Beyond Score Prediction: LLM-Based Essay Scoring and Feedback Generation via Reinforcement Learning with Rubric Rewards
Large language models (LLMs) have been widely applied to automated essay scoring (AES) and automated feedback generation (AFG). However, existing studies rely primarily on prompt engineering or supervised fine-tuning, while systematic research on reinforcement learning (RL) post-training and automated evaluation of feedback quality remains limited. We propose RLAES, a unified LLM framework that jointly optimizes essay scoring and feedback generation through RL. To make feedback quality measurable, interpretable, and usable for training, we introduce Rubric-based Feedback Evaluation (RFE), an e
