Introduction
Students doing HSC courses usually complete their studies in Term 4 of Year 11 and Terms 1, 2 and 3 of Year 12. This booklet gives you information on how you will be assessed. You should read this booklet in conjunction with the more detailed assessment task descriptions that your subject teachers will give to you during the year. You should also read the syllabi of any courses that you are studying for the HSC.
Students who have organised their studies using the pathways option may be studying a mix of HSC and Preliminary courses. For those students, you will need the Year 11 Assessment Booklet, the Year 12 Assessment Booklet and also any detailed assessment task descriptions that you receive during the year. You should also read the syllabi of any courses that you are studying for the HSC.
At the beginning of Term 4 each year, the Principal is required to certify to the Board of Studies (BOS), that students have satisfactorily completed HSC courses. The Principal makes this determination based on a number of factors, including how well or poorly a student has achieved the outcomes described in the course syllabi.
For each course that you study, your teachers will submit a mark to the Board of Studies. The mark will be out of 50 for each 1 unit course, and out of 100 for each 2 unit course. The mark and ranking that you receive makes up your Internal Assessment. The Internal Assessment makes up 50% of your mark in each HSC course. The Internal Assessment, including your mark and rank in the course is not an indicator of your possible HSC performance.
The formal HSC examination that you sit in 2024 provides the External Assessment component of your final HSC mark. The External Assessment component makes up 50% of your mark for each HSC course.
The Board of Studies will moderate (adjust) your Internal Assessment mark based on your results in the HSC exams. The process that the Board uses allows them to rank the marks for all students across NSW that have completed a particular course. It is in your best interest to prepare all of your tests, both internal and external, to the best of your ability.