Dear Students and Parents

To be awarded the Record of School Achievement (RoSA) or Higher School Certificate (HSC) students are required to follow the required pattern of study for the credential in Years 11 and 12 including compliance with the regulations of the New South Wales Standards Authority (NESA). These regulations require a satisfactory record of participation, progress, and attendance, and students are “required to apply themselves in a diligent and sustained manner to the tasks and opportunities provided by the school in the nominated program of study”.

This Assessment webpage details these expectations and requirements for the award of the RoSA or HSC, and the assessment schedule of each Stage 6 Course. The formal assessments detailed in this website assist the normal process of learning and will assess outcomes that may not be measured by HSC Examinations. In the Final Year 12 Report, the college will provide an overall assessment rank based on the student’s performance.

Assessment schedules for each course are provided on this website and are an essential resource in planning for the HSC. Use it as an ongoing source of information throughout the assessment period commencing in Term 4 and concluding in Term 3 of Year 12 for Year 12 students and Term 1 to the end of Term 3 for Year 11 students. It is your responsibility to be familiar with both the general requirements for assessment and the particular requirements of each course.

The final assessment mark and rank in each course is developed gradually; consequently, successful students are characterised by adhering to an organised study pattern and consistent efforts throughout the whole course. 

HSC Syllabus – NESA http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/home

Student Support staff endeavor to assist students with disabilities and/or learning support needs who are in need of extra support in the classroom. Collaboration between students, teachers, and parents will remain a high priority. Disability provisions for assessment address students’ learning needs impacted by one or more of the following categories of disability:

1. learning, and/or

2. medical, and/or

3. vision, and/or

4. hearing.

They are determined on the basis of functional evidence of impact, and provide practical support for students with disability to access assessment.

The College, as directed by NESA, has produced an Assessment Schedule for each course taught. Each schedule details tasks to be performed, the relative weightings for each task, and the approximate dates for the set tasks. The tasks may include a formal examination, research assignments, topic tests, essays, practical work, and oral tasks/exercises. 

 It is each student’s responsibility:

• to know the date and the time that each task is to be completed.

• to be present to do or to hand in the task unless prior permission has been granted by the Leader of Teaching and Learning and Leader of Learning.

• when legitimately unable to attend school on the day a task is scheduled,  inform the College before 9.00 and on return to college, to see the teacher concerned about that task immediately.

• to provide acceptable medical, or other, documentation when required.

• to take no unfair advantage over other students. 

The due date and details of an assessment task will be notified to students in writing, via COMPASS, at least TWO WEEKS before the task. The written notification of each task must include:

• the date and time of when the task will take place or when the task is due

• components and their weighting as specified in the syllabus package

• the general nature of the assessment task

• the weight value of the task in relation to the total weighted mark for the course.

Marking criteria or information about how the task will be assessed will also be included.

After the written notification has been issued, if a change of date for the completion of the task is required there is no need for two weeks’ notice provided the task is not being brought forward. Any changes of date will be notified in writing. Written notification has precedence over any information listed in the assessment schedules contained in this website.

All assessments in a course must be attempted by a student. A substitute task may be used when a student is legitimately absent from a task. Failure to comply with the assessment requirements may result in a loss of all marks for that task. When a student fails to complete tasks totaling 50% of the assessment weight, the Principal may not certify that the student has satisfactorily completed the course. In that case, neither an Examination Mark nor an Assessment Mark will appear on the student’s Record of Achievement. A Higher School Certificate may not be awarded.

For assessment tasks that are completed outside the classroom:

• All tasks are to be submitted by 9:00 am on the designated day as stated on the notification form.

• For all digital submissions, students should follow the instructions stipulated on the assessment task notification including uploading to Google Classroom at the specified date and time.

All tasks submitted after 9:00 am on the designated day will be deemed to be LATE unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Whenever students are absent from school, it is their responsibility to ensure that they know what work has been missed and to catch up with that work. The same conditions apply if students are absent when digital notification of an assessment task is issued via Compass. No automatic extension is granted to students who are absent on the day the notice of the task is given. However, if a student has had a prolonged absence, on the day of their return to school they may submit to the Leader of Learning an email outlining the nature of the appeal.

If the Leader of Learning and the class teacher consider that the student had sufficient reason (supported by appropriate documentation) for not attempting, completing or submitting the task, a substitute assessment task may be arranged. Where a student does not attempt, complete or submit the original or substitute task, a zero mark will be recorded for this task. Where students have been absent on the day/s prior to an assessment task or arrive late on the day, they may be determined to have been deliberately advantaging themselves over other students and may be awarded a zero. 

If a student knows that they will be absent with sufficient reason (e.g. a funeral or an operation), then the student should explain the circumstances in writing before the absence to their Leader of Learning and class teacher. In this situation a substitute assessment task may be arranged. (See Application for Extension of or Special Consideration for an Assessment Task.)

Absence from school on the due date for the submission of an assessment task, or on the day of an assessment task, will not be regarded as satisfactory grounds for the granting of an extension of time. This will not be varied unless there are exceptional circumstances (and only after consultation with the appropriate Leader of Learning).

A telephone call before 9.00 am from your parent or guardian is essential if you are absent on the due date of an assessment task.

Unless a student provides a medical certificate, statutory declaration or other agreed evidence for late submission of an assessment task, supported by an Application for Extension of or Special Consideration for an Assessment Task (a blue form) that has been signed by a parent or guardian, a zero will be recorded. Each case will be individually looked at by the assessment panel.  However, the teacher will assess the work.

In very rare circumstances, results for a particular task may prove invalid or unreliable. If such a situation arose, then the Leader of Learning and the Leader of Pedagogy would devise a task to provide supplementary results.

An Assessment Committee will oversee any issues arising from assessment tasks. Appeals in relation to assessment should be made at the time of the return of the task to students and no later than 3 days after. A complaint based on the professional judgement of a teacher is not grounds for appeal. If students wish to make an appeal, they should make an appointment with the Leader of Teaching and Learning to begin the process.

The Record of School Achievement (RoSA) is a credential for all students to recognise school achievement before receiving their Higher School Certificate (HSC) or do not met NESA pattern of study requirements for the HSC credential.

RoSA is a cumulative credential – recognising all your academic achievements. The RoSA will show your Year 10 grades, as well as any grades for Year 11 courses completed after that, and any relevant Year 12 marks.  If you start a course but leave school before completing it, your RoSA will show evidence of your enrolment.

Your RoSA will also show results of any VET or Life Skills courses you have completed in Year 10 and/or Stage 6.

The HSC minimum standard is part of an effort to improve the literacy and numeracy outcomes for students. From 2020, students in NSW will need to demonstrate a minimum standard of literacy and numeracy to receive their HSC. The HSC minimum standard is a way of supporting and ensuring students have a functional level of literacy and numeracy.

Link to NESA:

http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/hsc-minimum-standard/online-tests

Online Tests

To achieve an HSC in 2020 and beyond, students must sit the HSC minimum standards online tests in reading, writing, and numeracy. Each of the three tests are 45 minutes in duration. Students must achieve a level 3 in each test in order to meet the HSC minimum standard. This aligns with level 3 of the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) which is considered the level required to function in everyday life, for work and further study beyond school. These tests are scheduled throughout the school year and can be taken post-school if needed. 

Once the HSC minimum standard is achieved in all three areas, a student is eligible to receive the HSC.

Support for students with additional needs

Some students with additional needs will be eligible for provisions for the minimum standard tests. These provisions can be approved by the Principal. The learning support team will liaise with the Principal about extra provisions for the HSC minimum standard tests.

You will be considered to have satisfactorily completed a course if, in the Principal’s view, there is sufficient evidence that you have:

• followed the course developed or endorsed by NESA.

• applied yourself with diligence and sustained effort to the set tasks and experiences provided in the course by the College.

• achieved some or all of the course outcomes.

If the Principal determines that the above course completion criteria have not been met, you will be given a written warning in sufficient time to correct any problems regarding your satisfactory completion of course requirements. A student who has not complied with the above requirements cannot be regarded as having satisfactorily completed the course. This will be formalised in the N- Determination process. The Principal will then deem that the student has not met the requirements for that course and this course will not appear on the student’s Record of School Achievement (RoSA).

NESA requires that meaningful feedback be given at the completion of each task. This will be in the form of a mark and rank for each task. Errors in any form detected by the student must be reported by the student within 24 hours. 

The academic honesty of students completing assessment tasks, exams, and tests is critical to the integrity of the credential. Dishonest behaviour and/or any attempt carried out for the purpose of gaining unfair advantage in the assessment process undermines the standard of scholarship represented by the senior credentials and constitutes malpractice. All forms of academic dishonesty are unacceptable. 

Malpractice

Malpractice is: 

• • any dishonest behaviour and/or attempt to gain an unfair advantage over other students, and/or

  • knowingly assisting other students to engage in malpractice.

• Breaches of assessment rules, and malpractice in any form including plagiarism, collusion, and misrepresentation, is unacceptable. McCarthy Catholic College treats allegations of malpractice very seriously and detected malpractice may jeopardise a student’s assessment result. All suspected breaches of assessment rules and/or malpractice will be investigated and may be penalised. 

• Student conduct amounting to breaches of assessment rules and/or malpractice may range from unintentional failures to comply with rules and procedures to deliberate attempts to gain an unfair advantage involving intentional wrongdoing.

• The unauthorised use of generative AI in the completion of your work is a breach of academic integrity and constitutes malpractice. 

All cases of suspected malpractice will be presented to the assessment panel.  Students will be notified in writing if a task is to be given a zero and be placed on the malpractice register with NESA.

The Rules and Procedures incorporates the following definitions of malpractice.

• Copying someone else’s work and presenting it as your own

• Using material directly from books, journals, CDs or the internet, without reference to the source

• Building on the ideas of another person without reference to the source

• Buying, stealing, borrowing another person’s work and presenting it as your own

• Submitting work to which another person, such as a parent, coach or subject expert, has contributed substantially

• Using words, ideas, designs or the workmanship of others in practical and performance tasks without appropriate acknowledgement

• Paying someone to write or prepare material

• Breaching school examination rules

• Contriving false explanations to explain work not handed in by the due date

• Assisting another student to engage in malpractice

• Copying from other members while working in a group

• Contributing less, little or nothing to a group assignment and then claiming an equal share of the marks

• Handing part or all of work in twice, for separate subjects/ marks

• The unauthorised use of generative AI in the completion of your work.

It is the College’s expectation that students do not engage in malpractice, or take unfair advantage, including absenting themselves from class or school prior to a task. Both malpractice and unfair advantage may result in a loss of some or all marks for that task.

All my own work

The issue of malpractice is specifically explored in NESA ‘All Your Own Work’ modules. This includes the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI or Large Language Models). All students are required to complete these modules and the college is required to register your completion of ‘All Your Own Work’ with NESA.

Use of Electronic Media

Students may be required, or may elect, to use electronic media in the preparation and/or presentation of assessment tasks.  In such cases, it is important to ensure that:

• appropriate backup of material takes place regularly

• hard copies of various drafts are kept

• evidence of processes and content (eg research notes, copies of material used, bibliography etc) is retained until after the task is due

Failure of electronic equipment is not an adequate reason for the late submission or non-submission of a task.  If a home-based printer fails, the task should be brought to school on a USB stick for printing.  Electronic backup of material should prevent computer breakdowns from impacting upon the production of tasks.  Another means for securing drafts of assessment tasks is by emailing yourself a copy.  Computers are widely available at school to assist with task preparation and presentation.

Tasks should always be prepared with adequate time to ensure presentation is accurate and complete.  

No consideration can be given to last-minute loss of work.

Guidelines for Writing Bibliographies and Citing Your References

McCarthy Catholic College has adopted the Harvard System of writing bibliographies and citing references within assignments and assessment tasks.

When an assignment or assessment task is given out, the teacher will advise students on what is required eg a bibliography only or a bibliography and in-text referencing.

What is a Bibliography?

When you have finished writing an assignment or assessment task, you need to make a list of all the sources of information you used. This list is called a bibliography and the rules on how to write it are called the Harvard System.

This means you have to list all the books, journals (magazines), newspaper articles, DVDs, CD-Roms, internet items (electronic database, electronic email, web pages, online images), recordings and any material you use that is not yours.  This policy gives examples of how to do this for different types of sources.

What is In-text Referencing?

Sometimes you need to make notes during the assignment or assessment task about where you found the information. This is called citing your source or in-text referencing.

You might think that citing or listing too many books or websites shows that you don’t know anything about the topic and you will be marked down.  In fact, citations add credibility and show depth of your research.  By citing someone, preferably a reputable source, who says the same thing, only adds authority to your work.

Why Do This?

This gives the person reading your assignment or assessment task details about where to find the sources if they are interested in reading the information too.

Learning how to write bibliographies and cite your references is a life-long skill and you will be required to do it through the rest of your time as a student (at school, TAFE, college and university). So, getting into the habit now is an advantage.

It also acknowledges the hard work done by another person.  “Borrowing” or “copying” someone else’s ideas and not saying you have done this is called plagiarism or “intellectual theft”. Academic convention and copyright law requires that you do this.  At many universities’ students can be expelled if they plagiarise.  At McCarthy Catholic College, students caught plagiarising in Assessment Tasks will be penalised.

In-text Referencing

If a teacher has asked you to do this, when you use another person’s ideas you must immediately acknowledge this and the source of the information in your essay. You must then provide the full details in the bibliography.

1.           Using People’s Work Without Direct Quotations

     If you are referring to the general theme in the book or without directly quoting someone, page numbers are unnecessary.

           eg.    A recent study (Johns 2001) found that sporting injuries from……

                 This theory about dysfunctional families was described by Addams (1968) but has been further investigated by Simpson (1991).

       These books are then added to the bibliography at the end of the assignment or assessment task.

           eg. Addams, Gomez 1968 My family, Fester Publications, Dallas.

                 Johns, Andy 2001 Football is my life, Knight, Newcastle.

                 Simpson, Homer 1991 Marge and me, Duff, Springfield.

2.           Citing Direct Quotes

       When you are quoting statistics, data or what someone said, page numbers must be included.

eg. In his open speech Prime Minister Howard says that “……. “(Beazley 1999, p.223).

           The number of hours of television watched each day by 5-12 year old children has increased to 5 (Romano 2003, p.57).

Remember that all sources that you cite or refer to in your assignment or assessment task must be included in your bibliography which gives its full details.

HSC subject syllabuses, school internal assessment tasks and examination questions have key words that state what students are expected to be able to do. This glossary of key words has been developed to help provide a common language and consistent meaning in HSC tasks and examinations. Using the glossary will help you understand what is expected in answers to questions in examination assessment tasks.

Key Word

Definition – what you have to do

Account Account for: state reasons for, report on. Give an account of: narrate a series of events or transactions

Analyse Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate implications

Apply Use, utilise, employ in a particular situation

Appreciate Make a judgement about the value of

Assess Make a judgement of value, quality, outcomes, results or size

Calculate Ascertain/determine from given facts, figures or information

Clarify Make clear or plain

Classify Arrange or include in classes/categories

Compare Show how things are similar or different

Construct Make; build; put together items or arguments

Contrast Show how things are different or opposite

Critically (analyse/evaluation) Add a degree or level of accuracy depth, knowledge and understanding, logic, questioning, reflection and quality to 

Deduce Draw conclusions

Define State meaning and identify essential qualities

Demonstrate Show by example

Describe Provide characteristics and features

Discuss Identify issues and provide points for and/or against

Distinguish Recognise or note/indicate as being distinct or different from; to note differences between

Evaluate Make a judgement based on criteria; determine the value of

Examine Inquire into

Explain Relate cause and effect; make the relationships between things evident; provide why and/or how

Extract Choose relevant and/or appropriate details

Extrapolate Infer from what is known

Identify Recognise and name

Interpret Draw meaning from

Investigate Plan, inquire into and draw conclusions about

Justify Support an argument or conclusion

Outline Sketch in general terms; indicate the main features of

Predict Suggest what may happen based on available information

Propose Put forward (for example a point of view, idea, argument, suggestion) for consideration or action

Recall Present remembered ideas, facts or experiences

Recommend Provide reasons in favour

Recount Retell a series of events

Summarise Express, concisely, the relevant details

Synthesise Putting together various elements to make a whole