HSC minimum standard
Background
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Introduction
As communicated by NESA, students in NSW are required to meet a minimum standard of literacy and numeracy to receive the HSC.
Students demonstrate their achievement of the minimum standard through attaining a Level 3 or 4 in short online reading, writing and numeracy tests.
The reading and numeracy test each contain 45 multiple-choice questions and are adaptive (questions are differentiated based on student ability and will become harder or easier depending on whether a student is answering questions correctly or incorrectly).
The writing test contains one question based on a visual or text prompt and students are required to write a response of up to 500 words.
The HSC minimum standard is set at Level 3 of the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF).
For current information about the HSC minimum standard, always consult the NESA HSC minimum standard website.
Individuals performing at this level typically produce a range of familiar texts with appropriate grammatical structures and writing conventions.
Students:
sequence writing to produce cohesive texts and vary language to suit the audience and purpose
use a range of formal and informal language, and appropriate vocabulary with increasing precision for the audience and context
use tense appropriately, and simple, compound and some complex sentences
use punctuation to aid understanding
spell frequently used words with reasonable accuracy
use strategies to spell unfamiliar words.
Individuals performing at this level typically comprehend everyday texts in familiar and some less familiar contexts.
Students:
recognise the distinguishing features of common types of texts
locate, integrate and interpret information in detailed written material, charts, diagrams and tables
identify some implied meanings and make simple inferences
recognise common expressions, and understand that words may have different meanings in different contexts
compare information from different sources, and use strategies to predict the meaning of unknown words
use punctuation such as apostrophes and quotation marks as an aid to understanding.
Individuals performing at this level typically select appropriate strategies from a variety of everyday mathematical processes in familiar and some less familiar contexts.
Students:
interpret and comprehend mathematical information in written material, diagrams, charts and tables
use large whole numbers in words and figures, and understand and convert routine fractions, decimals and percentages, and apply rates
use and apply order of arithmetical operations to solve multi-step calculations
describe, compare and interpret the likelihood of everyday chance events
interpret and comprehend dates and time, including 24 hour time
identify and estimate common angles
understand and calculate familiar metric measurements for length, mass, volume, temperature and simple area
use scales and keys to read everyday maps and plans
understand and use common 2 and 3 dimensional (2D and 3D) shapes and objects.
National Literacy and Numeracy Learning Progressions
What are the learning progressions?
The learning progressions are a teaching and learning resource. They describe common pathways of literacy and numeracy development from Kindergarten to Year 10. The learning progressions map to the NSW syllabuses and the Australian curriculum in English and maths, demonstrating the development needed to meet stage outcomes. They can be used to determine what students know already, and what they need to learn next.
Why have the learning progressions been developed?
The learning progressions have been developed to help identify student needs, and to support classroom planning and reporting.
The learning progressions will:
provide comprehensive information about literacy and numeracy development from K-10
identify knowledge, understanding and skills that can be demonstrated across all learning areas, not just English and maths
allow teachers to locate a student's current knowledge and ability more accurately, to determine the learning that should follow.
The learning progressions are used as a tool to support the teaching of literacy and numeracy and do not replace the syllabus documents.
Further support
We recommend that teachers familiarise themselves with the National Literacy and Numeracy Learning Progressions by engaging with the learning progressions document and/ or completing the free online course through MyPL:
(Note: This online module will count towards 3 hours of professional learning).
Resources
The resources have been designed to assist schools in targeting specific areas of need to support students to achieve the minimum standard.
Each resource has been linked to the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) and the National Literacy and Numeracy Progressions.
The links to the Learning Progressions are not explicit indicators that reflect the minimum standard of Level 3. They are used to give teachers an idea about what students know already, and what they need to learn next.
Teachers can use the suggested Learning Progression indicators on each resource and determine whether students have demonstrated an observable skill above, at, or below the suggested indicator, using the Learning Progressions document to inform their teaching of specific strategies.
Each resource can be modified to best suit the needs of the students and should be used to support the teaching of literacy and numeracy within multiple KLAs.