Trouble-plagued VCAA fumbles General Achievement Test cover sheets in latest bungle

The Class of 2025 has already fallen victim to an incompetent VCAA, as the exam authority was forced to correct two more cover sheet errors relating to this year’s General Achievement Test.

The trouble-plagued Victorian exam authority has been forced to correct two more cover sheet errors, this time relating to the 2025 General Achievement Test.

Information booklets about the test, which will be sat by about 90,000 students, were sent out to schools this week, but the cover letter with information for staff was incorrect.

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority was forced to write to schools telling them the letter incorrectly listed the date of the test, known as the GAT, as Tuesday, June 19 instead of Tuesday, June 17.

In addition, the website address provided for further information was wrong.

The Class of 2025 has already fallen victim to an incompetent VCAA.

The exam authority was forced to correct two more cover sheet errors relating to this year’s GAT. Picture: Supplied

The letter, dated May 5, was signed by Dr Kelly Jarvis, executive director of the assessment and reporting division of the VCAA.

The error in the web address was the inclusion of a full stop at the end.

“This is not a huge issue but it’s not the way you want to start,” one year 12 teacher who will distribute the booklets to students today, said.

“But it’s nice they are being proactive.”

Another said: “It doesn’t do much to restore faith in the system.”

The embarrassing letter sent to schools notes that “the brochures are correct and can be distributed immediately”.

Executive director of the assessment and reporting division of the VCAA Dr Kelly Jarvis signed off on the letter containing the wrong date for the test. Picture: Supplied

“The cover letter unfortunately contained two typographical errors.”

“My sincere apologies for the inconvenience.”

The latest bungle with the GAT cover sheets comes as the Allan government seeks to rebuild public confidence in the scandal-plagued agency.

Opposition education spokeswoman Jess Wilson questioned “how could students and teachers have any faith in the VCAA and their assessment processes when mistake after mistake continues to plague the authority”.

“The VCAA can’t even get a date and hyperlink correct – how can they possibly be trusted to deliver the 2025 VCE examinations?” she said.

“Education Minister Ben Carroll has failed once again to ensure the VCAA has the capability to deliver what students and teachers expect and need.

“This is why the Liberals and Nationals are calling for a truly independent and comprehensive review into this failed authority.”

The errors come less than a month after the entire VCAA board was axed following last year’s exam cover sheet bungle, where the Herald Sun revealed test questions were leaked on the authority’s website.

An email sent to teachers following the realisation of the errors. Picture: Supplied

A total 65 out of 74 common exams sat by thousands of students were affected by the cheat sheet fiasco, which came after two years of mistakes in VCE maths and other subject exams.

The Herald Sun revealed late last month it took a junior staffer less than a day to plunge the entire year 12 exam process into chaos, after he came up with a faster approach to develop online exam instruction sheets.

Education Minister Ben Carroll signed off on a public statement playing down the issue.

The GAT is an annual standardised pen and paper exam that all students completing a year 12 VCE subject must sit.

It tests students’ literacy, numeracy and general knowledge skills and is used as an assurance measure for VCE assessments and provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate they meet the standards expected at a senior secondary level.

The test is also used to help formulate a students’ final study score for a subject in the case they miss their final exam and need to obtain a derived score.

Students are not required to complete any special study to sit the test.

The government has been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Trouble-plagued VCAA fumbles General Achievement Test cover sheets in latest bungle