Side by side
| Question | Comment bank | Comment generator | AI writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you do | Search a list, copy a sentence, change the name and pronouns by hand | Pick a level per skill or strand; sentences are assembled for you | Type a prompt about the student; new text is written for you |
| Wording | Fixed, written ahead of time | Fixed, written ahead of time, varied across the class | New each time, unpredictable |
| Pronouns and names | By hand, the most common source of errors | Filled in, with verbs that agree | Usually right, needs checking |
| Repeats across a class | Common, because everyone copies the best sentence | Avoided while an unused variant is left | Rare, but phrasing drifts toward the same habits |
| Matches the level | If you pick the right list | Each level has its own sentences | Only if the prompt says so, and it can overstate |
| Where student names go | Nowhere, if the bank is a document | Nowhere, if it runs in the browser | To the AI provider's servers |
| Checking needed | Light | Light: read for accuracy and add a detail | Heavy: read every claim, the text may invent specifics |
What Ontario policy says about standard comments
Growing Success (2010), the ministry's assessment and reporting policy for Grades 1 to 12, asks for comments that describe what the student has learned, name significant strengths and next steps, and use language parents understand rather than repeating curriculum wording. It also says teachers must have the opportunity to write personalized comments as an alternative to a prepared set of standard comments, and that boards should not prevent it. None of the three tools is forbidden. The policy is a reminder that whatever produces the draft, the finished comment has to be about this child.
The privacy question
A bank in a document and a generator that runs in your browser never send a student's name anywhere. An AI writer does, unless it runs on your own device. Ontario school boards handle student personal information under provincial privacy law and their own policies, and many publish a list of approved online tools. If you are unsure, ask before you paste a name, or leave names out of the prompt and add them afterwards.
Worked example: 25 learning skills comments
With a bank, you look up six skills for each student, copy a sentence or two, and fix names, pronouns and verbs by hand: that is 25 rounds of search, paste and edit, and the good sentences end up on half the class. With a generator, you set the whole class to G in one click, change the few students who differ, and read 25 drafts that already use the right names, agree with the letters and do not repeat. With AI, you write one prompt per student or one long prompt for the class, then read every line for invented details, for a tone that does not match the letter, and for the same phrases coming back. In each case the last step is the same: add the one detail only you know.
Common mistakes whichever tool you use
- Pasting a draft without reading it against what you saw the student do.
- Letting the tool's wording outrun the letter or level you assigned.
- Leaving a wrong pronoun or a previous student's name in a copied sentence.
- Giving the same strong sentence to most of the class.
- Pasting student names into a service your board has not approved.
Where Comment Desk fits
Comment Desk is a generator built on an original bank of 852 sentences for Ontario learning skills, Kindergarten and Grades 4 to 6 Language and Mathematics. It runs entirely in your browser, uses no AI service, and keeps each comment under the character limit you set. It is not a substitute for knowing the student; it saves the mechanical part so the time goes to the detail. Read how to write a comment that says something, or open the write page and try it with your class.
Last reviewed 26 September 2026. Comment Desk is not affiliated with any school board or ministry.