Assessment policy

In order to progress to your Year 12 HSC e year, you must have completed your Preliminary course satisfactorily. The Principal will be asked to confirm that you have satisfactorily completed Preliminary course requirements before your entry for the HSC can be declared valid. Most School Preliminary courses will be completed by Term 4, and you will then begin work on your HSC course work which will be included in your HSC examination.

The purpose of school based assessments

Your school assessments will measure your performance in throughout each of your courses. In Year 12, your HSC course assessment marks are submitted to the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). Your school based assessment marks are worth 50% of your HSC.

Satisfactory completion of a course

To get your HSC in a course, the Principal must state that you have satisfied requirements. “Satisfactory completion” means that, 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 HSC course by the school
achieved some or all of the course outcomes
attended school regularly so that course completion requirements can be met. As a general rule, an attendance rate of at least 85% would be expected

Pattern of study to quality for the HSC

To qualify for the HSC you must satisfactorily complete a Year 11 pattern of study comprising at least 12 units and a Year 12 pattern of study comprising at least 10 units. Both patterns must include:

at least six units from Board Developed Courses
at least two units of a Board Developed Course in English
at least three courses of two units value or greater (either Board Developed or Board Endorsed Courses); and
at least four subjects

To satisfy pattern of study requirements for the HSC, you may count up to six units of Science in Year 11 and seven units of Science in Year 12.

Credentials

The HSC is awarded to students who have completed all eligibility requirements.

The HSC Record of Achievement is awarded when you leave school. If you leave school before completing the HSC, your Record of School Achievement (RoSA) will list school allocated grades for Preliminary courses which you have completed satisfactorily along with your Year 10 grades.

Your HSC Record of Achievement will list each course that you have studied satisfactorily in Year 11, as well as your Year 12 HSC courses. It will show two marks for each Board Developed Course. One mark is the scaled mark gained in the HSC examination. The other is the school assessment mark.

A certificate and a statement of attainment are issued for each VET course studied.

School based assessment

In the context of the HSC, the purpose of a school-based assessment program is to provide a summative measure of a student's achievement in relation to course outcomes. This includes:

a wider range of syllabus outcomes than may be measured by external examinations alone
multiple measures and observations made throughout the course rather than a single assessment event

Assessment tasks are conducted throughout Year 12 and each has a weighting determined by the school within requirements provided by NESA. Each formal task enables teachers to collect information about the students' achievement in relation to several outcomes, to award marks in accordance with marking guidelines, and to provide constructive feedback to students on their performance, highlighting their strengths and where they could make improvements.

HSC assessment marks

Concord High School assessment results are provided to the NESA for each Board Developed Course studied at HSC level by each student (except for English Studies and Mathematics Standard 1). Assessment marks for Board Developed Courses are moderated by NESA against the marks gained in the HSC examination. This process ensures comparability between the assessment marks submitted by each school. The mark submitted by the school is not the mark which will appear on your HSC, but the rank order remains the same.

Grades, not marks, will be used to report student achievement on school-based assessment in the new English Studies and Mathematics Standard 1 courses. Concord High School will use the Achievement Level Descriptions to award the A-E grade that best matches the level of achievement a student demonstrates in their school-based assessments. The grades will be reported on the HSC credential.

Concord High School will also provide an estimated examination mark for students enrolled to sit the optional examination. This estimated mark will only be used in the case of a successful Illness/Misadventure application.

The school is not permitted to tell you your final assessment mark in Year 12. You will be told your rank within your course group.

Course assessment schedules

It is your responsibility to check with the relevant classroom teacher or Head Teacher if any areas of the course schedule need clarification, or if you do not have a course assessment schedule for a course you are studying.

The course assessment schedule contains information about the set tasks in each component of your course. The course assessment schedule also informs you of approximately when the various assessment tasks will take place and the weighting of each task.

The date of each assessment task will be provided by the classroom teacher, in writing, at least two weeks prior to the task.

University entry

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is calculated from the best 10 units in Board Developed Courses subject to the following restrictions:

at least two units of English must be included
at least three Board Developed Courses of two units value or greater must be included
courses from at least four subjects must be included
at most, two units of Category B courses may be included

Board Endorsed (Content Endorsed) courses do not count towards the calculation of the ATAR. However, they may provide valuable experience and knowledge in a specific subject area. The list of Content Endorsed Courses offered at Concord High School include:

Sport, Lifestyle and Recreation
Visual Design

Category B courses

For the purposes of calculating the ATAR, no more than 2 units from Category B courses can be included. The list of Category B Courses offered at Concord High School are:

English Studies
Mathematics Standard 1
VET Construction
VET Hospitality – Kitchen Operations

Those students who take English Studies in the 2020 HSC and want to receive an ATAR will need to remember that only 2 units of Category B courses can be included, and at least 2 units of English must be included, in the ATAR calculation. Therefore English Studies students who want an ATAR will not be able to include any other Category B units and will need at least 8 units of Category A courses.

The Mathematics Standard Year 11 course is a common course for all students studying the Mathematics Standard syllabus. In Year 12 students can elect to study either the Mathematics Standard 1 Year 12 course (Category B) or the Mathematics Standard 2 Year 12 course (Category A). Students studying the Mathematics Standard 1 course may elect to undertake an optional HSC examination. To be eligible for an ATAR, students studying the Mathematics Standard 1 course must undertake a pattern of study to satisfy the ATAR requirements and complete the optional HSC examination.

Vocational Education and Training (VET) Courses

Work placement

The courses in VET industry curriculum frameworks have been designed to deliver specified units of competency. The units of competency have been drawn from industry training packages.

Work Placement is a mandatory HSC requirement of each course within this framework. 2 unit VET Courses comprise 70 hour work placement. (35 hours Preliminary, 35 hours HSC Courses).

Learning in the workplace will enable students to:

progress towards the achievement of industry competencies
develop appropriate attitudes towards work
learn a range of behaviours appropriate to the industry
practise skills acquired off the job in a classroom or workshop
develop additional skills and knowledge, including the key competencies

Assessment of the units of competency will be undertaken by a qualified assessor in classroom delivery.

Part time work

Under some circumstances, students’ part-time work in an appropriate workplace may be used to fulfill work placement requirements. For further details, see your class teacher.

The purpose of VET assessment

For VET courses, assessment is to judge competence on the basis of performance against the criteria set out in the learning incomes for each module, for the purpose of achieving AQF Qualifications, Statements of Attainment and Board of Studies requirements.

Competency based assessment

The courses within the VET Curriculum Frameworks are competency based courses. NESA and the Vocational Education and Training Accreditation Board (VETAB) require that a competency based approach to assessment be used for the competencies achieved.

The performance of students is based against a prescribed standard, not against the performance of other participants.

A student is judged either competent or not yet competent. This judgment is made on the basis of evidence, which may be in a variety of forms.

Students may take a maximum of three attempts at achieving an element of competency. Competency based assessment is based on the requirements of the workplace. Competence incorporates all aspects of work performance, including problem solving and the capacity to apply skills and knowledge in both familiar and new situations. Assessment of competence involves the assessment of skills and knowledge combined.

When students are assessed on tasks, a number of elements of competency or even several units of competency are assessed together. Competence is the integration of a wide range of skills, knowledge and attitudes.

Qualified assessors

Students will be assessed by their teachers, who are qualified assessors, or in some cases by their work placements supervisors if they are qualified workplace assessors.

Competency records

Achievement of elements of competency and units of competency will be progressively recorded by the teacher. This includes:

all performance criteria need to be met to demonstrate the achievement on an element of competency
all elements of competency must be achieved in order to demonstrate the achievement of a unit of competency

HSC examinations for VET courses

The HSC examination in VET courses is optional. It will consist of a written examination. Students will nominate during the HSC year to undertake the optional examination.

The examination is independent of the competency based assessment undertaken during VET courses and has no impact on student eligibility for AQF qualifications.

Illness and misadventure

Attendance before an assessment task

Students will be signed in for the whole school day and attend all timetabled lessons or scheduled school activities (eg. excursions) on the day of an assessment task and the school day prior to an assessment task.

Absence from an assessment task due to illness

If a student is ill and cannot attend on the day of the task, the student is to:

Notify the school by phone on 9745 3777 on the day of the task or as soon as possible following this date.
Complete an illness/misadventure form, with an attached medical certificate on the first day of return to school. The medical certificate should state: “(Student name) was not fit to attend the assessment task on…” Postdated medical certificates will not be accepted. The task must be submitted at this time if it is a hand in task or an appropriate time is negotiated to complete the task with the Head Teacher.

Under some circumstances, the Appeals Committee will decide on the outcome, which may include completing a substitute task, an estimated mark being awarded or no marks being awarded.

Absence due to misadventure

Misadventure refers to an event beyond the student’s control which prevented the student from attending school on the day of an assessment.

Following failure to complete an assessment task at the due time, the student is to:

Notify the school by phone on 9745 3777 on the day of the task or as soon as possible following this date
Submit an illness/misadventure form, with appropriate supporting documentation on the first day of return to school. The task must be submitted at this time if it is a hand in task r an appropriate time is negotiated to complete the task with the Head Teacher.

Under some circumstances, the Appeals Committee will decide on the outcome, which may include completing a substitute task, an estimated mark being awarded or no marks being awarded.

Illness and misadventure during an assessment task

Students may lodge an illness/misadventure appeal if they believe that circumstances immediately prior or during the assessment task, which were beyond their control, significantly diminished their assessment performance.

In such cases, students need to complete the illness/misadventure form and provide documentary evidence, such as a medical certificate, clearly detailing and supporting the illness or misadventure. The provision of such documents does not dictate the outcome of the appeal.

Students should submit this appeal to the Deputy Principal as soon as possible after the assessment task. The Appeals Committee will decide on the outcome, which may include completing a substitute task or an estimated mark being awarded.

Hand in tasks

Hand-in tasks should be submitted to the teacher/faculty as specified on the notification of the assessment task on the due date and at the start of the allocated lesson time. A zero mark will be awarded if the task is submitted after the start of the allocated lesson time.

In the event of illness or misadventure, the task is to be submitted by 8:55am to the office staff, who will issue a receipt for the collection of the task and hand it to the relevant Head teacher. Alternatively, an illness/misadventure form accompanied by appropriate. supporting documentation (i.e. medical certificate) and the assessment task should be submitted on the first day that the student returns to school.

If an assessment task is submitted late, and there is no successful illness/misadventure appeal, students will receive a zero for that task. Students are still required to submit the task to gain necessary feedback and to meet course requirements.

Oral presentations

Oral presentations should be submitted to the teacher/faculty as specified on the notification of assessment. A copy of the oral presentation must be submitted on the due date, which is the first day that the presentations begin, at the start of the lesson.

Students must attend all lessons allocated for presentations.

A zero mark will be awarded if the task is submitted after the start of the lesson unless an illness/misadventure form is submitted with the appropriate supporting documentation such as a medical certificate.

Circumstances not considered as illness or misadventure

Holidays and family events are not considered as illness/misadventure.

Technology and/or computer equipment failure are valid grounds for misadventure involving the late submission of assessment tasks.

To assist students in the utilisation of technology, the following guidelines should be considered:

Always complete the assessment before the due date. This enables appropriate measures to be taken in the event of equipment failure.
Back-up files regularly
Print copies of drafts and keep them while the assessment is in progress
Bring a copy of the file to school by USB
Email the task directly to the classroom teacher
Post the assessment on Google Classroom

Appeals surrounding the assessment procedure

The appeal concerning assessment procedures may only be based on the assessment process The appeal concerning assessment procedures may only be based on the assessment process.

Appeals process

When a student feels that a decision applied to his/her work is not consistent with the school’s assessment policy and procedures he/she may appeal to the Appeals Committee via their Deputy Principal.

Where a student feels that the appeal has not been heard appropriately, he/she may appeal to the Principal to determine if:

the weightings specified by the school in its assessment program were followed and conform with NESA requirements as detailed in the syllabus
the procedures used to determine the final assessment marks conform with the issued assessment program
there are no computational or other clerical errors in the determination of the assessment mark

If not satisfied with the school’s decision, a student may make a subsequent appeal to NESA. NESA will consider only whether the weightings, the procedures and the correct computations were made as detailed in the dot points above. There is no appeal against the marks awarded for individual assessment tasks.

Academic integrity

Malpractice is any activity undertaken by a student that allows him/her to gain an unfair advantage over others or places other students at a disadvantage. It includes, but is not limited to:

copying someone else’s work in part or in whole, and presenting it as one’s own
using material directly from sources such as books, journals or the internet without reference to the source
building on the ideas of another person without reference to the source
buying, stealing or borrowing another person’s work and presenting it as one’s own
submitting work to which another person, such as a parent, coach or subject expert has contributed substantially
using words, ideas, designs or the labour of others in practical and performance tasks without appropriate acknowledgement
paying someone to write or prepare material
breaching school examination rules
using non-approved aids during an assessment task
not making a genuine effort with an assessment task
contriving false explanations to explain work not handed in by the due date
assisting another student to engage in malpractice

Students are advised that they should acknowledge input from another student or teacher or tutor within their bibliography and that copies of previous tasks by other students are kept as records for future years.

Ensuring academic integrity

All students entering Year 11 and 12 will have completed The HSC: All My Own Work program designed to help students to follow the principles and practices of good scholarship. This includes understanding and valuing ethical practices when locating and using information as part of their HSC studies.

Strategies that teachers may use to further support students include:

thoroughly briefing all students in relation to the requirements of each task
allocating class time to the planning of a response to a task
requiring that students maintain a process diary or journal to show how their response or project or work was developed
asking students to submit a task at critical points in its development
having students submit their original drafts in addition to their final work
incorporating student oral presentations on the progress of their work
communicating clearly to students the extent of teacher, or other expert or outside, involvement permitted in the development of the work

Managing malpractice

Issues of malpractice will be investigated by the Head Teacher. In more serious cases, it will be reported to the Principal/Deputy Principal.

Where the malpractice is serious and where penalty or zero mark is to be awarded, the student will be advised of the issue and the school’s intention to manage a course of action. The student will be given an opportunity to appeal the outcome of this decision.

Students are made aware that sharing/showing their hand-in task to other students prior to it being submitted may lead to issues construed as malpractice and lead to a zero mark for that task. Students are encouraged not to share the substance of a hand-in task with other students. Likewise, students who may receive a substitute task through an appeal outcome are not to make any effort to gain knowledge, wording or content of the original task.

NESA register of malpractice

Students who are involved in malpractice must be entered into the NESA register of malpractice in HSC Assessment Tasks.

Misconduct in formal examinations and other assessment tasks

Misconduct during any task or formal examination may be regarded as malpractice. Zero marks may be awarded to students who are involved in misconduct during an examination or other assessment task.

Misconduct refers to any form of behaviour or activity that may fall under the definition of malpractice, is not consistent with school rules or causes disruption to assessment procedures.

All class tasks including formal examinations must be attempted seriously. Non-serious attempts or offensive language in answers will be referred to the Head Teacher and/or the Principal/Deputy Principal and may be awarded a zero for that task.

N-award process

Satisfactorily completing the course

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

followed the course developed or endorsed by NESA
applied himself/herself with diligence and sustained effort to the set tasks and experiences provided the course by the school
achieved some or all of the course outcomes

Student attendance

It could be determined by the Principal that prolonged or frequent absence has prohibited a student from meeting these requirements. Different subjects have different prerequisites, eg. practical subjects require a set number of hours of practical work. Absences may have a negative impact on this. Students who are concerned about their attendance with respect to meeting course requirements should discuss this with the Deputy Principal/Principal.

For all absences greater than three days, students are to complete an Exemption from School form. These forms are available from the Side Office.

Leave for overseas or interstate travel will not be approved during assessment periods. Fee-paying international students may also jeopardise their visas and right to remain in Australia.

If considering overseas or interstate travel, students during time periods where there are no assessments, students are to:

Explain to their family the impact the travel will have on the HSC
Complete the Exemption from School form and attached a copy of the airline ticket
Complete Overseas or Interstate Trips form for each subject studied. This form is to be signed by the Head Teacher of each subject, parent and Year Adviser.

Both forms are available at the Side Office and are to be submitted to the Principal for approval at least three weeks in advance.

Failure to complete or submit assessment tasks

If a student does not have a valid reason for failing to complete or submit an assessment task a zero mark may be recorded for that task. The student and his/her parents will be advised, in writing, of this.

Non-serious attempts

Students studying an HSC course must make a genuine attempt to complete course requirements. These requirements include students applying themselves with diligence and sustained effort to the set tasks and experiences provided in the course by the school, regardless of whether or not these tasks contribute to the final assessment mark. It is a matter for the teacher’s professional judgment to determine whether a student has made a genuine attempt to complete these requirements.

Communicating course requirement concerns

Students should receive meaningful feedback in all aspects of their coursework. This may be in the form of marks, grades and/or oral and written comments. Comments may be informed by the performance band descriptions though they should not be reported or graded against these bands. The feedback given for tasks that do not contribute to the final HSC assessment mark should assist students in preparation for tasks that are part of the HSC assessment program.

If it appears that a student is at risk of not meeting the internal assessment requirements in a course, a written warning letter must be given to the student and their parents notifying of a potential for an ‘N determination’ in the course.

The letter will

advise the student of the issue giving adequate time for the problem to be corrected
specify the details of action including a timeframe required by the student
alert the student to the possible consequences of an ‘N’ determination
request from the student and his/her parent a written acknowledgement of the warning

If the student is still at risk and is failing to address the issue detailed in the initial letter, a second follow-up warning letter will be issued.

On the first warning letter, a student may be interviewed by the classroom teacher. On the second warning letter, the student and their parents may be required to attend an interview with the Head Teacher.

An N determination in a course may place the award of the HSC in jeopardy and the individual course will not appear on the student’s Record of Achievement.

Disability provisions

NESA may provide disability provisions for students in the HSC examinations.

NESA may approve disability provisions if a student has a special need which would, in a normal examination situation, prevent him or her from:

reading and interpreting the examination questions and/or
communicating his/her responses

Principals have the authority to decide on and to implement special provisions for school based assessments including examinations.

Regardless of the nature of the special need, the provisions granted will be solely determined by the implications of that need on the student’s functioning in an examination situation.

Disability provisions at Concord High School

Concord High School will support students seeking disability provisions for their HSC examinations. Where it is appropriate and suitable these provisions will also be offered to the students to complete their internal assessment component.

If a student experiences a one-off incident which affects his/her examination performance and requires disability provisions (eg a physical injury), the Principal may elect to grant disability provisions for an individual task. These provisions will be issued using the NESA general guidelines, however, there is no guarantee that NESA will allocate the same provisions.

Concord High School will endeavour to provide students with access to disability provisions to ensure a fair process for all students. The implementation of disability provisions is however restricted by the resources available and remains the decision of the school.

Student responsibilities

Students must make an appointment with the Learning and Support Teacher (LAST) or school counsellor to formalise an application for disability provisions. Application forms are available from the STLA, school counsellor or Deputy Principal.

Students who have been awarded disability provisions are to check with their class teacher the arrangements for these provisions for the upcoming task.

Accelerants and Accumulants

Accumulants

In cases of demonstrated need, students may accumulate courses towards the HSC over a maximum of five years. The five-year period will commence in the first year the student satisfactorily completes an HSC course.

In the case of an accumulant who is repeating a subject where a major work or project is required, the major work or project submitted and marked in a previous year cannot be resubmitted without the special permission of NESA.

Accelerant students

In exceptional circumstances, students may accelerate into Preliminary and/or HSC Board Developed courses in advance of their usual cohort or in less than the NESA’s stated indicative times. Decisions about the acceleration of Higher School Certificate students will be made by the Principal in accordance with the principles contained in NESA’s Guidelines for Accelerated Progression (revised 2000).

Accelerants should complete all assessment tasks that are undertaken by students completing requirements in the normal timeframe. However, there may need to be flexibility in the order and timing of assessment tasks

Assessment tasks for accelerants, where possible, should be either delivered at the same time or in a manner that prevents students being able to communicate the task to each other or put one group at a significant advantage over the other.

Students transferring to Concord High School

For students who commence study at Concord High School between the commencement of the assessment period and the final date of HSC entry, the Principal may request information from the previous school. However, this information will only be used as a guide and will not form part of the assessment mark. This means that the student’s rank order for each course will be determined on the basis of tasks which have been completed from the time of arrival of the student at the school. Performance in assessment tasks following arrival at the school and teacher professional judgment will be used to determine the final mark for the course.

Senior Learning Centre

Concord High School values the importance of good study habits. The Senior Learning Centre (SLC) is fully staffed every period Monday to Friday. The many resources available to senior students include computers, past examination papers, numerous study guides with student samples of HSC answers and examiners’ comments. Senior students are expected to use the SLC at any time they do not have a class (optional when permission has been granted to arrive late or leave early). However, students should not be in the SLC in timetabled lessons unless special permission has been granted by the class teacher.

Rules for the SLC

• Students must have their names marked off on the roll whenever they are scheduled to be in the SLC.

• The primary purpose of the SLC is a study centre. Students are expected to work and respect the rights of others to work in this venue.

• Conversation should be kept to a low level.

• Phones should not be used in the SLC as with the rest of the school.

• The ‘Quiet Room’ is for silent work.

• The supervisors are available to assist and advise students with any work or career-type questions or problems.

• Computers are provided for your school work. They are not to be used for playing games.

• Do not leave valuables outside the SLC.

• Pass outs are available for students to briefly leave the SLC if required to attend an alternative venue (with permission).

• Students are to use their time wisely. The SLC teacher will assist all senior students with their research and study.