Assessment and reporting in Science Extension
Assessment for Science Extension 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 |
|---|---|
| Communicating scientifically | 30% |
| Gathering, recording, analysing and evaluating data | 30% |
| Application of scientific research skills | 40% |
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 Science Extension includes:
- a minimum weighting for an individual task of 20%
- a maximum weighting for an individual task of 40%
- 3 assessment tasks, including:
- task one should assess the skills developed in Section 1 of the Scientific Research Portfolio
- task 2 should assess the skills developed in Section 2 of the Scientific Research Portfolio
- task 3 should assess the Scientific Research Report with a weighting of 40%
- tasks one and 2 should not assess individual sections of the Scientific Research Report, in draft or final versions
- a formal written exam with a maximum weighting of 30%.
Assessing the skills developed in Section 1 of the Scientific Research Portfolio
The Scientific Research Portfolio must be monitored throughout the development of the Scientific Research Report to provide students with informal feedback and ensure authorship of student work.
The student log and one or more activities that assess the skills developed in Section 1 of the portfolio may provide a basis for assessment. The focus of the task is to demonstrate the research process and application of skills developed in the planning stages of scientific research.
A range of task types may be developed. The following examples provide two possible approaches.
This task requires students to present their research proposal in a similar manner to a scientific conference.
The presentation may include:
- an overview of the research proposal
- the hypothesis
- project milestones, timeline and rationale
- proposed methods of statistical analysis and visual representations to further support their proposal
- a question and answer session.
The selected topic for the literature review must not replicate the research topic of any student enrolled in the course.
Literature reviews are a key component in any research paper, report and thesis. They form the basis for coherent delivery of information to various stakeholders. These reviews are traditionally written for the academic community but can also be used to explain research to the general public and the lay person.
Literature reviews may require students to:
- explain and justify significant findings and research methods of other scientists
- understand and communicate the current status of the research topic
- compile reference lists and apply in-text referencing.
Assessing the skills developed in Section 2 of the Scientific Research Portfolio
The Scientific Research Portfolio must be monitored throughout the development of the Scientific Research Report to provide students with informal feedback and ensure authorship of student work.
The student log and one or more activities that assess the skills developed in Section 2 of the portfolio may provide a basis for assessment. The focus of the task is to demonstrate the research process and/or application of skills obtained in the data assembly stages.
A range of task types may be developed. The following examples provide two possible approaches.
The selected topic or data for the statistical case study must not replicate the research topic of any student enrolled in the course.
Case studies allow previously collected and analysed data to be evaluated by students in exam or open book conditions.
A case study may allow students to:
- demonstrate application of statistical techniques
- describe trends and patterns in data sets
- compare graphical representations of data
- construct conclusions
- describe limitations
- discuss ethical considerations of the topic.
Progress reports are a formal way to inform stakeholders about the development and achievement towards research milestones. They may serve as a self-reflection process and for the researcher to report challenges encountered, solutions for addressing the challenges and changes to the original plan.
A progress report may include:
- an outline of the project
- summary of progress
- detailed activities and progress
- results obtained to date
- recognition of key relationships developed
- challenges encountered, lessons learned and solutions
- a timeline outlining milestones and a timeframe to complete the Scientific Research Report.
The Scientific Research Report
Students must undertake an individual research project following the formal structure outlined in the Science Extension Stage 6 Syllabus. The research produced may be an extension of, but should not overlap with or significantly duplicate, any depth study attempted in the 2-unit science courses. Group projects are not permitted.
Students should avoid areas of research that may conflict with the ethos of the school. Students are to negotiate the selection of their research with their supervisor or nominated school authority. The school Principal is the final arbiter if disputes arise in regard to the appropriate nature of any proposed research.
Development of the Scientific Research Report should commence from the beginning of the Year 12 course. The report must be conceived and executed by the student under the instruction of their supervising teacher.
The skills for data analysis and report writing are developed throughout the course. The development of sections of the report may be completed in class as appropriate.
Students must complete their own work, including analysis and evaluation of their chosen topic. Schools must have procedures in place to ensure the effective supervision of the development of the research. This is particularly the case where work is undertaken without direct supervision.
If students use a mentor in the development of the report, the mentor must be aware that their role is limited to offering critical advice, posing open-ended questions and supporting the exploration of ideas. The supervising teacher is the primary mentor to the Science Extension student and all contributions made by a mentor must be documented in the student log.
All student contact and communication with external mentors must comply with relevant child protection policies.
NESA does not require the use of any particular style of referencing. Prescribed word limits, indicated in the Science Extension syllabus, do not include the references or appendices.
A brief written record of each student’s progress must be kept by the teacher. The student log and work completed during class may provide a basis for this record.
The Scientific Research Report is to be assessed as a complete piece of work.
A signed Science Extension Declaration and Certification Form (PDF 242.61KB) must be submitted with the report and retained by the school in accordance with the school’s assessment policy. This form is available in the Teacher’s Guide to the Scientific Research Report (PDF 105.32KB) and in the Student’s Guide to the Scientific Research Report (PDF 242.61KB).
Certification is required to ensure that each project is wholly the work of the student entered for the HSC and has been completed under the supervision of the teacher.
It is essential that:
- aspects of the process of development of the project take place in school time
- work completed away from school is regularly monitored by the supervising teacher
- each student signs a statement, witnessed by the supervising teacher, that the submitted project is their own work.
The process log is necessary for verification of authenticity and may be referenced in the case of school-based assessment appeals.
The uploaded Scientific Research Report must contain the following headings.
Title
The title and student number should appear on the cover page.
Abstract
The abstract is a one-paragraph (approximately 100–200 words) summary of the scientific research investigation. It contains the question, the methods, key results and conclusions. It should be accurate and precise. Referencing is not needed in the abstract.
Literature review
This section (approximately 750–1000 words) is designed to inform the reader of the relevance of the scientific research and includes background information enabling the reader to understand the key areas involved. It is usual to start the literature review with a broad scope and become more specific. Sources used are to be current and, where possible, original articles rather than reviews of the articles.
Scientific research question
The scientific research question addresses a single independent variable but may be broken down into subparts if multiple aspects are involved and are directly related. The Scientific Research Project should have a single major focus and subsequently only one main scientific research question. The question should be clear, precise and specific, written in scientific language, and be developed from the review of the literature.
Scientific hypothesis
A hypothesis is a tentative explanation for a phenomenon. It relates an independent variable to a dependent variable in a causal relationship that can be tested.
Methodology
The methodology should be written in passive voice, simple past tense and contain enough specific and detailed information that it can be repeated by another scientist to obtain the same results.
Results
This section describes what was observed, calculated or the trends discovered. It is not an explanation of the results. The results can either follow the order of the methodology or another meaningful order; eg most important to least important. Results may include tables, graphs and/or other visual representations to highlight important features. It may be relevant to comment on the degree of uncertainty stated for each set of data collected. All visual displays should be labelled with a number, concise name and a stand-alone description of how the result was obtained. It is useful to integrate visual displays with text so that the reader is guided through the research.
Discussion
The discussion (approximately 700–1200 words) forms the argument and provides an explanation of the phenomenon that was investigated. Other peer-reviewed scientific research should be used and referenced to discuss findings and to form an academic argument. The discussion includes an evaluation of the data-analysis and an explanation of the results, why they occurred, key limitations and further implications with suggestions for future directions of scientific research.
Conclusion
The conclusion (approximately 250–500 words) is a summary of the scientific research findings. It is usually one or two paragraphs and should not introduce new information.
Reference list and appendices
As the Scientific Research Project Report is not being marked in the HSC exam, the reference list and the appendices section is NOT to be included in the uploaded PDF document.
The Scientific Research Report will be internally marked by teachers and may contribute to a student’s school-based assessment mark.
Students may be required to refer to parts of their Report during the HSC Science Extension exam.
A copy of each student’s Scientific Research Report should be uploaded to Schools Online by the class teacher in Term 3.
Instructions on the process of uploading the Scientific Research Report will be available under Memos and Documents in Schools Online. The final due date for uploading the Scientific Research Report will be advised each year.
The uploaded Scientific Research Report must comply with the following prescribed parameters. This information about the Scientific Research Report should be read in conjunction with the Science Extension Stage 6 Course Structure and Requirements and Content.
Prescribed parameters
The uploaded Scientific Research Report must be 2500–3000 words. Word limits are indicated for selected components of the Scientific Research Report. The word count is based on all words written, as shown by a computer word count or manual count of each word. In-text referencing or footnotes are NOT included in the word count.
The uploaded Scientific Research Report must be word-processed, with the body text in 12 point Times New Roman or Arial, with 1.5 line spacing.
A footer with the student number and page reference must be included. The student’s name and school should NOT be included.
The Scientific Research Report must be saved and uploaded as a PDF document with the headings listed above. To facilitate access by students and markers, each heading must be set up as a bookmark. Students may use pictures and can embed an audio, video or interactive object into the PDF. The maximum file size of the uploaded PDF is 6 megabytes.
Instructions on creating bookmarks and embedding files can be found at the Adobe Support website.
HSC exam specifications
Questions will require students to apply and integrate knowledge, understanding and skills developed through studying the course and undertaking the Scientific Research Project.
Questions relating to the skills of Working Scientifically will be integrated throughout the exam. Students will be given the opportunity to apply these interrelated processes to examples of authentic scientific research.
This exam will be undertaken by students using a computer. Prior to the commencement of the HSC written exam period, schools will be required to upload each student's Scientific Research Report so that students may refer to their report, if required, in responding to questions during the exam.
Students may bring NESA-approved calculators for use during the exam.
Headphones will be required for questions that include audio stimulus.
The exam will be worth 50 marks.
The time allowed is 2 hours plus 10 minutes reading time.
The exam will consist of two sections. Both sections may examine content from Science Extension Stage 6 Syllabus Modules 1-4.
Section I (20 marks)
Questions in this section are designed primarily to assess students’ knowledge, understanding and skills relating to processes involved in scientific investigations, including analysing data.
Questions in this section may contain short stimulus such as texts or images.
There will be short-answer questions to the value of 20 marks.
Questions may contain parts.
There will be 3 to 5 items.
At least one item will be worth 7 marks.
Section II (30 marks)
Questions in this section are designed primarily to assess students’ knowledge, understanding and skills relating to scientific inquiry and research. Students will also apply knowledge, understanding and skills relating to communicating scientific ideas. Students may be asked to analyse or evaluate authentic scientific research or to explain, justify or evaluate some aspect(s) of their own research.
Students may be asked to make reference to their Scientific Research Report to demonstrate understanding of their scientific thinking.
Questions in this section may contain one or more pieces of extended stimulus material in a range of forms such as journal articles, audio and video.
This section will consist of two parts.
Part A (15 marks)
There will be short-answer question(s) to the value of 15 marks.
Questions may contain parts.
There will be 2 to 3 items, with no item worth more than 9 marks.
Part B (15 marks)
There will be one extended-response question with a value of 15 marks.
The question will have a rubric to inform students about how responses are assessed.
The question will have an expected length of response of approximately 600 words.