www.prosperityenglish.com

Prosperity English for Schools demonstrates how AI can be used positively and responsibly in publishing: enhancing learning, improving efficiency and preserving trust. By combining publishing expertise with bespoke AI development, we have created a platform that respects the integrity of assessment while expanding what educational publishing can achieve.

For learners and educators, the platform provides:

• Instant, exam-aligned feedback that would otherwise be inaccessible or unaffordable.

• Greater confidence through transparent grading linked directly to official criteria.

• Improved learning outcomes driven by consistent, high-frequency practice.

• CEFR-aligned placement and diagnostic tools, allowing accurate level assessment and targeted insights to guide learning and teaching.

Prosperity Education Ltd. is an established print publisher specialising in English language learning and exam preparation. With Prosperity English for Schools, we have extended our mission into digital learning by developing an AI-powered exam practice platform that provides accurate, pedagogically sound feedback aligned to Cambridge English exam marking criteria.

Developed in partnership with AI assessment specialists Gradingly Ltd., Prosperity English for Schools represents a strategic, carefully governed use of Artificial Intelligence to enhance quality, accessibility and efficiency in exam-preparation publishing.

Strategy

Our strategic objective was to solve a long-standing problem in English language publishing: how to give learners immediate, high-quality and exam-aligned feedback at scale without compromising academic rigour or trust. Traditional print resources provide practice but limited personalised feedback, while human marking is costly, slow and difficult to scale equitably.

From the outset, we took a ‘human-first’ AI approach. AI was positioned not as a replacement for teachers or examiners, but as a tool to replicate the structure, consistency and transparency of official Cambridge English marking criteria. This ensured alignment with our core publishing values: accuracy, fairness and learner progression.

Stakeholder involvement was central to planning. We worked closely with:

• Assessment experts and authors, to ensure the AI grading reflected real examiner decision-making.

• Teachers and preparation centres, to validate feedback usefulness and tone.

• Gradingly Ltd., whose technical expertise allowed us to build bespoke models rather than rely on generic large language models.

Risk mitigation was a key strategic consideration during development. Identified risks included bias, over-automation, and loss of trust. We addressed these by:

• Training AI models exclusively against defined exam rubrics and exemplar responses.

• Avoiding opaque ‘black box’ scoring in favour of explainable, criteria-based feedback.

• Ensuring the platform supports teacher oversight rather than bypassing it.

• Ring-fencing learner data and embedding GDPR-compliant data governance from day one.

This careful planning allowed us to adopt AI confidently, ethically and in a way that strengthened – not diluted – our publishing reputation.

Delivery

Prosperity English for Schools was delivered through an iterative, collaborative development process between Prosperity Education and Gradingly.

Our role as a publisher was central. We supplied:

• Curated exam-style content grounded in our existing print expertise.

• Detailed interpretation of Cambridge English marking schemes.

• Editorial guidance on feedback tone, clarity and learner appropriateness.

Gradingly developed bespoke AI grading engines that assess learner writing against multiple criteria, such as content, organisation, language control and task fulfilment. Rather than issuing a single score, the system generates structured, actionable feedback that mirrors examiner commentary.

Pilot phases were conducted with real users, allowing us to refine:

• Accuracy of grade boundaries.

• Clarity and usefulness of feedback.

• Alignment between print materials and digital practice.

Prosperity English for Schools complements our print catalogue, extending the life and reach of our content while maintaining editorial oversight and quality assurance. Since its launch in 2025, the platform has attracted several thousand active users, demonstrating strong demand for a trusted, responsible application of AI that enhances both the quality and accessibility of high-stakes exam preparation.