Coronavirus: HSC requirements to be relaxed as students stay home

Strict requirements on the number and type of assessment tasks HSC students in NSW are required to ­complete will be relaxed.

The board of the NSW Education Standards Authority has confirmed the HSC will go ahead in 2020, but substantial changes will be made. Picture: Supplied

Strict requirements on the number and type of assessment tasks that HSC students are required to ­complete will be relaxed as part of a NSW plan to support schools and students affected by the corona­virus pandemic.

The board of the NSW Education Standards Authority, which oversees curriculum and assessment for schools, has confirmed the HSC will go ahead in 2020, but substantial changes will be made as a result of the “unprecedented” circumstances facing students.

The NESA has established a COVID-19 Response Committee to address developing issues “as a matter of urgency”.

In addition to the HSC, the committee’s priorities include work placements for vocational education and training students, students working on a group drama, dance or music performance, and students who are completing projects and major works.

The move comes as schools in the state are almost deserted as parents keep children at home to protect them from the virus.

The NESA board met on Tuesday to discuss a range of options, including offering a scaled-back version of the final-year certificate, or scrapping it altogether.

“Effective immediately, the board is giving principals or system authorities the power to make decisions about the number and weighting of HSC formal assessment tasks for their school in 2020,” NESA chairman Peter Shergold said in a statement following the meeting.

“The board affirms its complete trust in principals and teachers.

“This action provides schools with the flexibility they need to support their students in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak.”

Currently, HSC students are required to complete a set number of school-based assessment tasks, which could include an oral ­presentation or a folio of work, in addition to exams. Different assessments carry different weight.

It is understood new flexibility arrangements could result in more weight being given to school-based assessments, or more to exams, depending on each school’s circumstances.

NESA will provide specific ­advice to principals about this ­delegation of authority later in the week. It is also in talks with the ­university sector about tertiary ­entrance rankings for this year’s Year 12 cohort.

Professor Shergold acknowledged students and their parents were worried. “While we recognise we are facing an unprecedented situation, we want to assure you that you will be able to get an HSC certificate this year, and the certificate will facilitate access to university, further education and employment, as it has for students over the past 50 years,” Professor Shergold said.

“Keep learning, do your assessments as advised by your school, make progress on your major projects where you can and, most ­importantly, look after yourself, whether you are at school or at home. Reach out to family, friends and your teachers if you need to.”

Professor Shergold said that above all else, the health, safety and welfare of students and teachers was paramount.

The committee includes representation from the government, independent and Catholic sectors. It will meet at least once a week, but more frequently if needed, to address issues as they arise.

Catholic Schools NSW chief Dallas McInerney, who has been appointed to the committee, said he hoped the decision would “give much-needed certainty to our teachers and students”.