Accounts, users and permissions
How can I reset my password?
If you've forgotten your password, click the "Forgotten password?" link on the login page and enter your email address, and we'll send you a link to set a new one.
How do I add a colleague to our account?
Go to My Profile → My Organisation → +Add User. They'll be sent an invite, and they become verified automatically the first time they log in.
A colleague shows as "unverified" and I can't share work with them.
Verification happens on first login, so nine times out of ten they simply haven't logged in yet. If they have logged in and it's still showing unverified, tell us on live chat and we can verify the account manually. Ask them to log out and back in afterwards so the change takes effect.
Our colleagues aren't receiving their invite emails.
Ask them to check spam and junk first, then ask your IT team whether our emails are being caught by a firewall or filter. We're happy to send a test email once anything has been whitelisted, and to resend any invites that went missing.
How do I make someone an admin?
In My Profile → My Organisation, use the small arrow next to that person's name and choose Promote to Admin. Only an existing admin can do this. If the option isn't showing, which occasionally happens for very recently added users, send us their email address and we'll action it.
Full guide: Users, Roles and Sharing Work
Student data
How do we connect our student data?
Most schools use Wonde, which pulls classes and student details straight from your MIS. You start the integration from the Top Marks site and nominate a contact at your school or trust, usually your data manager or IT lead, and Wonde then contacts that person directly to confirm the request is legitimate. Schools that don't use Wonde can upload a CSV instead.
Full guide: Connecting Your Student Data via Wonde
Only some of our year groups have come through.
This almost always traces back to which year groups were authorised when the integration was first approved. If only one group was ticked, only those students will appear. You'll need to re-run or extend the Wonde authorisation to bring the rest in. Take a look at the above linked guide for help on this.
We've made changes in our MIS but Top Marks hasn't picked them up.
We don't sync on a schedule, so new classes and student moves won't appear until you trigger a fresh pull. Go to My Students > click the three dots next to Create Student > Import from Wonde and hit re-sync. Re-syncing refreshes your class and student lists only. It won't touch any marking or feedback you've already generated.
A new student still isn't showing after a re-sync.
Let us know. We can usually add them manually so you're not held up, and look into why the sync isn't picking them up.
Our CSV upload is throwing a formatting error.
Check you're on the current template and that every required column is present, as headers and column order both matter. Formatting problems here are often invisible at a glance (a stray space, a hidden character, the wrong delimiter), so if it still won't take, send us the file and we'll spot the difference.
QR codes and preparing scripts
How do QR codes work?
Each student has a unique QR code page that identifies their work when you scan it in. You place it on top of their response, scan the whole pile as one PDF, and the system works out whose work is whose. For standalone tools they're reusable across every subject all year; for assignment packs they're printed onto the question pages themselves and are only used once.
Full guide: How do Student QR Codes Work
Do QR codes need to change when a student moves up a year?
No. A QR code is tied to the student, so codes printed in Year 10 still work in Year 11.
Can we upload typed answers?
Yes. The system treats typed work as very neat handwriting. The only requirement is that the page still carries a QR code, so print that student's QR code page and put it in front of their typed response. You don't need a separate upload, so mix it in with the handwritten work.
We removed the staples and the corners are slightly torn.
That's fine, and it's what most schools end up doing. As long as it isn't obscuring the student's name, it won't cause a problem.
Our papers were sat before we onboarded and have no QR codes at all.
Use the Exam Decoder option when you create an assignment pack. It doesn't use QR codes, and instead splits the uploaded papers by student and question automatically.
Full guide: Preparing and Scanning Your Scripts
Uploading and transcription
Can we upload a whole cohort at once?
Yes! Assignment packs take ten PDFs per batch. There's no need to duplicate the pack. Once the first ten have finished transcribing, upload the next ten, and so on. Standalone tools take one PDF at a time, so merge multiple scans of the same question into a single file first.
Do I need to keep the tab open while it's working?
No. Everything runs in the cloud, so you can close the page, or shut your laptop entirely, as soon as an upload has started.
How long should transcription and marking take?
As a rough guide, a few minutes per script under normal conditions. It scales with script length and how busy the system is, and mock season is genuinely busier. If something is taking dramatically longer than that with no visible progress, tell us rather than waiting it out.
What does "Partially Transcribed" mean?
Some of the scripts you expected are missing, most often because a student was absent. It won't stop anyone else being marked. If they sit the paper later, use Reset on the pack's three-dot menu and upload their work then.
I'm seeing an error message I don't understand.
Every status and error message is explained here: Upload and Marking Statuses: What They Mean and What to Do
Can I fix a transcription error before it's marked?
Yes. There's a review step before marking begins where you can edit transcripts directly. Full guide: Reviewing and Editing Transcriptions
Can I stop a run once it's started?
No. Once transcription or marking has been initiated it runs to completion, so it's worth being sure of your selection before you press go.
Marking and accuracy
What's the difference between standalone tools and assignment packs?
Standalone tools mark one question at a time. Think of them as individual building blocks. Assignment packs group several questions together, like a full mock paper, and let you set the whole thing up in advance for a class or year group.
Full guides: How Standalone Tools Work and How Assignment Packs Work
Can I change how harshly a tool marks?
Yes, in two ways. Weighting is the broad leniency control, set before you upload. Moderation is the granular alternative, applied after marking: you describe the adjustment in plain English and it remarks the scripts and regenerates the feedback to match. Use one or the other, not both.
For more information on moderation and weighting, see this guide.
Can I adjust marks after they've been generated?
Yes, through Moderation. You can make systematic changes across a whole set of scripts, including targeting specific assessment objectives at particular bands. Both the original and the moderated mark are kept and shown together, so there's a full audit trail.
An essay has been flagged as "too short to mark".
That's an automatic threshold and there's no manual override at present. It won't hold up the rest of the batch, and all your other feedback will appear as normal. If the length looks reasonable to you, send us the case.
The system says a student didn't answer the question, but they clearly did.
Every tool checks that a student has responded to the question that was set, and occasionally that check is over-cautious. Send us the case and we can usually re-run it so the student still gets written feedback, at no extra credit.
The marks don't look right.
Please tell us, with the tool, exam board and paper, and example essays if you can share them. Marking quality is something our product team wants to see directly, particularly if you're using the tool for mock exams or real assessment decisions.
Feedback
Where do I find completed marking?
All feedback, whether produced from a Standalone Tool or Assignment Pack, will land in your My Feedback area. My Ongoing Marking only shows work that's still in progress, and assignment packs don't appear there at all. You'll find those in the Assignment Packs area itself.
How do I download a whole class's results as a spreadsheet?
Group the feedback into a folder, then use Download All and choose CSV. Filtering beforehand helps you isolate exactly the set you want.
Can I edit feedback before students see it?
Yes. Both the AO Feedback and the Student Feedback sections have an Edit button. Edited reports are flagged, and CSV exports can include an edited-indicator column.
Can I share feedback with a colleague?
Yes. Choose Share from a folder's three-dot menu, and the folder appears in their account without anything needing to be downloaded or emailed.
Full guide: Student Feedback: Generating, Editing, Sharing and Downloading
Credits and billing
What is a credit?
One credit marks one student's response to one question. So a class of thirty answering a four-question paper uses 120 credits.
Do I use credits?
If your school is taking part in a pilot with Top Marks, you will use credits. If you are already an annual subscriber of Top Marks, you will have unlimited credits, and don’t need to worry about running out.
What doesn't use a credit?
Moderation is free, however many times you run it, as only the original marking charges. Transcription on its own, editing, downloading and generating QR codes are all free too. Class feedback costs one credit for every five scripts included, and shows you the total before you generate.
What happens when our credits run out or our subscription ends?
You keep access to the platform and to everything you've already marked. What stops is the ability to run new marking. Nothing is deleted.
Data protection and responsible AI
Is student work used to train your AI models?
No. Student work and student data are not used to train the models.
How is student data protected during marking?
Before any student work is sent to be marked, personal information is stripped out. The work travels anonymously, identified only by a QR code rather than a name, and the feedback is matched back to the right student in your account afterwards.
Our DPO or governors need compliance documentation.
Ask us and we'll send our standard GDPR and compliance pack. It covers our role as a data processor and the AI sub-processors involved in marking. If your data team has questions beyond what's in the pack, we'll get them to the right person.
You can also find online versions of our GDPR and compliance documents here.
Getting help
The fastest way to reach us is the live chat button in the bottom-right corner of the website. It connects you to a real member of the Top Marks team, not an automated bot. We're available Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm, and messages sent outside those hours are answered the next working day.
If you'd rather talk something through, ask on live chat and we'll set up a call.
If you're reporting a problem, these details get us to an answer fastest:
- the tool, exam board and paper you were using
- whether it was a standalone tool or an assignment pack
- how many scripts are affected, whether that's one, some, or the whole batch
- the exact wording of any error message
- whether you're working to a deadline, and when
We'd always rather hear about something early than find out after a deadline has passed.
Still unsure? The support chat in the bottom-right corner of the website connects you directly to a real person on the Top Marks team – not an AI bot, ironically! Don't hesitate to reach out at any point.