The teacher was informed of the questions by the school principal – a member of staff appointed to deal directly with NZQA (New Zealand Qualifications Authority) on all matters.

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

The statistical paper used a headline from a UK newspaper which read: “Butt of the Joke: Survey finds people easily locate their backs, but finding their ‘private parts’ is difficult!”

He asked if the headline was correct as it said a higher proportion of men and women in the UK could confidently locate their rectums than their reproductive organs.

The reaction of year 13 students surveyed by Herald was mixed.

One said it was “vulgar” and that it was obvious “the questioners are just trying to get a reaction or have fun”.

The student said the question could have focused on the number of people who were unable 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 topic.

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

Other questions on the exam included how many people thought they could land a plane in an emergency with air traffic control “without dying” and another about dangerous ice slides.

“Any question might trigger some people,” the student said.

“This question would be difficult for a student who has been sexually abused, but the plane crash question might also be triggered by your experiences.

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

Feedback from teachers was also mixed.

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

Another said he was more shocked that there was any “humor in a maths exam”.

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

Other NCEA exams have been criticized for including the questions outside the study program or for confusing wording.

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

“All exam papers are subject to a sensitivity check and it has been decided that Level 3 candidates have the maturity to understand the intent of the questions.”

NZQA said it had not received any complaints.

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