Tasmania’s exam authority says it has fixed the issues that caused errors in six Grade 12 papers last year, just weeks out from this year’s crucial tests.
The Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification Board (TASC) made changes after an independent Deloitte review into the 2024 exam bungle that disrupted thousands of students.
Some students sat multiple level-three exams marred by mistakes in physics, chemistry and biology.
Others faced problems in accounting, economics, English and food and nutrition.
Board chair Sally Darke said the organisation was now confident about the 2025 exam program.
“We’ve made the changes and we are really comfortable that has significantly reduced the likelihood of errors for the 2025 exams,” she told ABC Radio.
“We are doing everything we can to reduce the risk of any error occurring.”
The Deloitte review handed down 34 recommendations after finding widespread mistakes during one of the most stressful times in students’ lives.
These include conducting a workload analysis, increasing pay rates, implementing formal training for exam writers and hiring copy editors.
The review also revealed staff clocked up $194,879 in overtime from 2024 to now, with vacant positions left unfilled due to employment restrictions.
Exam writers in Tasmania currently earn between $280 and $1,870 per paper, compared with up to $3,697 in New South Wales.
The report found the pay gap made it harder to recruit staff from Tasmania’s already limited talent pool.
Darke said the review “did affirm the fact that the processes for the exam development were good” but highlighted areas needing improvement.
“We are comfortable that we have the right resourcing at the moment,” she said.
With over 5,000 students sitting more than 40 exams this year, the pressure is on to deliver error-free papers.
The board has “absolutely no appetite for risks that can adversely affect student learning and student exam results,” Darke said.
