No more delays: NSW must publish HSC exam timetable

By Dallas McInerney, Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Schools NSW

First published in The Sydney Morning Herald 30/8/2021

Does every problem have a solution? The answer must always be yes; to think otherwise is to contemplate life without hope or, indeed, a future. The pandemic is seriously testing this outlook. Our policymakers are confronting wicked challenges in real-time against an invisible enemy, and they deserve both our support and grace.

In normal circumstances, the Higher School Certificate is a hugely complex exercise: 120different written examinations held in more than 750 exam centres, overseen by 7500supervisors, resulting in excess of 400,000 papers to be marked, all condensed into a few weeks starting in October. Oh, don’t forget the stringent security protocols during the drafting, printing and transporting of exams to maintain rigour and confidentiality. Now try it during a 1-in-100-year pandemic within the limits of a restrictive public health regime.

There is a basic two-part covenant that exists within the NSW school sector at present: students, remain focused on your studies and end-of-year preparation, and the leaders and administrators will ensure you will be awarded an HSC that minimises COVID-related disadvantage while maintaining integrity in the credential.

I have no doubt the students are keeping up their end of the bargain. The teachers have been outstanding. The rest of us have some quick work to do.
Emerging optimistic from a disrupted 2020, this year’s HSC candidates have already had multiple adjustments to their assessment tasks and the commencement date for their written exams twice delayed. Combine that with remote learning, stay-at-home orders and a confusing ensemble of information, and certainty is now the most valuable gift we can deliver to these students.

Future opportunities for certainty should not pass unrealised, and those opportunities should be taken in the coming days, not weeks. Staff and student resilience should not be tested for a day longer than necessary; as my former NSW Education Standards Authority board colleague, Mark Scott,
wrote on these pages on Saturday, these students are bewildered by how little control they have at the moment.

To be clear, the default position is the HSC written examinations should proceed in the most normal manner possible, given COVID-19 restrictions; the students have been preparing for these tests for several years, they have invested themselves in the process, and they deserve that opportunity. External exams are a great leveller, minimising the influences of wider privilege and allowing for a fair comparison between the assessment marks allocated by the school.

However, the degree of difficulty in staging written HSC examinations within the Public Health Orders while faithfully addressing the equity concerns (as we must) has risen dramatically.

It should be a source of reassurance to the community that the government has available to expert advice from a special purpose committee, which in turn has access to the most experienced educationalists and psychometricians in the country. The NESA COVID-19 Response Committee has been in place since 2020. All three school sectors are represented, and it continues to advise the government on options and issues relating to the conduct of HSC examinations (most recently as last week), as per its mandate.

Nothing further is required of administrators or leaders but purposive action and a final decision. COVID-19 doesn’t do serendipity.

HSC students have been told three different dates for the commencement of their 2021 written examinations; no one should tolerate a fourth. Assuming that the date is now inviolate and exams are to proceed, the exam timetable remains the missing piece. This needs to be finalised and shared without delay.

Finally, as the exigencies of the pandemic recede, let’s discern whatever opportunity we can amid this awful time. The HSC has been in place for more than 50 years and has proven to be adaptive and resilient, an internationally recognised end-of-school credential. However, the longevity of the HSC is no guarantee of its continuing inherent utility. All things should be re-examined as frequently as is prudent, even if we end up keeping what we have. Before that, let’s give these kids the HSC opportunity they deserve. It’s the least we should do.

Safety, Certainty and Learning for Term 3 in NSW Catholic Schools

MEDIA RELEASE: Safety, Certainty and Learning for Term 3 in NSW Catholic Schools

Catholic Schools NSW welcomes the announcement from the NSW Government today and has overlaid this with additional detail.

Acknowledging that the pandemic continues to surprise, it is our ambition to provide as much certainty and clear guidance as possible for school operations, teacher planning, student participation and family support.

Having regard to health and other government advice, the following details the approach for the rest of Term 3 and into Term 4 for Catholic schools in areas subject to published health orders and level 4 restrictions:

HSC Students

• The Premier’s desire for early support for HSC students is strongly supported by Catholic Education; so too is the guidance from the Premier that a uniform policy is not needed, and responses should reflect “what is happening in their [local] communities”.

• Catholic schools are firmly committed to our students receiving an HSC award in 2021, including safe participation in the scheduled, public HSC examinations in a written format.

• Noting the Trial HSC Examinations are not a mandatory form of assessment, decisions regarding Trial Examinations are devolved to individual schools and Systems, who will determine what alternative assessment or student activity will be implemented, these decisions will have regard for NESA’s HSC assessment advice.

• HSC students will not participate in any Trial HSC Examinations onsite at schools, and will not return to school for normal onsite learning in Term 3 until all students have been cleared to return, allowing remote learning to continue as an acceptable alternative. Schools will determine how they run assessments on a school by school basis.

• Consistent with the Public Health Order, HSC students, for whom it is necessary to attend school will be supported to do so. Students will be supported to meet assessment requirements for their major works, performance rehearsals and oral exams, where applicable. Our schools are well positioned in this regard.

Kindergarten to Year 11

• More definitive advice on whether face to face teaching can resume in Term 3 after 28 August will be issued as health advice is updated. Noting that Term 3 continues for some weeks into September, we seek the earliest possible advice from the government about this matter.

• Parents should be assured that Catholic schools are preparing for the contingency of remote learning for the remainder of Term 3, with only those students who need to attend school doing so. This can be delivered and will enable teachers to plan remote learning interventions with greater certainty.

• Term 4 will return to onsite learning for all students, contingent on government advice and in a manner reflecting health guidelines.

Catholic schools will develop plans for assessment and reporting for K-11 that address the constraints of Term 3, including the Record of School Achievement and HSC 2022 activities for current Year 11 students.

Catholic Schools NSW CEO Dallas McInerney said that our ambition has always been to support our students, staff, parents and families as best we can.

“What school communities need at present is certainty for their learning and assurance on their safety. Our plan delivers both.”

“This statement covers the HSC students but goes beyond, noting these issues are being felt throughout entire school communities.” he said.
“We hope students will return to school this term but we are planning for the very real possibility that this does not happen. Our plan ensures our parents and families can feel confident that their children will be supported.”

Mr McInerney added that Catholic Schools across NSW would continue to follow the health advice and work closely with the government as has been the case throughout the pandemic.

“Our schools have best been served when we have worked as one with the government, this continues to be the core abiding principal of our approach.”
Catholic Schools NSW represents the state’s 598 Catholic schools, which educate some 255,000 students

Read the full media release here

Catholic school students top the state in 16 HSC subjects in 2020

MEDIA RELEASE: Catholic school students top the state in 16 HSC subjects in 2020

Catholic school students achieved outstanding results in this year’s Higher School Certificate exams, with 15 students receiving First in Course awards for 16 subjects.

Catholic Schools NSW Chief Executive Officer said these students should be especially proud of their achievements this year.

“These students should feel a real sense of accomplishment from their efforts this year, completing the HSC in a year like no other.”

He added that all students who completed their HSC this year have not only gained a valuable credential, but would be well placed to manage other challenges in the years ahead.

“This has been a challenging year but you should be proud of the way you have navigated these challenges,” Mr McInerney said.

He “These impressive first in course results are a testimony to the outstanding efforts of all students, their teachers and their families.”

“On behalf of the Catholic sector, I also extend my congratulations to students in all school sectors for their outstanding achievements.”

Mr McInerney also said that he was grateful for NESA’s handling of the HSC this year.

“The HSC is a world recognised, end of school credential and I’m pleased that NESA was able to maintain the integrity of the exams, they should be congratulated” he said.

Catholic schools NSW represents the state’s 599 Catholic schools and their 255,000 students.201217_MR_Catholic school students top the state in 16 HSC subjects in 2020