Three errors have been officially identified in the VCE maths exams, as calls grow for the education department to urgently improve oversight during the design of papers to prevent future mistakes.
The third error, picked up in Victoria’s second specialist maths exam which was held on Monday, related to a mislabelling of a diagram in the final question of the exam.
The mistake in section B, question 6, part h switched the labels H0 and H1 on a graph, leading to confusion among students and outrage among mathematicians.
A spokesperson for the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) said it had determined the error on the 80-mark exam meant the question was no longer valid and all students who attempted the question would be awarded a correct score.
They said the body accepted “full responsibility” for the 2023 errors which did not meet the “high standards” the community rightly expected.
“This was the most effective and appropriate way to ensure no student will be disadvantaged and that the assessment process is fair, valid and reliable,” they said.
“The VCAA apologises for undue stress this has caused schools and students.”
The body confirmed to Guardian Australia that its board chair would work with the department of education to conduct a comprehensive review of the vetting and proofing process for exams in light of the errors.
They said a range of experts would be consulted to implement future improvements, and any recommended changes would be made prior to next year’s exams.
It followed an apology by Victoria’s education minister, Ben Carroll, over two “unacceptable” errors that appeared on the second paper of the general maths exam, including a typo and misplaced number.
Carroll said at the time he had spoken to the chief executive of the VCAA, Stephen Gniel, and an investigation would be conducted into how the mistakes occurred.
Mathematician at Monash University Burkard Polster told Guardian Australia students would have been “very confused” by the errors.
“The mistakes they’ve admitted to have been cringe-worthy … anybody who sits down and does this properly should pick these up,” he said.
Polster and his colleague claimed they have identified errors on almost every VCE maths exam in the past three years, including five “major” errors in 2022.
Polster alleged that he picked up a mistake on a multiple choice question which had no correct answer in 2021. The same structure and mistake was reused in 2022.
He said it had gotten to a point where VCE teachers were advising their students to be prepared for errors in the exams. VCAA has been contacted for comment on the alleged past mistakes.
Students shared their frustration in online forums, with one saying “several people” in their class lost time trying to understand the error.
“Cannot believe there was an error after all this attention,” another student wrote. “I lost 15 minutes doing and then redoing the final question … convinced there was no way they hadn’t caught an error after all this.”
“It is shocking, two of my good students noticed,” a teacher added.
Polster and his colleague, mathematician Marty Ross, have been lobbying the VCAA since 2022 to improve the quality of maths exams after raising concerns about the presence of “serious errors” in past papers.
Their complaints contributed to an external review conducted by Deloitte.
The report, provided to the mathematicians last month, found there were “no major mathematical errors” in the 2022 exam, however it identified “some room for improvement in the language and grammar used and level of marks provided per question”.
Polster said it was a “remarkable statement” given dozens of mathematicians had signed an open letter alleging the mistakes were made.
“Mathematics is black and white, it’s really astonishing they didn’t acknowledge gaping mistakes,” he said.
“Year after year we see them. Did any of those students get extra points?”
VCAA echoed the findings of the Deloitte review that questions on the 2022 paper didn’t have serious errors but confirmed lead authors of the open letter would be engaged with in its upcoming review.
