Dad loses bid for exam test
A parent has lost a freedom of information bid to be given questions in a high school chemistry exam after the Education Department argued it would jeopardise the integrity of results and cost more than $35,000 to rewrite science tests for Year 8 to 12 classes.
The father took his application to Information Commissioner Sven Bluemmel after his son's school decided in 2012 that the questions in the chemistry exam were exempt from disclosure under freedom of information laws.
Mr Bluemmel formed a preliminary view that the information may not be exempt under the legislation but reversed his position after further evidence and submissions that led him to conclude that disclosing the details was not in the public interest.
The decision, published last week, reveals that the parent argued access to questions in the chemistry exam would allow improved feedback from parents and also improve the quality of tests and education at his son's school.
The father argued allowing students only brief access to their exam papers in class did not provide an adequate chance for discussion and review, and particularly discriminated against low academic achievers.
He said he had been given Year 8 to 10 test papers from all other departments at the school and the cost of re- writing the exams, which he argued were available to some students, had been exaggerated.
"If tests are not disclosed, they will be biased and unfair because some tutors and siblings of other students have access to test questions which are recycled by the school," a summary of his submissions said.
The Education Department submitted disclosing previous test papers would give those students an advantage and to preserve the integrity of the test results, the school would then be required to devise new questions for each exam.
It said a conservative estimate of the cost of devising new science tests for Years 8 to 10 was $3900, with another $31,200 needed to rewrite the tests for Years 11 and 12. The department also argued the maths faculty did not release all its assessment items.
Mr Bluemmel accepted it was in the public interest for parents to have a contribution to students' learning, but said the parent had not established that disclosure of the questions was in the public interest.
