Assessment and reporting in Ancient History
Assessment for Ancient History provides information to support learning and reporting of performance. Find out about assessment requirements and the structure of the HSC exam.
School-based assessment requirements
Schools are required to develop an assessment program for each Year 11 and Year 12 course. NESA provides information about the responsibilities of schools in developing assessment programs in course-specific assessment and reporting requirements and in the Assessment Certification Examination (ACE) rules and requirements.
Schools are required to submit to NESA a grade for each student based on their achievement at the end of the course.
Teachers use professional, on-balance judgement to allocate grades based on the Common Grade Scale for Preliminary courses.
Teachers consider all available assessment information, including formal and informal assessment, to determine the grade that best matches each student’s achievement at the end of the course.
See ACE (Assessment, Certification and Examination rules and requirements) for further information.
Assessment programs must reflect course components and weightings
The course components and component weightings for Year 11 are mandatory.
| Course component | Weighting |
|---|---|
| Knowledge and understanding of course content | 40% |
| Historical skills in the analysis and evaluation of sources and interpretations | 20% |
| Historical inquiry and research | 20% |
| Communication of historical understanding in appropriate forms | 20% |
Schools may determine specific elements of their assessment program
Schools have authority to determine the number, type of task and the weighting allocated to an assessment task. Schools may also follow the sample assessment programs provided by NESA.
Sample assessment program
NESA’s sample Year 11 formal school-based assessment program for Ancient History includes:
- 3 assessment tasks, including:
- a formal written exam
- an Historical Investigation.
The recommended weighting for any individual task is 20% to 40%.
Historical Investigation
The Historical Investigation may be undertaken as a standalone study or integrated into any aspect of the Year 11 course. The investigation must not overlap with or duplicate significantly any topic to be attempted in the Year 12 Ancient History or History Extension courses.
Further information relating to the Historical Investigation is provided within the Historical Investigation section of the Ancient History Stage 6 Syllabus.
NESA requires schools to submit a school-based assessment mark for each Year 12 candidate in a course. Formal school-based assessment tasks should reflect the syllabus outcomes and content. The mark submitted by the school provides a summation of each student’s achievement measured at several points throughout the course.
A school’s program of school-based assessment includes both mandatory and non-mandatory elements.
See ACE (Assessment, Certification and Examination rules and requirements) for further information.
Assessment programs must reflect course components and weightings
The course components and component weightings for Year 12 are mandatory.
| Course component | Weighting |
|---|---|
| Knowledge and understanding of course content | 40% |
| Historical skills in the analysis and evaluation of sources and interpretations | 20% |
| Historical inquiry and research | 20% |
| Communication of historical understanding in appropriate forms | 20% |
Schools may determine specific elements of their assessment program
Schools have authority to determine the number, type of task and the weighting allocated to an assessment task. Schools may also follow the sample assessment programs provided by NESA.
Sample assessment program
NESA’s sample Year 12 formal school-based assessment program for Ancient History includes:
- 4 assessment tasks, including:
- a minimum weighting for an individual task of 10%
- a maximum weighting for an individual task of 40%
- an Historical Analysis with a weighting of 20–30%
- a formal written exam with a maximum weighting of 30%.
Historical Analysis
The Historical Analysis provides students with the opportunity to focus on an historical question, issue or controversy of interest, and to develop a reasoned argument, supported by evidence. It may occur in or across any of the Year 12 topics selected for study.
The Historical Analysis may be presented in written, oral or multimodal form, and must:
- be completed individually
- be a maximum of 1200 words, 6 minutes duration or equivalent in multimodal form
- address relevant syllabus outcomes
- relate to a Year 12 topic or topics studied in the Ancient History Stage 6 Syllabus.
Formal written exam
This task may assess a broad range of course content and outcomes. Schools may choose to replicate the timing and structure of the HSC exam.
HSC exam specifications
The external HSC exam measures student achievement in a range of syllabus outcomes.
The external exam and its marking relate to the syllabus by:
- providing clear links to syllabus outcomes
- enabling students to demonstrate the levels of achievement outlined in the performance band descriptions
- applying marking guidelines based on criteria that relate to the quality of the response
- aligning performance in the exam each year to the standards established for the course.
Exam questions may require candidates to integrate knowledge, understanding and skills developed through studying the course.
The exam will consist of a written paper worth 100 marks.
The time allowed is 3 hours plus 5 minutes reading time.
The paper will consist of four sections.
Questions may include sources and/or interpretations.
Questions may examine content from the Survey and Focus of study.
Section I – Core: Cities of Vesuvius – Pompeii and Herculaneum (25 marks)
- There will be three or four questions.
- This section will require candidates to analyse and interpret sources and apply their own knowledge.
- One question will be worth 10 to 15 marks.
- Candidates will be required to answer all questions.
Section II – Ancient Societies (25 marks)
- There will be one question for each of the eight topics.
- Questions will contain three or four parts.
- One part will be worth 10 to 15 marks.
- Candidates will be required to answer the question on the topic they have studied.
Section III – Personalities in their Times (25 marks)
- There will be one question for each of the ten topics.
- Questions will contain two or three parts.
- At least one part will be worth 10 to 15 marks.
- Candidates will be required to answer the question on the topic they have studied.
Section IV – Historical Periods (25 marks)
- There will be one extended-response question for each of the ten topics.
- Each question will have two alternatives.
- Candidates will be required to answer one alternative on the topic they have studied.
- The expected length of response will be around eight pages of an exam writing booklet (approximately 1000 words).