The Higher School Certificate (HSC) is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete senior high school level studies (Years 11 and 12 or equivalent) in New South Wales and some ACT schools in Australia, as well as some international schools in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. It was first introduced in 1967,^[1] with the last major revision coming into effect in 2019. It is currently developed and managed by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).^[2]

Patterns of study

The majority of students undertake HSC-related courses over the final two years of high school, though it is possible to undertake different study patterns over different time periods or through different teaching organisations.

There are a great number of possible courses students can study, totalling over 100 (including languages), in a wide range of subject areas. However, most schools offer students a smaller selection from which they must choose. The only compulsory subject area is English, with one of English Advanced, English Standard, English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D), or English Studies required for the award of the HSC. (English Extension 1 is also available for English Advanced students, with Extension 2 being offered in Year 12). Individual schools may require their students to undertake certain courses, as is the case with Studies of Religion in many religious schools or Agriculture in agricultural schools. However, these are internal school requirements separate from HSC requirements.

Most courses offered comprise a preliminary (Year 11) component and an HSC (Year 12) component. As a general rule the preliminary component must be completed prior to the HSC component. Furthermore, each subject is designated as either one or two "units". Each unit involves approximately two hours of formal tuition per week, and contributes a maximum mark of 50. The majority of courses are two unit courses, and thus students receive marks out of 100 in these courses. 10 units is the minimum number of units required, however students can attempt more should they choose. If they do, their final ATAR mark is calculated using their best 2 units of English and 8 best other units. Extension courses, each with a value of one unit, may be included in the study program, meaning that a certain subject area may have up to four units, e.g. English (Advanced) (two units) plus English Extension 1 and English Extension 2 (each worth one unit).

To be eligible for the award of the HSC a student must have satisfied the requirements in at least twelve preliminary level units, and at least ten HSC level units, with the additional requirements that:

• at least two must be English units;
• at least six units must be Board-developed courses;
• at least three courses are of two unit or greater value.
• at least four subjects have been completed.
• no more than seven units of science are studied. This was changed from six units in 2019 with the addition of the Science Extension subject.

Further restrictions may apply in certain subject areas.

Note that these requirements are for the award of the HSC. Further requirements regarding study patterns apply if the student wishes to apply for a separate Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) based on their HSC performance.

Available courses

There are two main types of courses available in the HSC: Board Developed Courses and Board Endorsed Courses. Board Developed Courses have a syllabus and final exam set by NESA, and generally may be included in the calculation of the ATAR. Board Endorsed Courses are developed by the school, and may vary from school to school in regards to content and assessment.

HSC Syllabus Reform (2019)

A major HSC Syllabus reform was executed in 2019. The "new" syllabus involved the addition of "Science Extension" and "Investigating Science" as new courses. These courses were made available to students that commenced teaching in October 2018 for the cohort of 2019. The course "Senior Science" was discontinued as of October 2018. The reformed syllabus involved changes that are a move towards compulsory English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Investigating Science and Extension Science in the future.

Assessment

A student's final mark in each subject is determined by a combination of in-school assessments conducted throughout the HSC component of a course, and externally administered final exam(s) typically held in October or November of that year. In addition to comprising half of a student's final assessment result in a subject, external exam results are also used to statistically moderate in-school assessment results between different schools.

These exams are administered by NESA, which is responsible for the overall oversight of the HSC.

Award

Upon successful completion of a satisfactory pattern of study students are awarded the Higher School Certificate by way of a testamur.

Whenever a student has completed a course they also receive feedback regarding their results in that course, which typically includes exam results, school assessment results and the performance band in which their performance lies.

Students who achieve excellent results of over 90 in 10 units of study in the HSC are awarded the Premier's Award by the New South Wales government, while students who achieve a result of over 90 in at least one unit of study are named to the Distinguished Achievers' List. Students may also receive a 'state rank' if they place within a predetermined number of top scores.

HSC results may also be used to calculate the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR). Similar ranking processes used previously were called the UAI (Universities Admission Index) and the TER (Tertiary Entrance Rank). The ATAR is a separate ranking calculated by another body, the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC), and is used for determining university entrance. Since 1998 the university entrance rank has been issued separately from the HSC results in order to distinguish the two.

Vocational equivalent

The vocational equivalent to Year 12 will change from certificate II in 2015 to certificate III in 2020 by the Council of Australian Governments, mainly because Year 12 qualification has minimal hours greater than those of a level II qualification, where they correspond more closely to the hours of level III qualification.^[5] Although the completion of high school would lead to better labour market results, it is also established that a scholarly pathway is not always suited for all and that some are unaccustomed to the institutionalised nature of schools. This has led to an understanding that there should be alternatives to Year 12 completion. As such, the idea of a vocational equivalent to Year 12 is a response to this.^[6] The construct of a vocational equivalent to completing a senior school certificate (denoted by the completion of Year 12) has been an attribute of government policy since the late 1990s, with a declaration stating:

"All students have access to the high quality education necessary to enable the completion of school education to Year 12 or its vocational equivalent and that provides clear and recognised pathways to employment and further education and training."^[5][7]

Impact on Adolescents

A NSW Health report found that 1 in 11 adolescents who committed suicide had experienced significant levels of HSC-related stress.^[8]

Abolition of the HSC ATAR has been called for by some teachers, principals, academics, and university chancellors. It has been suggested that the ATAR system associated with the completion of the HSC is a major cause of mental health issues amongst young people.^[9]

See also

• Education in Australia
• University admission
• Victorian Certificate of Education
• South Australian Certificate of Education
• Tasmanian Certificate of Education
• Western Australian Certificate of Education
• ACT Scaling Test
• Queensland Certificate of Education
• Overall Position (Queensland)
• Bored of Studies

References

External links

• NESA