Last week, a significant exam mix-up occurred for Queensland’s Year 12 ancient history students, affecting approximately 140 students. The exam tested their knowledge of various aspects of Julius Caesar, including his family connections, military successes, and political maneuvers, but many students entered the exam with less than 48 hours of preparation. The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) has since stated that the exam was designed to be skills-based, allowing students who had studied different topics to still participate effectively.
The four-question exam included a stimulus booklet featuring nine texts, which comprised excerpts from Plutarch, philosophical insights from Cicero, and an image of a gold Roman Republican coin from 48-47 BCE. Each text was accompanied by context statements detailing the creation date and insights into the authors’ intentions. Students were allocated two hours to answer the questions, which required analytical and evaluative skills rather than rote memorization.
Among the questions posed to students were inquiries about Caesar’s use of family connections, his military success in Gaul, and the reliability of various sources regarding his political motives. The questions were structured as follows:
– **Question 1 (3 marks):** Use evidence from Source 1 in the stimulus book to explain two ways Caesar made use of family connections to advance his political career.
– **Question 2 (10 marks):** Analyse evidence from Sources 2 and 3 in the stimulus book to explain the extent of Caesar’s success as a military commander in Gaul. In your response, use evidence to explain a possible motive for the creation of each source.
– **Question 3 (11 marks):** Evaluate the reliability and usefulness of evidence in Sources 4 and 5 in the stimulus book for understanding Caesar’s motives in establishing the Triumvirate. For each source, explain one judgment of reliability and one judgment of usefulness.
– **Question 4 (16 marks):** Synthesize evidence from Sources 6, 7, 8 and 9 in the stimulus book to develop a historical argument in response to the question: To what extent did the conspirators kill Caesar for the greater good of the Roman Republic? Include an explanation of how evidence from two of these sources corroborates a point being made in your historical argument.
Across Queensland, a total of 2,510 students from 172 schools participated in the exam. The QCAA confirmed that students from nine schools were taught the wrong topic and that some had focused on Augustus instead of his great-uncle, Julius Caesar. A spokesperson from Brisbane Catholic Education noted that St Teresa’s Catholic College in Noosaville had flagged the issue earlier in the academic year, indicating that the students had studied Julius Caesar the previous semester.
In response to the confusion, Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek has directed the QCAA to conduct a review of its communication practices with schools to identify how the error occurred. Schools that realized the mistake last week were permitted to submit applications for special consideration due to “illness or misadventure.” However, the QCAA stated that there would be no opportunity for a rewritten exam, as maintaining standardized testing across all schools is essential.
The process of creating a standardized test involves several rounds of checking and editing, which can take from weeks to months depending on the subject, according to the QCAA. As Queensland’s Year 12 external exams continue, students have already faced a range of subjects, including modern history and general mathematics, where participation reached 21,350 students for maths alone.
The exam incident underscores the importance of clear communication in educational settings, particularly during crucial examination periods. As students and educators navigate the complexities of their curriculum, the focus remains on ensuring that all have the opportunity to succeed in their studies.
