By Robyn Grace
Thousands of VCE students will receive a bonus point following the discovery of an error in the second general mathematics test paper.
But one tutor says it’s impossible to quantify the full effect of the mistake because no one could know how much time students wasted trying to answer the erroneous question.
Thousands of VCE students will get a point for an erroneous question on a maths exam.Credit: Wolter Peeters
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) said Monday’s exam contained two typographical errors.
One was discovered before the exam was taken and students were instructed to make the necessary amendment. The other, which included a superfluous number in a column in question 9d, was discovered after the exam.
“The VCAA has determined that the error means that the question is no longer valid and has made the decision to award all students who attempted the exam a correct score for this question,” the authority said.
“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.
From the 2023 VCE general maths exam.
“The VCAA apologises for undue stress this has caused schools and students.”
Education Minister Ben Carroll apologised for the mistake on Tuesday.
“To have this on top of what is already a stressful time for those students and their families is unacceptable,” he said.
Schools that conducted the test have been advised via email of the decision.
In the email, VCAA chief executive Stephen Gniel apologised for the undue stress caused by the errors.
“We are disappointed that these errors occurred and are committed to reviewing our processes and strengthening our vetting and proofreading of examination papers prior to the 2024 VCE examinations,” he said.
The email said the question was worth one mark out of a possible 60 for the exam.
“This decision [to give all students the mark] has been made on the principle that this is the most effective and appropriate way to ensure no student will be disadvantaged and that the assessment process is fair, valid and reliable.”
Andrew Weremijenko, principal of the Worm’s Maths Academy tuition centre, said it was impossible to quantify the consequence of the errors for students because no one knew how much time they had wasted trying to find a solution to a question that couldn’t be solved.
“It has a massive effect on kids,” he said. Weremijenko, who tutors more than 200 students in maths each year, said errors in VCE maths exams had become common in the past five years.
“It’s very frustrating as a teacher because it’s affecting my students,” he said. “They’ve worked so hard and to have it thrown away in a one-hour exam ... it’s extremely frustrating.”
Weremijenko said that VCAA needed to vet exams more thoroughly. He said confusing wording created high levels of anxiety for students, and one unsolvable question could trigger more mistakes.
“A couple of marks here and there can change your ATAR quite a bit,” he said. “It can be huge impact.”
It’s not the first time the VCAA has faced claims of errors in VCE exams. Teachers and students told The Age last year they had identified potential errors in the VCE specialist maths exam.
The complaints related to a number of items, including a multiple choice question that experts and students said potentially had three correct answers, but in which they were required to find just one.
In a critique published on their Bad Mathematics blog, Monash academics professor Burkard Polster and Dr Marty Ross said the production, grading and reporting of 2022 VCE maths exams was “grossly deficient”.
“The clear majority of exam questions are poorly written ... many such questions are so poorly written as to be close to incomprehensible, and more than a few consequently stray into clear error.”
A VCAA spokesperson said the authority investigated all concerns about examinations and consulted subject-matter experts to ensure students were not disadvantaged in the examination process.
“The questions identified as erroneous in the 2022 specialist maths exam were reviewed by maths specialists from two other jurisdictions and, while there were comments that the language could have been improved for clarity, the review found that the questions did not have serious errors that impacted students,” the spokesperson said.
Opposition education spokeswoman Jess Wilson said the VCAA needed to put more stringent checks and review processes in place to ensure future mistakes did not occur.
“VCE exams are stressful enough without the VCAA adding further pressure,” she said.
Students sat the first maths methods exam on Wednesday. The most difficult specialist maths exams will be held on Friday and Monday.
Students who have been affected can contact their school or the VCAA on 9032 1629.
Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.