An NCEA maths paper has hit a bum note with parents, students, and teachers questioning the appropriateness of a maths question referencing rectums and “private parts”.

The recent level 3 statistics exam included data from a real study by Pall Mall Healthcare in the UK. The study found UK adults didn’t know the location of body parts including the stomach, heart, appendix, rectum and reproductive organs.

The NCEA exam – and the UK media – focused on the data regarding the rectum and reproductive organs.

Some teachers and students said it was unnecessary and could be “triggering for students who had experienced sexual assault”.

“I am a biology teacher and I am surprised there hasn’t been an outcry about the inappropriateness of our national examination,” one told the Herald.

The teacher was told about the questions by the school’s principal’s nominee – a staff member nominated to deal directly with NZQA (the New Zealand Qualifications Authority) on all matters.

The teacher said she was shocked by the subject matter which was unnecessary and inappropriate.

The statistics paper used a headline from a UK paper which read: “Butt of the Joke: Survey finds people easily locate their rear, but the hunt for their ‘private parts’ is tricky!”

The table of information given to Level 3 statistics students.

It asked if the headline was correct in that it was saying a higher proportion of UK men and women can confidently locate their rectum than their reproductive organs.

Reaction from Year 13 students quizzed by the Herald was mixed.

One said it was “vulgar” and that it was obvious that “question writers are just trying to get a reaction or entertain themselves”.

The student said the question could have focused on the number of people who failed to locate their appendix or bladder – which was even lower than the 55% who knew where their rectum was.

Another student defended the question, saying it was about gleaning information from a graph – regardless of the subject matter.

“They are asking you to show you understand the table or graph, to look at the information and corresponding data – it’s not that deep.”

The other questions in the exam included the number of people who believed they could land a plane in an emergency with the help of air traffic control “without dying” and another about dangerous slips on the ice.

“Any question could be triggering for some people,” the student said.

An NCEA maths question on rectums and private parts made some students uncomfortable. Photo / file

“That question would be hard for a student who had been sexually abused but the plane crash question could also be triggering depending on your experiences.

“It’s still better than always being about apples and oranges or something like that.”

Feedback from teachers was also mixed.

One teacher said she had complained to NZQA about the question.

Another said he was more shocked there was some “humour in a maths exam”.

“It’s like an accountant doing stand-up,” he said.

Other NCEA exams had come under fire for including questions outside the syllabus or for confusing wording.

NZQA deputy chief executive assessment Jann Marshall said the exam writers – including experienced subject teachers – thought it appropriate to use this survey.

“All exam papers undergo a sensitivity check, and it was decided that Level 3 candidates would have the maturity to understand the intent of the questions.”

NZQA said it had not received any complaints.