Considerable progress has been made in delivering the materials required to support the Board's changes to examinations and assessments for the 2010 HSC.

The changes for the 2010 HSC are mostly minor and relate specifically to Assessment and Examinations.

Precise changes for each course were identified in the Summary of HSC Examination Specifications and Assessment Requirements documents that were originally published on the Board's website in February 2009. These documents can now be found on the Board's website within each subject page.

Most of the documents listed below are now available on the Board's website.

• Syllabus
• Assessment and Reporting Requirements
• Sample Assessment Schedule (further details below)
• Information Regarding the 2010 HSC Examination
• Summary of HSC Examination Specifications and Assessment Requirements

Where necessary examination rubrics will be developed and available on the Board's website in January 2010.

Specimen materials that illustrate differences in the types of examination questions will be produced for a small number of courses.

Teachers are encouraged to regularly check their subject specific syllabus page(s) to obtain copies of these valuable resources as they become available.

Due to ongoing consultation or syllabus reviews, several HSC courses will not be affected by examination and/or assessment changes in 2010. Read on for details of courses not affected by examination and/or assessment changes in 2010.

Existing syllabuses republished for 2010 HSC

HSC syllabuses and course related assessment and examination advice are now being published as separate documents. As a result it has been necessary to remove assessment and examination details from existing HSC syllabuses and to republish the syllabuses.

Reference on the Board's website to syllabuses for the 2010 HSC 'coming soon' appears to have caused some confusion and lead some teachers to believe a 'new' syllabus was to be expected. To avoid any misunderstanding the Board has identified syllabuses as 'content unchanged' or as having 'amendments for the 2010 HSC'.

Sample Assessment Schedules

The addition of sample assessment schedules for each course will help teachers to better adhere to the Board's recommended number of assessment tasks. The range of schedules demonstrate how assessment programs can be constructed to meet the Board's parameters that three to five tasks are sufficient for a 2 unit course and two to three tasks are sufficient for a 1 unit course.

In most cases for 2 unit courses, the sample schedule uses five tasks, but schools may use four or three if they prefer. In some cases, more than one schedule is provided, and further assessment schedules are planned to be added in the future. Each schedule shows that a variety of tasks can be used and that, overall, the weighting requirements for each of the assessment components are met. (Note that in a small number of courses, the number of tasks varies from the general requirements.)

There are many other ways in which similar HSC assessment grids could be constructed that may involve different types of tasks, timing of tasks and weightings given to each task. Schools may use the sample assessment schedules without modification, or change them to suit their particular needs, being mindful that the weightings for each of the assessment components in HSC courses are mandatory.

The sample assessment schedules reflect any changes that have been made to course assessment components and/or weightings.

Details of courses not affected by examination and/or assessment changes in 2010 due to ongoing syllabus consultation or syllabus reviews

Agriculture

As amendments to the HSC Agriculture syllabus are currently under way and the amended syllabus is scheduled for implementation with HSC students in 2011, there will be no changes for 2010. Teachers should continue working with the current Agriculture syllabus, examination format and assessment materials for the 2010 HSC course.

English

As consultation in 2 unit HSC English courses has not been completed, there will be no examination or assessment changes to 2 unit English (Standard), English (Advanced) or English (ESL) for 2010. Please note: changes will apply to the HSC English Extension 1 and English Extension 2 courses in 2010.

Legal Studies

As the new Legal Studies syllabus is scheduled for implementation with HSC students in 2011, there will be no changes for 2010. Teachers should continue working with the current Legal Studies syllabus, examination format and assessment materials throughout 2010.

Mathematics

As advised in February, teachers should continue working with the current Mathematics syllabuses, examination specifications and assessment materials throughout 2010.

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

In May 2009 the Board approved the release of some new mathematics teaching materials to help schools develop or 'freshen up' vocational or applied maths courses for the HSC.

In June the Board wrote to schools already offering school-developed courses, suggesting they look at the new materials if they felt the need to amend their existing courses.

With many of these schools showing interest in the new teaching materials, the Board has also made them available to schools looking to begin a practical or applied maths course for 2010 and beyond.

The materials are based on one of the five new HSC maths courses (Mathematics General 1) that had been scheduled for release to schools this year. The Board decided not to implement these new HSC courses as planned because of the ongoing development of the national curriculum and the potential for confusion in schools.

To view and discuss the materials please contact Fran Trefry, Head, Liaison Officer Unit, email fran.trefry@bos.nsw.edu.au or telephone 9367 8102.

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The latest Board of Studies NSW Assessment Resource Centre (ARC) upload sent 102 new graded work samples for English and Mathematics online.

The award-winning ARC now holds more than 1800 real student work samples across all learning areas, graded to an agreed A-E scale by practising teachers.

This means teachers and parents can readily view the quality of work that is typically produced by, for example:

a student demonstrating a B grade level in Science at the end of Stage 4 (Year 8), or

a student demonstrating a C grade level in Mathematics by mid-Stage 3 (Year 5), or

a student demonstrating an A grade level in English at the end of Stage 1 (Year 2).

While the earlier development of the ARC concentrated on demonstrating student work for the end of each two-year stage of schooling, all of the most recent ARC additions are 'mid-stage' samples for English and Mathematics. This gives teachers and parents a clearer view of expected standards in Years 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9.

The ARC site includes full explanations of A-E grades, how to view a student's progress over time, and links to school-specific information about reporting achievement.

The ARC also holds the Board's standing invitation to teachers to contribute class activities and student samples to the project. In addition, teachers can comment directly to the Board on the grade allocations and make their own suggested grades. Every graded sample includes a 'grade commentary' written by the teachers who agreed on the grade for that piece of work.

Many parents have found the ARC a useful way to understand their child's progress. Some community language translations about the A-E grades are provided on the ARC.

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BOS 12/09

At its meeting on 31 March the Board of Studies considered the final drafts of the Stage 6 Mathematics syllabuses developed during 2007-2008.

The Board's endorsement of the syllabuses at the meeting marked the final process in the review and development of Stage 6 Mathematics courses.

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BOS 08/09

The list of approved scientific calculators for use in the 2009 Higher School Certificate examinations has been updated, and can be found on the Board's website.

Schools seeking approval for the use of any scientific calculator not on this list should contact Chris Thompson by Friday 10 July 2009.

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The NSW Board of Studies is considering its position on the new draft Stage 6 (Years 11 and 12) Mathematics syllabuses in light of the planned 2011 implementation of a national maths curriculum.

The Board will provide advice to the NSW Minister for Education and Training after the next Board meeting on 31 March 2009.

Until further notice, NSW senior secondary maths teachers should expect to continue working with the current Stage 6 syllabuses throughout 2010.

The original timetable for the new syllabuses was to distribute them to schools this term for 12 months advance preparation time before implementation for Year 11 in 2010 and Year 12 in 2011.

In December 2008 the Minister wrote to the Board asking for advice about possible confusion if new NSW syllabuses were released just before the national syllabuses. A notice alerting teachers to this was placed on the Board's website.

At its meeting on 17 February the Board of Studies discussed this matter and decided to proceed by reviewing the final drafts of the syllabuses at its meeting on 31 March.

Following the meeting on 31 March the Board will recommend to the Minister the best approach to meet the needs of NSW students and teachers within the context of the national curriculum.

The Stage 6 Mathematics syllabuses are nearing finalisation following feedback on the consultation drafts distributed earlier this year.

In light of the work being undertaken by the National Curriculum Board to develop a national curriculum in Mathematics for K–12, the Board of Studies will consider the implications of finalising the syllabuses at its meeting in February.

BOS 37/08 (Vol 17 No 3)

The Board wishes to advise that the Mathematics K–6 Support Document for Students with Special Education Needs has been published on the K–6 website.

The online document supports teachers in the planning, programming, assessment, implementation and evaluation of learning experiences that enable all students to demonstrate achievement in relation to the outcomes and content of the Mathematics K–6 Syllabus.

A printed introduction to the online document will be sent to all primary schools.

Effective: Immediately

Contact:
Susan Jones
Senior Curriculum Officer, Special Education
(02) 9367 8148
susan.jones@bos.nsw.edu.au

The Mathematics Stage 6 Draft Syllabuses are now available for consultation. Draft Syllabuses are available for Mathematics General 1, Mathematics General 2, Mathematics Advanced, Mathematics Extension 1 and Mathematics Extension 2, together with Sample HSC Examination Questions. Surveys are also available, to gather views on the Draft Syllabuses. Completed surveys are due to the Board of Studies by 27 June 2008.

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Board Bulletin (Vol 17 No 1)

Draft syllabuses for the revised suite of Stage 6 Mathematics courses are currently being developed based on the syllabus writing briefs endorsed by the Board in September 2007.

The draft syllabuses will incorporate a number of new topics to be studied. For example, data analysis and mathematical modelling will be introduced into the calculus-based courses.

The draft syllabuses and associated surveys will be distributed to stakeholders, including all schools in NSW offering Stage 6 Mathematics courses, for consultation during May and June 2008. Focus group meetings will be conducted throughout NSW with teachers, academics and representatives of a range of other interest groups.

The final syllabuses will be distributed to schools in November 2008 for familiarisation and programming during 2009 and implementation in 2010 for Year 11.

The first HSC examinations based on the new syllabuses will take place in 2011.