Automated grading systems for programming assignments: A literature review

Abstract

Automated grading for programming assignments is becoming more and more important nowadays especially with the emergence of the Massive Open Online Courses. Many techniques and systems are being used nowadays for automated grading in educational institutions. This article provides a literature review of the many automated grading systems and techniques that are being used currently. It focuses on highlighting the differences between these systems and techniques and addressing issues, advantages and disadvantages. The review shows that these systems have limitations due to difficulty in usage by students as noticed by some course instructors. Some of these problems stem from UI/UX difficulties while other problems were due to beginner syntax errors and language barriers. Finally, it shows the need to fill the gap by building new systems that are friendlier towards beginner programmers, has better localization and easier user experience.