Question time for exam chiefs

Education officials were grilled by MPs yesterday over how they set exam questions following concerns that the questions showed a political and ideological bias.

Parliament's education and science select committee is inquiring into allegations of political bias at the New Zealand Qualifications Authority following its setting of the Level 1 history question.

The question asked students to describe the perspectives of two of three people: prominent Maori leaders Dame Whina Cooper and Eva Rickard and a "National Party member of Parliament not sympathetic to Maori concerns".

It also featured a cartoon of a balding middle-aged man said by some to resemble National leader Don Brash.

A part of the 2004 level three economics exam has also been attacked. Among its questions: "The New Zealand Government provides 'free' education at state secondary schools. Explain why this results in a better resource allocation than the free market?" and "Explain why using 'free market' policies causes income inequality."

The qualifications authority's chairman Karen van Rooyen said in her judgment, neither exam was biased, revealed malice or prejudice.

The questions were set to be unambiguous and test students' knowledge of what they were taught.

The history question and its accompanying cartoon were not intended to satirise anyone. "With the gift of hindsight, it would have helped if we had added a moustache or a full head of hair, but that is after the event," Ms Van Rooyen said.

It would be wrong to teach history and test students' knowledge of it, based on a "tidied up, rewritten or sanitised" version of events.

"The 1970s were a period of collision between the majority culture and Maori in New Zealand. We shouldn't shy away from the fact or get precious about things that are different in terms of the way we view the world today."

MPs said yesterday they would not get into detailed criticism of the questions but did attack the process involved in writing questions.

National education spokesman Bill English cited a survey of teachers indicating that the moderation of standards was neither credible nor fair.

Ms Van Rooyen said the organisation was responsible for 400 exams and had implemented large-scale change. "On the whole it has worked, but there are some issues," she said.

Mr English said he was concerned that 100,000 students who sat exams last year had been harmed by the process, and that the timetable for writing questions meant that it was unlikely that any findings from the inquiry could be taken into account for the 2005 exams.

"If we need to change, we will change," Ms Van Rooyen said.

- NZPA