Calculating and confirming submitted marks and grades
Updated 03 Jul 2024
NESA has made changes to Rule 2.2.1. These changes include outlining the requirement for schools to have procedures for determining grades and final grade appeals for Preliminary and graded HSC courses. (see paragraphs 3.a and 4.a)
NESA has made changes to Rule 2.2.5. These changes outline the timeframe within which schools need to resolve student appeals over marks allocated for individual assessment tasks. (see paragraph 32)
NESA has also published a new rule – Rule 2.2.6 ‘Appealing Stage 6 grades’. This rule outlines requirements for internal school reviews of final Stage 6 grades and for subsequent appeals to NESA.
NESA is authorised under section 20A of the Education Act 1990 (NSW) to prepare and distribute to schools information relating to the conduct of exams and other forms of assessment for RoSA and HSC candidates.
Glossary
The addition of all summative assessment marks in accordance with the task weightings.
A student's position in the course relative to the school's cohort, based on their school-based assessment marks for that course.
A course developed by NESA, that includes general education courses, Life Skills courses and VET Industry Curriculum Framework courses.
A course that caters to the learning needs of students in specific areas of need not served by Board Developed courses. Before they can be taught in NSW schools, they must be endorsed by NESA. These courses count towards the HSC but do not have an HSC exam and do not contribute towards the calculation of the ATAR. There are four types: Content Endorsed courses (CECs), School Developed Board Endorsed courses (SDBECs), University Developed Board Endorsed courses (UDBECs), and VET Board Endorsed courses (VET BECs).
A report generated by schools, using Schools Online, to confirm the assessment marks entered in Schools Online.
An estimate of likely performance in the HSC exam, reflecting a student’s achievement in tasks similar to the HSC exam, such as a trial HSC exam. This mark is not reported and only used to calculate an HSC exam mark for students with an upheld illness/misadventure appeal.
A program of assessment established by a school prior to the start of each Preliminary and HSC course and shared with students. NESA requires that the program comprises: school-based assessment policies and procedures; course-specific assessment schedules; assessment tasks; and retained documentation.
A task that students undertake as part of the school-based assessment program, reflecting specific course requirements, components and weightings.
The school where the student is enrolled.
A cumulative record of all Preliminary and HSC courses satisfactorily completed by a student. Issued to students who fulfill the requirements for the award of the HSC. It details a student's HSC Stage 6 results, Preliminary Stage 6 grades, and, if applicable, Stage 5 grades; and personalised course reports for relevant HSC courses.
Information about a student's achievements in each completed course, as listed in the HSC Record of Achievement. Other course-specific documents may also accompany this record, including one or more HSC Course Report and one or more Profile of Student Achievement.
An individual who is not a member of the school’s teaching staff but is approved by a school to deliver a specified course of study that is part of the curriculum. They are not casual teachers or people who provide specialist expertise for part of a course under the supervision of a teacher.
A course designed by school(s) and endorsed by NESA to meet curriculum needs of students that cannot be accommodated by Board Developed courses, or Content Endorsed courses (CECs), or Vocational Education and Training Board Endorsed courses (VET BECs). Once the course proposal is endorsed by NESA, SDBECs count as Board Endorsed unit credit for the HSC but do not contribute towards an ATAR.
Syllabuses developed by NESA to provide students with the opportunity to gain industry-recognised national vocational qualifications (Certificate or Statement of Attainment) under the AQF as part of their HSC. Courses within a Framework count as Board Developed unit credit for the HSC, and include an optional HSC exam which provides the opportunity for students to have this HSC exam mark contribute to the calculation of their ATAR.
A course designed by a university and endorsed by NESA that supplements and extends HSC curriculum in areas not covered by Board Developed courses or other types of Board Endorsed courses. Intended for high-achieving students in Stage 6 (Year 11 and/or Year 12). UDBECs count as Board Endorsed unit credit for the HSC but do not contribute towards an ATAR.
A course endorsed by NESA that is based on an AQF VET qualification in industry areas not covered by Board Developed Framework courses. VET BECs count as Board Endorsed unit credit for the HSC but do not contribute towards an ATAR.