On the 15th of April, the Victorian Minister of Education Ben Carroll announced that the Victorian Curriculum and Assessments Authority (VCAA) will have a new CEO and new board, following the publishing errors that occurred during the 2024 VCE examinations. The Victorian Student Representative Council (VicSRC) believes this major step is the perfect opportunity to make sure that student voice plays an important and permanent role at the VCAA moving forward.
In the lead-up to last year’s VCE exams, VCAA published some exam materials on their website which, when copy and pasted into another document, revealed some sample questions and answers. A few of these questions and answers were similar to those that appeared in the actual VCE exams. These documents were available for students to download for at least two weeks. Sixty-five exams were affected by this error.
VicSRC heard directly from students that this issue was important to them, namely because of a lack of information and communication they received at the time, which led to fear and uncertainty among many students who weren’t sure how their exams may have been impacted by the errors.
In response to these errors, the government promised to investigate how they occurred. Today, they released the first part of that investigation, which has led to the change in VCAA’s CEO and board.
VicSRC believes the Victorian government’s response to these errors reflects students’ concern over the issue and represents a great opportunity to ensure that students’ voices and perspectives are heard and respected when it comes to assessment and curriculum decision-making in Victoria.
Students have said time and time again that they want to be kept in the loop, so including students in these conversations in the future makes a huge difference, and it’s something we’re really eager to see happen.
Annie (she/her), a year 12 student and Executive Committee member called this news “promising” and says, “as a student I hope this could be the start of something bigger.”
“Students have said time and time again that they want to be kept in the loop, so including students in these conversations in the future makes a huge difference, and it’s something we’re really eager to see happen.”
VicSRC know from our own experience as a student-led organisation, and thanks to our efforts in securing key initiatives like the students on school council policy, that organisations can only benefit when students are meaningfully included in decision-making related to their education.
Kevin (he/him), a VCE student and co-chair of VicSRC’s Student Executive Advisory Committee, knows firsthand the impact of student voice in governance, and VCE pressures. He recognised the “lack of communication” was “one of the biggest things students spoke about” when students heard about the VCAA’s exam errors.
“This is a big priority for students, and we’re pleased that so much action is being taken. The system needs change, and we hope that student input will be a central part of VCAA’s governance as part of this process, and into the future. It’s essential that students remain informed and involved.”
This is a big priority for students, and we’re pleased that so much action is being taken. The system needs change, and we hope that student input will be a central part of VCAA’s governance as part of this process, and into the future. It’s essential that students remain informed and involved.
Julia Baron (she/her), VicSRC’s CEO, welcomed the “decisive action taken so far” to address issues at the VCAA, and encouraged the government to consider that “students have a right to meaningful participation within the systems that affect them, especially their education”, and hoped that the government would “not waste this opportunity to take a bold and important step towards a more collaborative and responsive education system in Victoria”.