HSC exams start today as 60,000 candidates sit first English paper
HSC exams kick off today for 60,000 students amid a last minute warning to candidates to beware of bogus study materials posted online. Here is what students should look out for.
NSW
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HSC exams kick off today for 60,000 students amid a last minute warning to candidates to beware of bogus study materials posted online.
As students sit the first English paper the Australian Tutoring Association urged candidates to avoid “mischievous” filesharing websites including trial HSC papers that could have been maliciously altered.
“Concerns have been brought to our attention about the potential for mischief or malice in the form of misleading trial HSC papers with repurposed answers,” ATA chief executive Mohan Dhall said yesterday.
“This appears to be designed to confuse students and create anxiety around what they know.
“Educators are expressing appropriate concern about such resources.
“The ATA strongly advises students to be careful about which resources they are accessing. As there is no appropriate vetting of resources on many sites students must be aware that they may have been altered in order to deceive or mislead.”
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Mr Dhall said students should assess any online shared materials against NESA (NSW Education Standards Authority) approved syllabuses, past papers and marking guidelines.
More than half of the 5500 markers this year will mark papers online from the comfort of their own home after undergoing an intensive training and practice marking program.
It is understood that increasing the number of markers who work from home allows education bosses to broaden the pool of available talent because many markers are unable to attend the large Sydney marking centres.
HSC candidates have been urged to use a black pen in the exam room as this will enable their work to be scanned more clearly for the online markers.
Each student will have their English exams marked by at least 11 markers and their Mathematics exams by at least six markers.
In the lead up to the end-of-school exams hundreds of students have attended study camps and paid up to $665 for more than six hours daily of exam simulations and tutorials from recent graduates.
NESA chief executive David de Carvalho said the HSC “provides opportunities for students of all abilities to achieve their best.
“That is one of the reasons the HSC is such a highly regarded credential and is respected in Australia and at top universities around the world,” Mr de Carvalho said.
“I encourage all students to manage their wellbeing throughout what can be a stressful three-week exam period.
“So stay calm and do your best, that’s all anyone can expect of you and all you should expect of yourself.”
Education Minister Rob Stokes told candidates: “You’ve worked hard, you’ve been guided by excellent teachers, now is the time to review, relax, exercise and focus on this final task ahead.”
The HSC runs until November 9 and results will be released from 6am on December 13.
Next year HSC students will be examined on new syllabuses in English, Mathematics Standard, Science, Science Extension and History courses.
In 2020 candidates will be examined in new syllabuses in Mathematics Advanced and in Mathematics Extension 1 and 2.