NZQA launches review after exam errors

NZQA has launched a review after multiple errors in NCEA maths exams. Photo / File

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority has reportedly launched an independent review of its processes after multiple errors in NCEA maths exams.

The review relates to the Level 3 startistics exam, which thousands of students sat last Thursday. It contained a question that could not be answered because of a mistake in a table.

Deputy chief executive Kristine Kilkelly said the agency will now undertake an internal review, as well as commission an external review.

"NZQA will undertake a comprehensive review of the quality assurance processes in these instances to determine how the process failed to identify and correct these errors," she said.

"NZQA is also commissioning an independent review of the Level 3 Statistics examination."

The NCEA Scholarship 2016 Statistics paper prepared by NZQA.

It comes after the Herald revealed this morning that maths exams at every level were affected by mistakes - from Level 1 to Scholarship.

NZQA apologised on Friday for the mistake in the Level 3 statistics exam, which rendered the question impossible to answer.

It also admitted blunders in the Level 2 calculus paper, Level 1 maths, and Scholarship statistics.

However, it said the mistakes in those papers would not have affected students' ability to answer the questions.

Only the Level 3 statistics exam error would impact a candidate's ability to complete the question, Kilkelly said, and the organisation was "taking it very seriously".

Exam Mistakes:
• Level 1 Maths, 9.30am November 17: Question 2A contained a discrepancy in a graph, the data in a table did not match the graph.
• Level 2 Maths (calculus paper), 9.30am November 24: A figure given in question 2B was wrong.
• Level 3 Statistics, 2pm November 24: Probabilities in a table provided at question 3B added up to more than 1, rendering the question, and a subsequent question, impossible to answer.
• Scholarship Statistics, 9.30am November 17: Question 1, Figure 2 information contained in a table did not appear in related scatter plot graphs.