Assessment and reporting in Mathematics Extension 2
Assessment for Mathematics Extension 2 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.
Year 12
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 |
|---|---|
| Understanding, Fluency and Communication | 50% |
| Problem Solving, Reasoning and Justification | 50% |
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 Mathematics Extension 2 includes:
- 4 assessment tasks, including:
- a minimum weighting for an individual task of 10%
- a maximum weighting for an individual task of 40%.
Assignment or investigation-style task
The length and scheduling of the assignment or investigation-style task is at the discretion of the school. The task should provide opportunities to gather evidence about the:
- achievement of a range of outcomes
- application of Working Mathematically components
- demonstration of knowledge and skills in different ways to the HSC exams.
The task provides application and modelling opportunities.
Outcomes that are content specific should be assessed and should include the following:
MEX12-7: applies various mathematical techniques and concepts to model and solve structured, unstructured and multi-step problems
MEX12-8: communicates and justifies abstract ideas and relationships using appropriate language, notation and logical argument
The following examples provide some approaches to task types:
- an investigative project or assignment involving presentation of work in class
- an independently chosen project or investigation
- scaffolded learning tasks culminating in an open-ended or modelling-style problem
- a guided investigation or research task involving collection of data and analysis.
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 specifications will apply to the Mathematics Extension 2 Stage 6 Syllabus commencing with the 2020 HSC exam program.
The exam will be based on the Mathematics Extension 2 Year 12 course and will focus on the course objectives and outcomes. The Mathematics Advanced and Mathematics Extension 1 courses will be assumed knowledge for this exam.
Candidates will also be required to complete the Mathematics Extension 1 paper in addition to the Mathematics Extension 2 paper.
This exam will consist of a written paper worth 100 marks.
The time allowed is 3 hours plus 10 minutes reading time.
The Mathematics Advanced, Mathematics Extension 1 and Mathematics Extension 2 Reference Sheet will be provided.
Students may bring NESA-approved calculators for use during the exam.
The paper will consist of two sections.
Section I (10 marks)
- There will be objective-response questions to the value of 10 marks.
Section II (90 marks)
- Questions may contain parts.
- There will be 37 to 42 items.
- At least two items will be worth 4 or 5 marks.