Three vmbo-t students at the Calandlyceum in Amsterdam Nieuw-West have received their secondary school diplomas after an inspection of their math exams revealed grading errors.
The students were originally told early in July that they had failed their final central examinations by narrow margins.
After 17-year-old student Miralay missed passing by a single point, his family arranged to review his exam scripts alongside a tech professional and family friend, Yusuf Kaya.
Grading errors uncovered
During the review session, Kaya noticed that the teacher had overlooked correct answers on two separate questions in the mathematics exam.
The paper was resubmitted to the external second corrector, who approved the missing points and officially changed the result to a pass.
Following this discovery, Miralay alerted classmate Rayan, who had also just missed the pass mark for the same subject.
When Kaya inspected Rayan’s paper, he found a similar grading mistake, leading to a second result being overturned.
Inspectors notified
A third student from the same class subsequently had her paper checked, revealing additional uncounted points that allowed her to pass as well.
The school’s assistant director, Thijs Kunst, confirmed that all three students have now successfully passed their exams.
The Dutch Education Inspectorate (Onderwijsinspectie) confirmed it has received a formal report regarding the mathematics correction process at the school.
Spokesperson Roul Velleman stated that the inspectorate evaluates exam data after every testing period to determine if follow-up actions or targeted supervision are necessary.
Moving forward
The city’s alderman for education, Esmah Lahlah, acknowledged the situation, noting that exam grading is a demanding responsibility where precision is vital, while expressing relief that the students ultimately passed.
The Calandlyceum has not provided further comment on the cause of the errors due to the summer holiday period.
With their diplomas now secured, the students are preparing to start their higher vocational courses in the coming school year.
