Teachers are reminded that there are changes to HSC examinations and assessment that apply to many courses for the 2010 HSC. Specific changes for each course were first identified in the Summary of HSC Examination Specifications and Assessment Requirements documents that were published on the Board's website in February 2009.

Teachers are strongly encouraged to once again check the documentation available in their course specific syllabus page(s) to ensure that they are fully aware of all changes that apply for the 2010 HSC.

Assessment Changes for 2010

The following list includes all courses with new HSC assessment components and weightings from 2010.

Assessment programs used to determine the HSC internal assessment mark must comply with the components and weightings specified in the Assessment and Reporting documents which are available for each course on the Board's website.

Sample Assessment Schedules are also available for each course to assist teachers to construct school assessment schedules that are consistent with the Board's internal assessment requirements.

Examination Changes for 2010

Changes to the mark value, question type and/or format and structure of the examination paper will affect some examinations from 2010.

It is important that teachers check the 2010 HSC examination specifications for their course to ensure that they and their students are fully aware of the changes that will apply from this year.

Sample Examination Questions

Sample examination questions have been produced only for the following courses where there has been a significant change to the examination specifications.

Ancient History (PDF)
Classical Greek Continuers (PDF)
Classical Greek Extension (PDF)
Classical Hebrew Continuers (PDF)
Classical Hebrew Extension (PDF)
Community and Family Studies (PDF)
Food Technology (PDF)
Industrial Technology (PDF)
Latin Continuers (PDF)
Latin Extension (PDF)
Modern History (PDF)
Personal Development Health and Physical Education (PDF)
Society and Culture (PDF)
VET Framework courses
(Note. This list reflects only examinations with significant changes for 2010)

The sample examination questions are only examples of what could be asked within the HSC examination specifications which can be found on the Board's website for each course in the Assessment and Reporting documents. They are not meant to be prescriptive; other structures and formats, as well as targeted content and outcomes are possible in each year's examination.

Guidance on expected length for extended examination responses

The expected length for extended examination responses (except for English Standard, Advanced and ESL) is now included as a guide in the HSC examination specifications that are detailed in the Assessment and Reporting documents for each course.

This length is presented as the approximate number of examination writing booklet pages (based on average-sized handwriting), and/or an approximate number of words.

Students will not be penalised for responses of excess length: they may write less than or more than what is expected, and their responses will be marked on their merits.

Markers are looking to reward answers that are relevant to the question asked and that answer the specific question. Responses should be carefully planned rather than contain everything a student knows about a topic.

Examination Rubrics

Examination rubrics indicating general criteria for judging performance for extended-response questions have been amended where necessary and placed on the Board's website. These criteria are applied during marking in addition to criteria specific to each examination question.

Read more about changes to HSC examinations and assessments

Inquiries: Chris Thompson, Head, Measurement Support Unit,
chris.thompson@bos.nsw.edu.au, (02) 9367 8069.