Victoria’s head of exams resigns after questions leaks

The head of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority has resigned after a blunder that allowed students to access exam questions ahead of time.

Kim White will leave the role as chief executive immediately, Education Minister Ben Carroll confirmed on Monday.

It comes after a production failure allowed some students to access questions ahead of their exams that were very similar to what appeared on official tests.

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“I am extremely disappointed by what has occurred,” Mr Carroll said.

“I have instructed the VCAA to take all necessary action to ensure that all students are treated fairly and no student is disadvantaged in the marking of this year’s exams.

“I am satisfied that, supported by additional independent experts, the right processes are in place to ensure that every single student has the best chance to achieve their best.”

Ms White stepped into the role just last year after multiple mistakes were found on a 2023 maths exam.

The Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership’s chief executive, Dr Marica Devlin, will step into the position until a permanent replacement is found.

Of 116 VCE exams, 56 are known to be affected by this year’s leaks in some way.

The impact was varying, with some exams having “one or two multiple-choice questions ” that were the same or similar, while up to 50 per cent of the questions were replicated from the sample cover sheets on other exams.

Despite the errors, Mr Carroll is confident that students will have their results published by December 12, well ahead of first-round university offers in mid-January.

“I apologise to all students impacted by the inadvertent publication of examination material on the exam cover sheets,” he said.

“The VCE exams are stressful enough. The last thing that year 12 students need is additional stress and uncertainty from the administration of examinations.”

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