Computers will mark the written component of the NAPLAN exams from 2017 under plans from the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, infuriating teachers who have vowed to fight the move.

The authority's general manager, Stanley Rabinowitz, said he was "very confident" that enough progress had been made to guarantee the auto-scoring method would work by 2017.

Students could take the 2017 Naplan on any number of devices, including laptops and tablets. Credit:James Brickwood

People will have to train the computers by marking a thousand essays before giving the results over to the auto-scoring machines.