Board of Studies News - History

Anzac Day is approaching - get Gallipoli resources here

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:51:00+1100

A podcast tour of Gallipoli, photographs of Australian nurses on Lemnos Island and a huge collection of Anzac teaching resources are available at www.anzacday.gov.au

The Board of Studies NSW developed this educational website in 2006. It features personal photos, sketches, transcripts, maps and other images of the Gallipoli campaign from the archives of the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney.

The rarely seen images are published with permission on the 'Anzac Day' website www.anzacday.gov.au and are an invaluable resource for all NSW students when they study Gallipoli and the Anzac legend in the NSW History syllabus.

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Quality not quantity is the key to 2010 HSC

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 06:55:00+1100

First published on this site on 23 February 2009

Related entry: 2010 HSC exam and assessment changes

Quality rather than quantity is the key message for changes announced today to the 2010 NSW Higher School Certificate.

Minister for Education and Training, Ms Verity Firth said HSC students will now be provided with the approximate length expected for their exam essays.

"The aim is to encourage students to answer the question in a relevant, organised way, rather than simply write everything they know on a topic," said Ms Firth.

"The new recommended lengths will vary depending on the course and the question.

"For example, in the HSC Business Studies exam, there are two 20-mark essays. For the 2010 exam, students will be advised that the expected length of each essay is around six writing booklet pages, or approximately 800 words.

"In the past, HSC markers have reported that students were writing 20 pages or more per essay - apart from sometimes producing irrelevant answers, this can leave students short of time to complete the whole paper adequately.

"However, the suggested length will be advice only and students will not be penalised for answers longer or shorter - all essays will still be marked on their merits.

Ms Firth said guidelines are being developed to help students avoid spending unnecessary amounts of time and money on their HSC major works, often to the detriment of their other HSC courses.

"For example, there are cases of Design and Technology students providing 20,000 to 40,000 word portfolios for marking in addition to the major design project," she said.

"Of course we won't stop passionate young artists and designers from focusing on the work they enjoy the most - the aim here is to let them know they can get high marks without spending a fortune or neglecting their other studies.

Ms Firth said multiple choice questions were being introduced in four subjects - Ancient and Modern History (value between 5 to 10 marks), Industrial Technology (10 marks) and Society and Culture (value 8 marks).

The value of multiple choice questions will also be increased in eight subjects including Geography, Physics, Chemistry and Biology (up from 15 marks to 20 marks), and Food Technology (up from 10 marks to 20 marks).

"Multiple choice questions provide consistency across similar natured exams and give greater ability to test a student's knowledge," said Ms Firth.

The other change to the 2010 HSC is increase of the value of the externally marked Society and Culture Personal Interest Project from 30 per cent to 40 per cent, consistent with marks for other subjects' major works.

There are no changes to exam lengths, allotted reading times or recommended number of school assessment tasks.

Ms Firth said the changes were the result of consultation last year by the Board of Studies. More than 900 submissions were received from individuals and groups representing students, teachers and parents.

"The changes can be seen as further improvement to an extremely successful Higher School Certificate, rightly recognised as a leading international secondary school credential.

"None of the changes apply to the 2009 Year 11 or Year 12 students.

"Further consultation will be undertaken on English, the only mandatory course in the HSC.

"As a result, there will be no changes to 2-unit English until 2011 HSC at the earliest.

Sample multiple choice questions, school assessment programs and other support materials will be developed and progressively added to the Board of Studies' website this year.

The Board will work closely with professional teacher associations to generate these materials for teachers and students.

Test papers from the 2007 School Certificate for download

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:08:00+1100

The following 2007 School Certificate test papers are now available for download:

New Board of Studies publications - January 2008

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:10:00+1100

The following publications have been added to the Board of studies website in January 2008:

Notes from the Marking Centre (including Marking Guidelines) for the following HSC 2007 Examination papers:

2007 HSC Preliminary (Year 11) and 2007 School Certificate results lists:

ARC on a growth curve!

Mon, 14 May 2007 14:52:00+1100

More than 270 activities and almost 1000 work samples aligned to grades are now on the Assessment Resource Centre (ARC) for Stages 1 to 5.

Almost 500 primary work samples are now on the ARC across all key learning areas. More than 80 activities are also available on the site to assist teachers in awarding A to E grades in Semester 1 reports.

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New Gallipoli treasures available online for NSW History students

Wed, 24 May 2006 15:18:00+1100

The Board of Studies NSW has developed a new educational website which features a collection of recently uncovered private photos, sketches, transcripts, maps and other images of the Gallipoli campaign from the archives of the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney.

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Official Notice - Clarification - History Years 7-10 Syllabus

Wed, 24 May 2006 11:44:00+1100

BOS 20/06 (Vol 15 No 2)

The Board of Studies wishes to advise teachers of the History Years 7–10 Syllabus (approved June 2003) of the following clarification to the Stage 5, Mandatory Syllabus, Topic 7: People Power and Politics in the Post-war Period, p. 43:

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Official Notice - Amendments - Geography Years 7-10 and History Years 7 - 10 Syllabuses

Wed, 24 May 2006 11:37:00+1100

BOS 21/06 (Vol 15 No 2)

The Life Skills Outcomes and Content sections of the Geography Years 7–10 Syllabus (2003) and the History Years 7–10 Syllabus (2003) require the following corrections to clarify the requirements for study:

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Official Notice - Errata - Ancient History Stage 6 Syllabus and 2006 HSC Specimen Paper

Wed, 24 May 2006 11:25:00+1100

BOS 19/06 (Vol 15 No 2)

The Board of Studies wishes to advise teachers of the Ancient History Stage 6 Syllabus (approved July 2004) of the following errata:

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2006 School Certificate Specimen Australian History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship Test Package

Thu, 11 May 2006 14:07:00+1100

The 2006 School Certificate Specimen Australian History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship Test Package including the Mapping Grid, is now available.

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Anzac Day Resources

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 15:40:00+1100

This new Board of Studies NSW website is a portal to a range of educational resources about Australia's involvement in world wars.

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2005 School Certificate Test Objective Response Answers

Tue, 24 Jan 2006 12:28:00+1100

The 2005 School Certificate Test Objective Response Answers for English Literacy, Mathematics, Science and Australian History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship are now available.

Support Material for Ancient History Stage 6 Syllabus

Fri, 20 Jan 2006 12:19:00+1100

The Support Material for Ancient History Stage 6 Syllabus is also available for downloading.

Revised Stage 6 Modern and Ancient History Syllabuses

Sun, 20 Jun 2004 09:57:00+1100

BOS 43/04

The revised Stage 6 Modern History and Ancient History syllabuses are to be implemented for the preliminary course in Year 11 in 2005 with the first Higher School Certificate examination in 2006.

Effective:
Immediately for preliminary course 2005

Contact:

Jenny Lawless
Inspector, HSIE (History)
(02) 9367 8151
lawless@boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au

Extension History Stage 6

Fri, 12 Mar 2004 09:09:00+1100

BOS 07/04

Case Study 14: Confucianism and Chinese Industrialisation in the Sung Period has been misnamed in the Stage 6 Extension History Syllabus. The correct name of the case study should be: Case Study 14: Confucianism and Chinese Industrialisation in the Qing (Ch'ing or Manchu) Period.

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