The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) has done it again and managed to botch the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) exams for the third year in a row.
Education Minister Ben Carroll, who has probably had enough, ordered a full review of the VCAA. “Students deserve better,” Carroll said.
“It is clear to me that some students have been let down as a result of these errors, and that is completely unacceptable.”
So what’s the deal this time? Well, it turns out the VCAA accidentally published test questions online. After realising their blunder and taking down the questions, they were told by Carrol not to use similar questions in the actual exams. However, it seem like they did not listen, ultimately leading to advantages for a number of students.
This isn’t the VCAA’s first rodeo when it comes to exam mishaps. In 2022, we saw mislabelled graphs in the Specialist Mathematics paper. Last year, the General Achievement Test (GAT) featured a spelling error that affected 50,000 students, while the Chemistry exam decided to spice things up with a formula mix-up. Diva’s definitely needed to get it together and so a review was called, but it clearly didn’t help much.
“The Labor government accepted all recommendations of the 2024 independent review chaired by Dr John Bennett, however, it is clear that there are ongoing issues relating to the production and distribution of exams,” Carroll’s office said.
The VCAA insists that no exams were compromised this year, but Carroll’s not taking any chances this time. He’s calling in the big guns — a team of external reviewers to give the VCAA a thorough once-over. The government will also have an independent monitor for the 2025 exams.
Carroll’s office said a person that has “appropriate standing and expertise” will be appointed to head up the review early next year.
In the meantime, Carroll’s trying to reassure students that they won’t be penalised for this monumental stuff-up.
“There will not be any penalties, [students] will not be inadvertently affected in their marks or examinations. They should put their best foot forward,” he said.
Lead image: Ben Carroll/ Canva
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