Articles on: Tests

How does AI page scanning work, and how is my students' information protected?

AI page scanning reads the handwriting on your students' printed test sheets so you can check the answers and save them, instead of typing each one in. This article explains what the AI does, what it sees, where it can go wrong, and how your students' information is protected.

What the AI does

When you scan a sheet, ALTR sends an image of the page to Google Cloud Vertex AI, which uses a Gemini model to read each handwritten answer. ALTR then compares what was read with the expected word using the same rules as manual marking, and shows you the result. The AI only reads handwriting. It does not mark, grade, recommend or make any decision about a student, and students never use or see it.

What the AI sees

Only the student's handwritten answers. Before a page leaves ALTR, the printed "Student Name" row is covered with a solid block, so the AI never sees the student's name. ALTR knows whose sheet it is from the QR code printed on it, not from the name. No other student details, such as results history, support notes or teacher comments, are ever sent.

Because of this, ALTR only sends pages it can match safely:

The sheet must be printed from ALTR ("Print Tests") and carry the student's QR code.
The QR code must belong to a student in the class you are scanning.
ALTR must be able to find the name row to cover it, so keep the whole sheet flat and in frame.

A page that does not meet these is not sent to the AI. ALTR shows you why, and you can rescan the student's own printed sheet or enter their results by hand.

How accurate it is, and where it can go wrong

In our testing on real Year 1 sheets, the AI read more than 99 in every 100 words correctly. AI can still misread handwriting, and it may be less accurate for some handwriting styles, very faint pencil, crossed-out answers or messy pages. It can also be wrong while appearing confident. That is why:

nothing is saved until you submit the results;
words the AI was unsure about are highlighted for you in "Requires review", so you can check them before you submit, or accept the AI's reading with "Accept results & submit";
the student's handwriting is shown next to every word, and you can change any verdict, not just the highlighted ones.

Reviewing is recommended, and your checked answers are the record. If you notice the AI doing worse for particular students or handwriting styles, please tell us using "Report a problem" (below) so we can look into it.

Using it well and safely

Print fresh sheets from ALTR for each testing window, one student per sheet.
Scan only your own class's sheets in a session.
Reviewing is recommended: check the highlighted words, and glance over the rest, before you submit.
If a result looks wrong for a student, open them with "Review" and check the handwriting.
Scanning is optional. Manual marking works exactly as before.

Privacy and consent

No training: Google does not use the images or results to train or improve its AI models, and ALTR does not use student information to train AI either.
Where it is processed: ALTR uses Google's global Vertex AI endpoint, so AI processing may happen outside Australia. We give schools at least 30 days' notice before changing the AI provider or the processing location.
What is kept: the scanned page and the small images of each answer are kept privately with the student's test record so you can look back at them, and are deleted when the student or the school is deleted. Pages you discard during review are deleted straight away.
Turning it off: principals and deputy principals can switch AI scanning off for the whole school under Settings. When it is off, nothing is sent to the AI.
Parents and carers: if a parent or carer does not want their child's sheets scanned, enter that student's results by hand. Their sheets are then never sent.

Laws and our commitments

ALTR handles student information under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, and is assessed under the Safer Technologies 4 Schools (ST4S) framework used by Australian education departments. The full details are in the AI page scanning section of our Privacy Policy, and every change to the AI model, provider or processing location is listed on our AI changelog.

Reporting a problem

In ALTR: on the scan summary or a student's review screen, click "Report a problem" and add a short note. It is sent to our team with the details we need to investigate.
Live Chat: on the ALTR website, any time.
Privacy concerns: email privacy@altr.com.au.

Updated on: 30/10/2026

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