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ACE Rules

Clarified ACE Rules came into effect on 14 October 2024. These rules apply to students commencing HSC courses from Term 4 2024, for students sitting for HSC exams in 2025, and for students receiving the RoSA from October 2024.

For students sitting for HSC exams in 2024, the previous ACE Online rules continue to apply.

To learn more about how NESA has clarified the ACE Rules, refer to the information sheets.

Allocating and submitting Stage 5 grades

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NESA is authorised under sections 20A and 94 of the Education Act 1990 (NSW) to:

  • determine whether candidates for the award of the RoSA have participated in, and satisfactorily completed courses of study developed or endorsed by the Board
  • prepare and distribute to schools information relating to other forms of assessment for the RoSA.

Categories

K–10RoSASchools Online

Stage 5 courses

Schools must have policies and procedures for determining grades

  1. Schools must have policies and procedures for determining grades that will be submitted to NESA. The policies and procedures must include:
    1. an assessment plan for every 100-hour or 200-hour graded Stage 5 course (except for courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content, or Loading...)1, and
    2. procedures for determining grades, and
    3. procedures for retaining student work samples.

Determining Stage 5 course grades

  1. NESA’s Loading... indicate the outcomes and content that students may be assessed on.
  2. Schools must maintain a record of grades allocated to students for any 100-hour or 200-hour course completed in Year 9.
  3. Teachers must:
    1. give students the opportunity to demonstrate their full range of achievement relative to the Loading... or Course Performance Descriptors, and
    2. at the completion of the 100-hour or 200-hour course and using all available evidence of student achievement in the course, make a valid judgement to determine a grade for each student that best matches their achievement at the end of the course with an achievement description of the Loading... or Course Performance Descriptor.

Submitting grades to NESA

  1. Schools must:
    1. submit an A to E grade to NESA for every student entered into a 100-hour or 200-hour graded Stage 5 course (except courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content or Loading...), based on the available evidence of student achievement in the course, by the due date outlined in the Loading..., and
    2. submit an A to E grade for students assigned an ‘N’ for their achievement in a 100-hour or 200-hour course. This is the grade that will be awarded to the student if they successfully appeal against the ‘N’ determination.

Confirming grades awarded for Stage 5 courses

  1. Schools must:
    1. generate a Confirmation of Grading report, and
    2. check the Confirmation of Grading report prior to the principal’s certification process.

Online resources

Related ACE Rules

For further information

Please contact Quality in Credentialling by email at grademonitoring@nesa.nsw.edu.au.

Footnotes

  1. Schools must give students sufficient notice of an upcoming assessment task.