The West Virginia Department of Education's auto grading initiative dates back to 2004--a time when school districts were making their first forays into automation. The Charleston based WVDE had instituted a statewide writing assessment in 1984 for students in fourth, seventh, and 10th grades and was looking to expand that program without having to pay more teachers to hand-score the tests over the summer. Seeking a more affordable solution over the years, the WVDE explored the concept of auto grading, which meant programming computers to scan and grade student essays. With automation gaining ground in the K-12 classroom, it was only a matter of time before the tedious, time-consuming task of grading English papers was turned over to robo graders that are fast, cheap, and tireless. As WVDE discovered, however, the notion that a computer can effectively judge student writing is one that is regularly contested by English teachers and others. While the technology promises to save time, tedium, and money, this article explores the question: Can English papers truly be assessed without the human touch of a teacher?