Use of AI by students for the HSC

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology have significant implications for the future of education in NSW and globally. 

AI will never replace strong curriculum, effective assessment and good teaching practices. 

NESA’s rules for governing assessment for the Higher School Certificate (HSC) include academic honesty and acknowledging the use of external reference materials and sources in student work. 

Schools and school sectors must have policies concerning the use of AI in schools that align with NESA’s Assessment Certification and Examination (ACE) Rules. 

AI has implications for academic honesty. Unapproved use of AI in the completion of assignments is a breach of academic integrity. 

All work presented for HSC assessment and external examinations (including submitted works and practical examinations) must be a student’s own. 

All students must complete All My Own Work (AMOW), or its equivalent, to be eligible for entry into a Preliminary and/or HSC course, and for the award of the HSC. NESA updated AMOW topics in Term 3 2024 to include a new topic covering ethical use of AI. 

Schools are responsible for effective assessment design for school-based assessment tasks. They are also responsible for exercising professional judgement that all marks awarded towards the HSC accurately reflect what the student knows and can do.  

A school-based assessment program for HSC courses can include no more than one take-home assessment, with a maximum weighting of 15%. Take-home assessments are tasks completed outside a classroom, formal examination setting or teacher-approved monitoring conditions. 

Schools need to develop policies and procedures to support teachers in the use of AI. Students should be confident that plagiarism controls will be fairly applied in all cases. 

NESA’s ACE Rules do not prohibit the use of technologies designed to support teaching and learning, including assistive technologies for students with disability. Schools decide how best to use AI to support teaching and learning, in accordance with their policies. 

Advice for students 

Schools are responsible for providing specific advice to students about the use of AI as part of teaching, learning and assessment. Schools are also responsible for providing specific advice to students in relation to how school-based assessment tasks will be assessed to reflect students’ own knowledge and capabilities. Students should be aware of, and comply with, their school’s policy for using AI. 

NESA’s rules regarding cheating and plagiarism continue to apply. 

Advice for teachers 

Teachers should be aware of, and comply with, sector and school policies for using AI, which can be used to enhance students’ learning experiences in approved and monitored contexts. 

Schools should implement a variety of assessment tasks that enable students to demonstrate their learning against achievement standards in different ways and at regular intervals. For tasks that count towards HSC marks, schools must also comply with the limit of no more than one take-home assessment, with a maximum weighting of 15%.  

Teachers can use their professional judgement to determine when it’s appropriate to use AI in teaching, learning and some assessments that do not count towards the HSC. 

Teachers should incorporate instructions on how to acknowledge all source materials appropriately, including AI, in alignment with NESA’s published rules and guidelines. NESA provides resources to support the teaching of correct source referencing. 

Schools should not rely on AI detection tools as the main safeguard against malpractice. Detection tools can produce false positives and false negatives, and research has raised equity concerns for some student cohorts, including students who do not speak English as a first language. If used at all, detection software should be treated as only one input for teacher professional review, not as the sole proof of AI use or malpractice.