Articles by Noel Towell

World

Lost in translation: Printing error hits VCE language exam

A printing error has been blamed for confusion over last month’s Persian language VCE exam, but authorities say no student will be disadvantaged from the mistake. The exam, sat by 104 students, included a passage written in Persian, which was to be translated into English. But one source familiar with the matter, but not authorised to speak publicly, described the passage as “a stream of gobbledygook in some kind of semi-plausible Middle Eastern script”. The authority is on high alert during this year’s exams cycle for any errors after last year’s VCE was marred by controversy when questions on dozens of exam papers were inadvertently published before tens of thousands of students sat their tests.