Record of changes

NESA has updated paragraph 14 to clarify that for students repeating courses, their most recent course attempt will contribute to the HSC pattern of study.

NESA has revised the period for retaining evidence used in principal-approved disability provisions to limit unnecessary record keeping (see paragraph 20).   

Minor phrasing changes have been made to Paragraph 7 in framing the paragraph around students’ responsibilities for All My Own Work.   

The following sentence has been deleted as it describes NESA’s reporting responsibilities which do not require enforcement via an ACE Rule:

“NESA will make all necessary reports to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) where malpractice is serious, deliberate, and amounts to corrupt conduct.”

NESA has made changes to ACE Rule: 2.3.1. These changes clarify:

• that Stage 5 assessment policies and procedures must detail procedures for final grade appeals (see paragraph 1.c)
• that student appeals against final Stage 5 grades must be resolved at the school level (see paragraph 1.c, footnote 2)
• the timeframe and rationale for retaining grades for 100-hour courses completed in Year 9. (see paragraph 3).

NESA has made a number of changes across Breaches and malpractice.

Changes to Rules 10.1.1, 10.1.2, 10.1.3, 10.1.4 and 10.1.5:

• include a revised definition for malpractice for HSC exams and HSC minimum standard tests (see paragraphs 2 and 3)
• reflect malpractice as a subset of breaches of exam/test rules
• include necessary updates to the phrasing and sequencing of content in the rules to support clearer understanding.

Rule 10.1.1 Types of malpractice in HSC submitted works and practical components, HSC exams, and HSC minimum standard tests

Changes:

• include updates to the definitions and exemplars for different types of malpractice (misrepresentation, plagiarism, and collusion)
• clarify that schools and sectors are responsible for school-based assessment policies about the use of artificial intelligence technologies in schools (see paragraph 13.b, footnote 3).

The following sentence has been deleted as it describes NESA’s reporting responsibilities which do not require enforcement via an ACE Rule:

“Serious and deliberate acts of malpractice amount to corrupt conduct and, where appropriate, NESA will report matters to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.”

Rule 10.1.2 Developing a school malpractice policy

Changes:

• clarify what information about malpractice must be provided to students (see paragraph 18.a)
• outline the requirement for schools to develop their own procedures for managing malpractice in school-based assessment (see paragraph 17)
• specify additional information to be outlined in schools’ malpractice policies including a definition and description of malpractice, decision makers for malpractice in school-based assessment, and information about the Malpractice Register (See paragraph 19).

Rule 10.1.3 Recording malpractice in HSC school-based assessment

The following sentence has been deleted from Rule 10.1.3 as schools need only comply with their own malpractice policy and procedures when making decisions about malpractice in school-based assessment:

“Schools may use the malpractice data to support their decision making in malpractice cases.”

Rule 10.1.4 Breaches and malpractice in HSC submitted works and practical components, HSC exams, and HSC minimum standard tests

Changes:

• introduce a new minimum penalty for students determined to have breached test rules and/or engaged in malpractice in an HSC minimum standard test (see paragraph 33.b)
• remove reference to penalties being extended to other HSC exam results, as this is in contradiction to NESA’s principle of students retaining assessment marks earned fairly.

Rule 10.1.5 Other breaches of HSC exam/HSC minimum standard test rules

Rule 10.1.5 is a new rule created by NESA to address all forms of HSC exam/HSC minimum standard test rule breaches not expressly identified in the different types and exemplars of malpractice.

In doing so, NESA is making it clear that any breach of exam/test rules and procedures may be penalised irrespective of whether an unfair advantage has been gained.

NESA has made changes to Rule 2.2.1 and Rule 2.2.2

Rule 2.2.1 Submitting grades to NESA

Requirement for schools to have procedures in place for retaining work samples has been consolidated in the rule (see paragraphs 3.b and 4.b).

Rule 2.2.2 Submitting HSC school-based assessment marks to NESA

Changes include a new section in the rule outlining requirements for submitting school-based assessment marks for Mathematics Advanced, Mathematics Extension 1 and Mathematics Extension 2 (see paragraphs 14-17).

NESA has made the following changes to Rules 7.1.2, 7.1.4, and 7.1.5.

Rule 7.1.2 Provision of accommodation as an exam centre or exam room

Changes clarify:

• what preparations schools must have for alternative exam centres (see paragraph 6)
• the circumstances in which a student may be required to attend an exam centre in another school (see paragraph 10).

Rule 7.1.4 Presiding Officers

Paragraph 22 has been updated to accurately reflect the:

• exams that school staff are required to assist with (see paragraph 22.b)
• the type of assistances exam IT coordinators may provide for online exams (see paragraph 22.c).

A new footnote clarifying Presiding Officer eligibility for persons that have previously acted as supervisors in school-based exams has been added to the rule (see paragraph 20.b, footnote 1).

Rule 7.1.5 HSC exam supervisors

HSC exam supervisor eligibility requirements have been clarified (see paragraph 25), including for persons that have previously acted as supervisors in school-based exams (see paragraph 25.e, footnote 1). 

Changes to Rule 8.3.2

• reflect malpractice as a subset of breaches of HSC minimum standard test rules
• introduce a new minimum penalty for students determined to have breached test rules, engaged in malpractice, or written an offensive response in an HSC minimum standard test (see paragraph 10.b)
• remove reference to penalties being extended to other HSC exam results, as this is in contradiction to NESA’s principle of students retaining assessment marks earned fairly.

NESA has updated Rule 5.1.2 to clarify that students in Years 7-10 may study languages through external providers (see paragraph 9.i, footnote 1).

NESA has added a new footnote to Rule 8.1.1, clarifying what is not considered an exceptional circumstance for students wishing to demonstrate the HSC minimum standard using alternative evidence (see paragraph 5, footnote 3).