Claims VCE external examiners show an ‘utterly pervasive bias’ towards socially progressive topics

Students are said to be rewarded with higher marks for following a politically correct agenda and using gender-neutral language.

VCE students are given high marks for following a left-wing politically correct agenda, conservative commentators claim.

Exam markers are biased towards socially progressive topics, such as gender-neutral language, feminism and postmodernism, long-time English tutor and author Dr Mark Lopez said.

He said the 2021 VCE external examiners’ analysis, widely disseminated to teachers to guide their classroom and exam preparation, shows an “utterly pervasive bias”.

In the English Language exam, a student was given high marks for praising a Victorian government inclusive language guide that pans terms such as husband and wife.

English tutor and author Dr Mark Lopez says VCE exam markers are biased.

The student also lauded the government’s use of the “gender-neutral compound chest-feeding lactating parent” which was enshrined in a workplace agreement.

In other answers in the subject, students were praised for being positive about changes made to the national anthem and for acknowledging that federation created a society that “primarily benefited white males”.

Dr Lopez, the author of the book School Sucks: A Report on the State of Education in the Politically Correct Era, said the “prevalence of this politically correct, left-wing bias in assessment also raises the question of how many deserving students fall short of receiving the grades they need to enter the university course of their choice”.

“This ideological bias is unjust and unfair. It can and does hurt young people. It is important to remember that young people with conservative or liberal views have feelings, too,” he said.

One student was given high marks for praising a Victorian government inclusive language guide.

Feedback on the English exam, which was completed by 40,000 students, shows a high-scoring student concluded that gender roles “create a greater disadvantage for women”. Another

student was praised for highlighting the “brutality” of the “misguided Western mindset”.

The examiner’s report from the Australian History exam shows one high-scoring response praised Aboriginal land-management practices while another student agreed that Federation “created a society that primarily benefited white males”.

In Sociology, one student was praised for calling the change of the national anthem from young and free to one and free a “significant tweak (acknowledging) the country’s ancient past”.

Other high-scoring responses talked about the success of marriage equality and praised a Facebook group for females or those who “essentially identify as ‘a woman’”.

Dr Bella d’Abrera, director of the Foundations of Western Civilisation Program at the Institute of Public Affairs, said parents “should be very concerned that their children are being turned into activists for left-wing political causes by the Victorian Education Department”.

“This is a travesty for both the students and their educational outcomes. Students should be marked for their competence in the English language, rather than their ability to parrot woke ideologue,” Dr d’Abrera said.

A Department of Education spokeswoman said: “VCE exams – particularly in studies like English Language – assess students’ ability to respond with critical and compelling arguments to texts on real world issues, some of which cover social progress”.

“Students are never required to support any particular viewpoint – they are analysing linguistic and persuasive techniques used in a range of texts,” she said.