Cronulla De La Salle College HSC task weighting to be reduced after backpack bungle

A Sydney high school is under investigation for an HSC debacle that could cost students their marks in the highest stake exam of their school lives.

An entire geography class at a Sydney high school are unfairly under suspicion of being cheats after correct procedures weren’t followed during a high stakes Higher School Certificate Assessment task.

Geography students at De La Salle College in Cronulla sat the task in April but parents were told almost a month later on Monday that backpacks were not put at the front of the room to prevent them from cheating as per the normal procedure.

The school had moved to reduce the weighting of the test to students’ final HSC marks but that decision is now under review after the Daily Telegraph highlighted parent concerns about fairness.

In a letter to parents on Monday allegations of impropriety had triggered the measure.

“This meant that because the bags were allowed to be placed next to the students for the duration of the task, students may have had unauthorised access to the contents in their bags,” the letter said.

A letter from the school to parent of students at De La Salle College in Cronulla.

The school has no evidence anyone has cheated, however, intends to change the weight of the task.

“Whilst there was insufficient, irrefutable evidence to substantiate allegations of impropriety by any student, thus warranting the task invalid, it also cannot be said without doubt, that a student, or group of students, did not take or seek to take advantage of this situation, thus compromising the integrity of the task.”

As a result the school reduced the weighting of that assessment task from 20 to 10 per cent and increased the importance of the trial HSC which will now make up 40 per cent of their final HSC assessment mark.

One unhappy parent told the Daily Telegraph that the move has shifted the goalposts for the majority of the cohort who studied hard for the test while also leaving school friends under a cloud of suspicion over the cheating scandal.

HSC expert and Australian Tutoring Association president Mohan Dhall said either it was a valid assessment or it was not.

“It sounds like the error is on behalf of the school administration in the sense that whoever was presiding over the task should have followed standard procedures,” he said.

Singer Mark Vincent at De la Salle College in Cronulla.

Mr Dhall said: “Changing the weighting is one of the oddest things to do-- either it is valid or invalid.”

He said the move meant that the school “have not invalidated one task, they’ve invalidated another one as well.”

“The whole question here hinges on how it was run-- normally you would set up a room as though it were exam style with desks apart.”

A review is now underway into the original decision to change the weighting given to the assessment marks.

“The college works within NESA guidelines when setting all assessment tasks and is currently reviewing the matter. Any action taken will be with both academic integrity and the best interests of our students at heart,” a school statement said.