4. During Year 12

4.1 Completing your school-based assessments

For most Board Developed Courses with HSC exams, school-based assessment makes up 50% of your HSC mark and is shown on your RoSA (see 6.1 Getting your HSC results).

Schools prepare and run an assessment program for each course, in line with NESA requirements. NESA determines which course components are assessed, and how they are weighted in the assessment and reporting sections under each syllabus.

Schools set individual assessment tasks and decide due dates and weightings for each. These tasks measure knowledge, skills and understanding for a wide range of outcomes. They may include:

• tests
• written assignments
• practical activities
• fieldwork
• projects.

When you start your HSC courses, your school must give you details of your assessment schedule, including weightings and due dates.

All work that you present in any HSC school-based assessment task or exam must be your own. Malpractice, including plagiarism, could mean that you receive zero marks for that task or exam (see 2.1 Maintaining honesty and integrity and 2.2 Understanding malpractice).

NESA moderates your final school-based assessment mark when calculating your final results for courses that have HSC exams

Your school uses your performance in assessment tasks to calculate your school-based assessment mark for each course. If you study a course at an institution outside your home school, that institution provides your assessment mark.

At the end of the assessment program, your school (or other institution delivering the course) sends your assessment marks to NESA. NESA then moderates these marks to calculate the assessment marks that appear on your results (see 6.1 Getting your HSC results).

Moderating means adjusting your school assessment marks so they are on the same scale as your school’s exam marks for that course. Each school group’s assessment marks are adjusted based on how the school group performs in the HSC exam. NESA does not change your rank order (your position in the school group for each course) that your school submits. To find out more, see Assessment moderation.

4.2 Completing your courses and work placements

Your principal certifies that you have completed a course

Your principal will certify that you have completed a Board Developed or Board Endorsed Course if, in your principal’s view, there is enough evidence that you have met the following criteria:

1. followed the course
2. applied yourself with diligence and sustained effort to the set tasks and experiences that the school provided in the course
3. achieved some or all the course outcomes.

For courses where school-based assessment marks are submitted, students must make a genuine attempt at assessment tasks that contribute more than 50% of the available marks.

For most VET Industry Curriculum Framework courses and some VET Board Endorsed courses, you must undertake set work placement hours to develop industry competencies and practise learned skills. You must complete any required work placement to complete these courses. If mandatory work placements are not completed, your school will issue you with a non-completion of course requirements (N-determination).

You will receive a warning if you are not meeting course requirements

If you are in danger of not completing a course, your school will give you a written warning in time for you to meet criteria 1 to 3 above.

If you do not complete a course:

• you will receive no result in that course
• the course will not appear on your NESA record
• the course will not count towards your HSC pattern of study.

Your school will tell you, in writing, if your principal determines you did not complete a course. You will then have the right to appeal to the school against this determination. If your appeal is unsuccessful, you can appeal to NESA. Your principal will explain this to you and tell you how to appeal.

4.3 Planning for exams and getting your timetable

Check Students Online for your personal HSC exam timetable

We publish the HSC exam timetable on our website and personalised timetables on Students Online in Term 2. Check that all your exams appear and tell your school immediately if any courses are missing. Be especially careful with courses with similar names, such as the different Mathematics courses, and ensure the correct course appears on your timetable. Check your exam centre location and make sure it is correct.

If the published HSC timetable lists an exam clash for you, both you and your principal will have been notified by email. You will be able to see the adjustment in your personal timetable. Please contact your school immediately if there is an error.

You must read your timetable carefully. If you miss an exam because you misread the timetable, contact your principal immediately. You cannot apply for illness/misadventure on these grounds (for further information, see 5.1 Attending your exams).

If you change any courses during the year, you must be aware of the updates to your personal timetable on Students Online. You cannot apply for illness/misadventure due to having an outdated timetable.

If you are studying English Studies, Mathematics Standard 1 or a 240-hour VET Industry Curriculum Framework course, you may sit for the corresponding optional HSC exam. (Students studying the 360-hour Human Services Framework course are also eligible to sit for the HSC exam.) You will not automatically be entered for these exams as they are not compulsory.

If you want to sit for the optional HSC exam, tell your school, even if you are studying the course outside of your school, such as at TAFE NSW or at another RTO. The exam for these courses will be held at your main school, not the school where you are studying the course. If you plan to sit for the optional HSC exam, it should appear on your timetable. Contact your school if it is not listed.

Your exam mark for each Board Developed Course is based on how you perform in the external HSC exam, which we set and mark. Some courses have a practical component (project, submitted work or performance) in addition to the written exam component.

Online exams are held for Enterprise Computing, Science Extension and Software Engineering. You should complete the sample exam for the relevant course to ensure you are familiar with the format and functions of the exam.

There are no external HSC exams for Life Skills courses or Board Endorsed Courses.

4.4 Completing practical exams (projects, submitted works and performances)

Check the requirements

The HSC exams for the following courses include a practical component:

• Dance
• Design and Technology
• Drama
• English Extension 2
• Industrial Technology
• Languages (except classical languages and [Language] and Literature courses)
• Music
• Society and Culture
• Textiles and Design
• Visual Arts.

See Important dates for all practical exams.

You need to maintain general community standards in your HSC practical exams. This means considering the values and culture of your school and its community as you develop these works. Works may not be selected for showcase events if the content and presentation of the work are considered inappropriate for a general audience.

The assessment and reporting documents for each course are also on the NESA website. They show the requirements for practical exams. You should read and understand them to make sure you meet all the requirements. The markers consider the course requirements when marking your work.

You cannot submit any part of a work for more than one course. If you are repeating a course that includes a submitted work, you cannot resubmit a work that has already been marked for the HSC without NESA’s permission. If you developed a major work for a previous HSC exam but did not submit it, you can only submit it for your current course if your school agrees.

Your school must certify all components of the HSC practical exam

For all practical exam components (projects, submitted works and performances), you will need to sign a declaration stating that:

• the work is your own
• you have properly acknowledged anyone else’s words, ideas, designs or work that you have used (see 2.1 Maintaining honesty and integrity).

Your teacher will monitor and record the progress of your work. Your teacher and principal must then certify that you did the work under the teacher’s supervision and that it:

• is your own work
• is consistent with earlier drafts and other examples of your work
• was completed and/or submitted by the due time/date.

If a practical exam component is not certified, your marks may be reduced, or you may get a mark of zero.

If you are planning a work that you will need to work on at home, you must get your teacher’s permission.

Loss or damage

We will take every care with your submitted work but are not responsible for any loss or damage sustained in transit or during marking. You should insure your work if you are concerned.

Keep copies of your submitted works if you can.

Some courses have specific exam details

If you study English Studies, Mathematics Standard 1 or Numeracy, your final result will be a grade (A to E) submitted by your school. If you do the optional HSC exam for English Studies or Mathematics Standard 1 course, your final result will be an exam mark and an HSC Performance band. Your final HSC mark will be the same as your exam mark.