Victoria’s final exams blunder saga explained
WHAT HAPPENED WITH THIS YEAR’S VCE FINAL EXAMS?
* Almost half of all year 12 exams in Victoria were impacted by a blunder that allowed students to view questions before sitting the test
* The error involved students being able to spot hidden questions in sample exam papers uploaded each year to familiarise students with test details
* Fifty-six of the state’s 116 VCE exams were affected
WHAT ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN?
* Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) chief executive Kylie White resigned on Saturday, one day after the government ordered a sweeping review into the body
* This came after Ms White’s insistence last week that the issue did not compromise any final exams
* Education Minister Ben Carroll said he is “incredibly upset and angry” and earlier downplays about what took place were “proven to be completely unsatisfactory”
* Opposition spokeswoman Jess Wilson said Mr Carroll was “complicit in the cover up” after it was revealed he knew of the issue on October 14
* The Victorian Opposition will introduce a motion in parliament next week to refer the issue to the state’s Ombudsman
HOW WILL THIS IMPACT STUDENTS’ RESULTS?
* Mr Carroll has said measures were in place to ensure no student would be unfairly disadvantaged
* The assessment authority will use an existing grade check process, overseen by an independent advisory panel of experts chaired by Professor John Firth, for exams impacted by the errors
* Answers will be reviewed to identify anomalies in how students responded to affected questions and marks adjusted if they provided anyone with an unfair advantage
* This will mean some questions could be ruled invalid, resulting in all students who sat the exam being awarded a full mark
* Authorities said they are working towards releasing results as expected in mid-December
HAVE SIMILAR BLUNDERS HAPPENED BEFORE?
* Multiple errors appeared in general maths and chemistry exams in 2023 and six students received the incorrect Chinese language exam
* Five questions from the 2022 maths exams also contained errors
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