By TOM HAYES

 

THE Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority (VCAA) has revealed a list of 56 subjects that may have been compromised during the recent VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) exams.

It was announced by the VCAA that 56 of the 116 examinations papers were impacted by the early publication of the material.

The VCAA confirmed that no examinations were published in full, but did state what was leaked included the partial release of prompts with no questions to the publication of some full questions.

Some Vocational Education and Training (VET) exams were also affected by the error.

Once the VCAA became aware of the issue, the sample covers were removed from the website and questions were adjusted or rewritten.

It won’t be known until marking is completed if any students did get an actual advantage, however the VCAA has acknowledged that there is a possibility that some students might have gained an unfair advantage.

According to the VCAA, an expert advisory panel consisting of former VCAA Chief Executive, Professor John Firth, Methodology and Measurement with the Australian Council for Educational Research, Research Director, Nathan Zoanetti, and former chair of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, Professor Barry McGaw AO, will use a range of analyses, including the anomalous grade check process to help determine whether the exams were compromised.

Their process will include reviewing student marks in the affected subjects and identifying any anomalies in responses, including performance on affected questions in comparison to the entire exam, and analysing if any discrepancies are identified, which may be done by comparing students’ results, or comparing exam results to assessment results.

Former chief executive, Kylie White resigned from the VCAA after news of the leak came to light.

VCAA Interim Chief Executive, Marcia Devlin last week updated the public on what steps were being taken to rectify the issue.

“At the outset, I wish to again apologise on behalf of the VCAA for this concern that’s caused for students, teachers, and families. I can assure you our staff is working hard to address the errors that were made, ensure every student is assessed fairly, and have the results delivered on time,” she said.

“I can confirm that there is no risk that any other exam was affected in any way. These 56 were the only exams that were affected by the inadvertent publication of early material.

“The expert advisory panel is now working methodically through these 56 exams to assess whether what was published was actually of any material benefit to students who may have accessed it, and if it was, whether the changes made to the questions once the publishing error was discovered were substantial enough.”

Last month, the state government pledged to work alongside the VCAA to ensure that every student was assessed fairly. During that announcement, Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, Ben Carroll mentioned that he believes the right processes are in place.

“I am extremely disappointed by what has occurred. I have instructed the VCAA to take all necessary action to ensure that all students are treated fairly, and no student is disadvantaged in the marking of this year’s exams,” he said on November 18.

“I am satisfied that, supported by additional independent experts, the right processes are in place to ensure that every single student has the best chance to achieve their best.”

The VCAA is working towards having all marking completed by Thursday, December 12. A minimum of two assessors separately mark each paper, while some papers may require a third or fourth review.

If a student believes their score has been affected by the leak and is unhappy with their result, a VCE Examination Score Review Application can be made on behalf of a student by a principal and supported subject teacher. They must identify that a clear error has occurred in the assessment of a question on an examination.

There will be no fee to inspect examination response materials this year.

No students will be required to re-sit any examination. With the leak not considered cheating as the published material was discovered on sample examinations, there is no breach of rules.

The state government has commissioned a ‘root and branch’ review of the VCAA, to examine the structure and operations of the VCAA.

“The root and branch review of the VCAA that will commence in January 2025 should ensure the cause of these errors is clearly identified so they are not repeated,” Minister Carroll added.

Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria Melina Bath, who until last week was Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education before being elevated to the Shadow Ministry, has condemned the state government for shutting down a major inquiry into the exam debacle.

The Victorian Nationals and Liberals called for a full enquiry by the Ombudsman.

“The comprising of student VCE exams is not a once-off occurrence, for the past three years there’s been major errors in the system,” Ms Bath said.

“It’s been more than six weeks since the VCAA knew about the issues with the exam papers, yet Labor’s kicked the tin down the road.

“As a former maths teacher, I know the hard work VCE students work towards their final exams, they and their families deserve better. Our teachers and schools deserve better.”

An investigation by the Ombudsman would allow the public to view the findings and analysis of the review, while the independent review being undertaken is likely to be an internal process.

“Students, teachers and families deserve to know how these comprised exams will be graded, which questions have been affected and how their final marks will be impacted,” Ms Bath said.

“The Allan government has a history of secrecy, unfortunately for our Year 12 students and their families, Labor has once again shown it does not value transparency.”

 

EXAMS AFFECTED BY VCAA ERROR
• Aboriginal Languages of Victoria
• Accounting
• Ancient History
• Applied Computing Data Analytics
• Applied Computing Software Development
• Art Creative Practice
• Art Making and Exhibiting
• Australian Politics
• Biology
• Business Management
• Chinese First Language
• Chinese Second Language
• Classical Studies
• Dance
• Drama
• Economics
• English
• English as an Additional Language
• Environmental Studies
• Food Studies
• Foundation Mathematics
• Geography
• Global Politics
• Health and Human Development
• History Revolutions
• Industry and Enterprise
• Legal Studies
• Mathematics Methods 1
• Mathematics Methods 2
• Media
• Music Composition
• Music Contemporary Performance
• Music Inquiry
• Music Repertoire
• Outdoor and Environmental Studies
• Physical Education
• Product Design and Technology
• Psychology
• Religion and Society
• Specialist Mathematics 1
• Specialist Mathematics 2
• Systems Engineering
• Texts and Traditions
• Theatre Studies
• VCE VET Business
• VCE VET Community Services
• VCE VET Engineering
• VCE VET Equine Studies
• VCE VET Furnishing
• VCE VET Health
• VCE VET Hospitality
• VCE VET Hospitality Cookery
• VCE VET Information and Communications Technology
• VCE VET Integrated Technologies
• VCE VET Music Sound Production
• VCE VET Sports and Recreation