Assessment and reporting in Latin Continuers
Assessment for Latin Continuers 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 |
|---|---|
| Skills in translating | 30% |
| Skills in grammar analysis | 20% |
| Understanding texts | 30% |
| Understanding and translating unseen texts | 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 Latin Continuers includes:
- 3 assessment tasks, including:
- a formal written exam.
The recommended weighting for any individual task is 20% to 40%.
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 |
|---|---|
| Skills in translating | 30% |
| Skills in grammar analysis | 10% |
| Understanding prescribed texts | 30% |
| Understanding and translating unseen texts | 30% |
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 Latin Continuers includes:
- 4 assessment tasks, including:
- a minimum weighting for an individual task of 10%
- a maximum weighting for an individual task of 40%
- a formal written exam with a maximum weighting of 30%.
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.
Written paper (100 marks)
Time allowed: 3 hours plus 5 minutes reading time.
Dictionary use is permitted in the exam.
The paper will consist of 3 sections.
This section will consist of 3 questions.
- Question 1 (5 marks) will be a translation into English of one extract of approximately 80 words in total (relating to Objective 1).
- Question 2 (13 marks) will consist of approximately 4 short-answer parts based on one or more extracts from the prescribed text. The parts will relate to Objectives 2 and 3. The extract/s to be used will be different from the other extract provided.
- Question 3 (15 marks) will be one extended response question based on one or more extracts with an expected length of response of around 3 pages of an exam writing booklet (approximately 400 words) and relating to Objectives 2 and 3.
- Questions 2 and 3 may require a reference to the rest of the Latin prescription.
This section will consist of 3 questions.
- Question 4 (5 marks) will be a translation of English of one extract of approximately 12 lines in total (relating to Objective 1).
- Question 5 (13 marks) will consist of approximately 4 short-answer parts on one or more extracts from the prescribed text. At least one part will be worth 5 marks. The parts will relate to Objectives 2 and 3. The extract(s) to be used will be different from the other extract provided.
- Question 6 (15 marks) will be one extended response question based on one or more extracts with an expected length of response of around 3 pages of an exam writing booklet (approximately 400 words) and relating to Objectives 2 and 3.
- Questions 5 and 6 may require a reference to the rest of the Latin prescription.
This section will consist of 4 questions based on extracts. Each extract will have an introductory statement in English.
- Questions 7 and 8 will be based on one extract of non-prescribed prose.
- The extracts will be taken from the authors of the works prescribed for study.
- One of the questions (10 marks) will be a translation into English of approximately 60 words (relating to Objective 1).
- The other question (7 marks) will consist of short-answer parts based on a different section of the extract. At least one part will be worth 3 marks.
- Questions 9 and 10 will be based on one extract of non-prescribed verse.
- The extracts will be taken from the authors of the works prescribed for study.
- One of the questions (10 marks) will consist of a translation into English of approximately 10 lines (relating to Objective 1).
- The other question (7 marks) will consist of short-answer parts based on a different section of the extract. At least one part will be worth 3 marks.