By Christopher Harris
A long wait to sit this year’s selective schools exam finally ended on Saturday for thousands of students, but parents reported technical glitches and repeated questions in the latest test.
It follows a string of test debacles this year after the Education Department outsourced the exam to private provider Janison, an agreement that is expected to earn it $45 million over five years.
Krishna Thobula and Rathi Navya, both 11, sat the selective schools test at Arthur Phillip High in Parramatta.Credit: Dylan Coker
Earlier this month, riot police had to be called in to manage chaotic crowds at an exam mega-centre at Canterbury Racecourse, while police were called in to Randwick for help with crowd control.
Those students gained the opportunity to resit the test and take a second attempt at the highly competitive exam – only their best result will count – angering parents whose children did not get two attempts.
Thousands of other pupils, whose tests had also been postponed, sat the exam in smaller venues at local high schools across Sydney on Saturday.
Amit Rathi, whose daughter sat the exam at Arthur Phillip High in Parramatta, said the chance to do it twice was unfair.
“No one should get more than one opportunity to sit,” he said.
Meanwhile, 11-year-old Krishna Thobula had mixed feelings about the test being postponed.
“The good thing is, I could have more time to prepare, but the bad thing was that I had to study,” she said.
Online parent forums devoted to discussing NSW selective schools lit up on Saturday afternoon, with complaints ranging from technical glitches to questions from the first test being repeated in this weekend’s exam.
“My child just finished the selective test today, and she had spoken to some of her friends who resat the exam. Her friends told her some of the questions were the same as the exam on [the Friday when the first test was held], while others’ questions were different. How is this fair to the children sitting the exam for the first time after being postponed?” one wrote.
Numerous others complained that the test was accompanied by technical glitches, with parents reporting issues at Pennant Hills, Blacktown, Castle Hill and Epping.
“[It] happened to my daughter during maths,” one person wrote. “When I picked her up, she broke down and cried.”
A department spokeswoman said more than 4800 students completed the exam at 39 higher schools.
“Many parents provided positive feedback about the experience at school testing centres,” she said.
The technical issues reported related to a short disruption during the mathematical reasoning section of the test.
Those students were given additional time to complete their test.
The department said previously it was taking steps to ensure fairness in the exam process, “through use of multiple different versions of the test and the availability of an appeals process for students who wish to appeal”.
“This will ensure every student has the opportunity to sit the test without disruption and perform at their best,” the spokesperson said.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.