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Breaking HSC rules

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The integrity of NESA’s assessment processes underpins the high standard of scholarship represented by the award of the HSC.

NESA maintains the integrity of its assessment processes by conducting a range of programs to ensure that each student’s results are determined by the quality of work produced by the student only and that no unfair advantage is gained.

Candidates for the HSC, as well as their teachers and others who guide them, must comply with NESA’s rules and requirements for upholding the integrity of HSC school-based assessment and exams.

HSC students are made aware of these rules and requirements well in advance of sitting their final exams.

Before commencement of their studies, all HSC students:

  • complete HSC: All My Own Work or its equivalent
  • sign a confirmation of entry form, declaring that they have read the HSC rules and procedures guide.

HSC students submitting projects, submitted works, and performances:

  • sign a student declaration form, confirming that the work being submitted is their own and has been developed in accordance with HSC: All My Own Work or its equivalent.

Students undertaking HSC exams and HSC minimum standard tests are reminded of HSC rules and made aware of the assessment conditions by invigilators at the start of each exam and test.

Advice to students undertaking HSC exams includes but is not limited to:

  • Students can only bring into the exam room approved equipment on the exam equipment list, made available to them well before the start of exams.
  • Students cannot bring notes, paper, unauthorised material or any unauthorised communication or electronic devices into an exam.
  • If students accidentally bring study notes, a mobile phone, or other prohibited items into the exam, they are allowed to remove them without penalty before the exam starts.

By breaking HSC rules and/or engaging in malpractice, students put themselves at risk of being ineligible for the award of the HSC.

Malpractice – HSC exams and HSC minimum standard tests

Malpractice is any attempt to gain an unfair advantage over other students.

Malpractice in any form including plagiarism, collusion, misrepresentation, and breach of assessment conditions is unacceptable.

NESA treats allegations of malpractice very seriously and detected malpractice will jeopardise a student’s award and achievement of the RoSA or the HSC.

The Examinations Rules Committee (ERC) deals with all cases of suspected malpractice in HSC exams and HSC minimum standard tests.

Malpractice Register

The Malpractice Register is a state-wide register for malpractice in HSC school-based assessment tasks. Details are recorded so that individual students cannot be identified, and the aggregated data does not identify individual schools.

Following a review of corruption risks associated with HSC take-home assessment tasks, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (with input from the secondary education sector) recommended that NESA develop a system for centrally recording, assessing and analysing the number and type of malpractice offences that occur in the HSC assessment program and submitted works.

Schools are responsible for managing malpractice in school-based assessment and are required to record all instances where a student was found to have engaged in malpractice in an HSC school-based assessment task in the Malpractice Register.

The following tables report and analyse the aggregated data from previous years. Schools may want to reflect on the nature of offences and penalties imposed in their school, compared with all other schools in the state.

Information on 2022 malpractice data can be found on the HSC facts and figures page.

2021 HSC school-based assessment malpractice data

A total of 216 schools registered 854 offences involving 734 students.

View the data to find out more about the:

  • number of offences by course
  • assessment types and offences committed
  • offences and penalties imposed.

2020 HSC school-based assessment malpractice data

A total of 220 schools registered 842 offences involving 739 students.

View the data to find out more about the:

  • number of offences by course
  • assessment types and offences committed
  • offences and penalties imposed.

2019 HSC school-based assessment malpractice data

A total of 222 schools registered 671 offences involving 595 students.

View the data to find out more about the:

  • number of offences by course
  • assessment types and offences committed
  • offences and penalties imposed.

Summary of HSC exam breaches

The overwhelming majority of students undertaking HSC exams follow the rules.

The relatively small number of cases noted in the table below should be considered in the context of over 70 000 students attempting over 400,000 exams.

Malpractice – Breach of assessment conditions Non-certification Non-serious attempt

Description

Students undertaking an HSC exam must comply with the assessment conditions set by NESA.

A breach of assessment conditions incudes any breach of HSC exam rules and procedures.

Malpractice occurs when a student breaches the conditions set for assessment in an attempt to gain an unfair advantage.

Description

HSC students that are required to complete a practical component (projects, submitted works, and performances) must have their work certified by their supervising teacher to validate the authenticity and integrity of the work.

Principals advise NESA if a student’s work cannot be certified.

Description

Students must attend and make a serious attempt in all their HSC exams.

Students identified as making a non-serious attempt in an HSC exam may not receive a result in the course.

Case studies

  • A student brought unauthorised notes into the exam where they were found on the desk.
  • A student copied information from an electronic device.

Case studies

  • A student completed much of their project at home and did not allow for regular monitoring by the supervising teacher.
  • A student purchased and modified a commercial product and submitted it as their own project.

Case studies

  • A student attempted multiple-choice questions only and did not engage with other question types across the exam.
  • A student submitted a response containing objectionable material.

Penalty range

Where the ERC determines a student has engaged in malpractice for an HSC exam, the ERC may impose penalties including:

  • zero or reduced marks for the exam
  • course cancellation

Penalties may also be extended to other HSC exam results.

Penalties imposed by the ERC may render the student ineligible for the HSC.

Penalty range

Where a project, submitted work, or performance is unable to meet NESA’s certification criteria, a penalty may be applied to a student’s result for non-certification including loss of marks or mark of zero.

Penalty range

Where the ERC determines a student has made a non-genuine attempt in an HSC exam, the ERC may impose penalties including:

  • zero or reduced marks for the exam
  • course cancellation

Penalties imposed by the ERC may render the student ineligible for the HSC.

Number of ERC cases (offences penalised)

  • 2021: 41 students in 43 courses
  • 2020: 28
  • 2019: 35

Number of cases (projects penalised)

  • 2021: 35*
  • 2020: 85
  • 2019: 78

Number of cases

  • 2021: 215
  • 2020: 258
  • 2019: 153

*A drop in numbers as the majority of projects and performances were not submitted to NESA and marked at school due to COVID procedures.

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