Students spared history exam after fiasco sees them taught about wrong Caesar
Queensland students were taught about Augustus Caesar instead of his predecessor
Students at nine high schools in northeastern Australia were mistakenly taught about Augustus Caesar instead of his predecessor, Julius Caesar, for an ancient history exam.
The revelation emerged just days before the test.
This curriculum error in Queensland led to pupils being exempt from the state-wide examination on Wednesday.
According to The Guardian, authorities are now checking with all 172 schools in Queensland to see if any more were affected.
Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek has pledged an investigation into the mix-up, describing the experience for students as "extremely traumatic."
Following the blunder's discovery on Monday, schools successfully applied for exemptions, even as panicked high schoolers were frantically cramming facts about Julius Caesar’s exploits as a Roman general and statesman.
“I’m very unhappy about the situation," Langbroek told reporters in announcing that the 140 seniors affected by the mix-up would not have to sit the exam.
Langbroek said he would ensure those students were “not disadvantaged in any way.”
Still, the incident brought a wave of criticisms.
Parents complained that the panic created around the ancient history exam had distracted their children from preparing for other exams, including an earlier exam on Wednesday.
The exam amounts to 25 per cent of the students’ marks for the year.
The students who were exempted from the test on Wednesday would be given credit based on their assessment for the remaining 75 per cent of their marks.
The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority said it had told the state’s 180 high schools two years ago that the ancient history exam topic would change to Julius Caesar in 2025.
The topic had been Augustus Caesar for the previous four years.