Kylie White has stepped down as the VCAA CEO despite being recruited just last year. Photo: VCAA.
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) will undergo a “root-and-branch review” following revelations that nearly half of this year’s exams have fallen prey to “cheat sheets”.
Education Minister Ben Carroll told the public on Monday (18 November) it may take marks off VCE students who exploited a “publishing error” that affected 56 of the 116 final high school exams.
He also confirmed that VCAA chief executive Kylie White had resigned after being elevated to the role in the wake of multiple mistakes being found in the 2023 maths exams. She will be replaced in an interim capacity by Dr Marcia Devlin, chief executive of the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership.
According to the State Government, sample cover pages were published by the VCAA containing hidden text in supposedly blank sections. However, when this text was copied into another document, it showed questions and answers that were either identical or strongly similar to the final exams.
While Minister Carroll admitted he was told of the issue halfway through last month, apparently the VCAA gave “reassurances that the exams had been rewritten – that has now proven to be inaccurate”.
“That’s why I’m deeply angry and upset,” he said. “While some exams were rewritten to a satisfactory standard, others were not.
“Students deserve better. It is clear to me that some students have been let down as a result of these errors and that is completely unacceptable.”
Despite the cover pages being stripped offline when the VCAA became aware of the issue, students continued to share them.
Some of these exams had just “one or two multiple-choice questions” affected, while others had up to 50 per cent of the questions replicated – but Mr Carroll said none were completely identical to the cover sheets.
The Deputy Premier also told media that VCE results would still be published by 12 December and a nationally recognised assessment tool would address errors that occurred in the 2024 exams.
A similar disadvantage process used by the VCAA during COVID-19 will:
- Review student marks in the affected exams and identify any anomalies in how students have responded to the affected questions.
- Analyse whether any discrepancies are identified and if so, further analysis will be undertaken.
- Adjust student marks if any questions are identified as providing anyone with an unfair advantage.
Education Minister Ben Carroll said the Victorian Government would install an independent monitor to oversee next year’s exams. Photo: Facebook.
Professor John Firth, a former VCAA CEO, will oversee the implementation of this process as chair of an independent advisory panel.
He will be joined by experts including research director at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), Dr Nathan Zoanetti, and former chair of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, Professor Barry McGaw AO. Students, parents and carers have been told they should first contact their school about the process as they have been informed by the VCAA.
“I am sincerely sorry to those students and families who have been affected by this publishing error,” M Carroll said. “VCE exams are a stressful enough time as it is, and the last thing our year 12s need is additional stress and uncertainty from the administration of exams.
“Whilst I am extremely disappointed by what has occurred, I firmly believe we are taking the right action and steps to ensure all students are treated fairly and no student is disadvantaged in the marking of this year’s exams.”
Despite the Victorian Government accepting all recommendations of the VCAA 2024 Independent Review, chaired by Dr John Bennett, the Education Minister said it would undergo a full external review of its structure and operations.
An independent monitor will also be appointed to work with and provide guidance to the VCAA from next year. In addition, they will be expected to advise the government on the VCAA’s role regarding exam preparation, management and production.
Shadow Education Minister Jess Wilson denounced Mr Carroll’s role in the debacle.
Ms Wilson said Mr Carroll had refused to support the LNP’s plan to involve the Victorian Ombudsman “for a truly independent and comprehensive investigation”. She said he had failed to outline how students would avoid being inadvertently punished during the correction process.
