Monash university to help draft VCE exams in an exam overhaul prompted by repeated mistakes in previous years’ testing

An overhaul of key year 12 papers has been announced in Victoria, following errors that affected thousands of students last year.

Transcript

00:00Year 12 students next year will be able to breathe just that little bit easier when it

00:07comes to their all-important end-of-year exams, knowing that there won't be any unintentional

00:12and unexpected curveballs thrown their way.

00:15That's because Monash University is teaming up with the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment

00:19Authority and the university's finest minds will be writing the maths exam.

00:25The aim is to ensure that the assessment generally, as well as the format of the questions,

00:30is as fair and accurate as possible across the state when it comes to students sitting

00:35the specialist maths, maths methods and general maths exams.

00:40And this follows the debacle last year when students actually uncovered two errors in

00:46the maths exam, obviously a very frustrating situation for them.

00:51And we've heard from the professors who say that it's really important that those who

00:55are writing the exams, well they very well remember having to sit them themselves and

01:00they want to ensure that any ambiguity in the wording or numerical notation is completely

01:06removed.

01:07So it is simply a straightforward test of the student's maths knowledge.

01:12It wasn't just the maths test that actually had errors, an independent review was ordered

01:19after these errors were also uncovered in the chemistry exam and six students actually

01:25were handed the wrong Chinese exam last year as well.

01:30And at the time the Education Minister said that it was incredibly stressful for students

01:36as well as being completely unacceptable.

01:38So much so that he refused to give the board of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment

01:44Authority a pay rise for that year.

01:48So while these changes won't be in effect for this year's exams and the first exam for

01:55maths is actually just two weeks away here in Victoria, you can absolutely bet that they

02:02are being very closely proof read to avoid any embarrassing blunder like last year.