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Board of Studies NSW

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Syllabuses, Support Documents and Specimen HSC exams

Preliminary and Higher School Certificate - A List

Proposed changes to HSC examinations and school assessment

Subject Syllabus Introductions and Syllabus Support materials
(resource lists and other documents)
Assessment and Examination materials
(includes Performance Bands and HSC Examination resources)

Aboriginal Studies

Syllabus Introduction
PDF (4 pages, 117 KB)
Syllabus
PDF (50 pages, 429 KB)
Word
Updated 5 March 2001
Consultation Report
PDF (43 pages, 468 KB)
Support document Preliminary Course
PDF (40 pages, 480 KB)
Word (42 pages, 348 KB)
Support document HSC Course
PDF (48 pages, 220 KB)
Word (48 pages, 260 KB)
Further educational research and case studies are available on our
Aboriginal Education Research Resource Pages
Draft Performance Bands
PDF (1 page, 56 KB)
Past HSC Examination Paper and Notes from the Marking Centre
Specimen HSC Examination Resources
PDF (23 pages, 864 KB)
Examination Rubrics
PDF (1 page, 28 KB)

Accounting

For implementation from 2007 for Year 11 students

Syllabus
PDF (21 pages, 380 KB)
Word (21 pages, 270 KB)
Updated 26 October 2007
Performance Bands
PDF (3 pages, 44 KB)
Word (3 pages, 80 KB)

Agriculture

Syllabus Introduction
PDF (4 pages, 68 KB)
Syllabus
PDF (42 pages, 390 KB)
Word (42 pages, 320 KB)
Updated 28 February 2001
Consultation Report
PDF (16 pages, 293 KB)
Support document
Word (23 pages, 120 KB)
PDF (23 pages, 200 KB)
Draft Performance Bands
PDF (1 page, 20 KB)
Past HSC Examination Paper and Notes from the Marking Centre
HSC Practical Marking Guidelines
PDF (4 pages, 44 KB)
Specimen HSC Examination Resources
PDF (35 pages, 572 KB)
HSC Performances and Submitted Works - Advice to Schools Regarding Content
PDF (3 pages, 88 KB)

Ancient History

Syllabus
PDF (82 pages, 337 KB)
Word (82 pages, 475 KB)
Updated 29 May 2006
A Guide to the Revised Ancient History Syllabus
PDF (6 pages, 156 KB)
Word (6 pages, 200 KB)
Support Material for Ancient History Stage 6 Syllabus
PDF (2 MB)
Word (2.3 MB)
Draft Performance Bands
PDF (1 page, 20 KB)
Past HSC Examination Paper and Notes from the Marking Centre
2006 HSC Specimen Examination Resources
PDF (57 pages, 952 KB)
Updated 29 May 2006
2006 HSC Ancient History Examination Support Material
PDF (11 pages, 48 KB)
Examination Rubrics
PDF (1 page, 24 KB)

Arabic Beginners

Syllabus Introduction:
HTML
Acrobat PDF
2 pages (68KB)
MS Word 97 file
2 pages (136KB)

Syllabus Amendments:
Acrobat PDF
24 pages (116KB)
(to be read in conjuction with the Arabic 2 Unit Z Syllabus, published by the Board of Senior School Studies in 1980)
Arabic 2 Unit Z Syllabus
Acrobat PDF
11 pages (220KB)

Draft Performance Bands:
HTML
Acrobat PDF
1 page (80KB)
MS Word 97 file
1 page (28KB)

Past HSC Examination Paper and Notes from the Marking Centre

Issues document and generic listening skills specimen exam paper:
Acrobat PDF
11 pages (272KB)

Rules Governing the Conduct of the Listening Skills Examination
HTML
Acrobat PDF
3 pages (68KB)
MS Word 97
3 pages (136KB)

Rules Governing the Conduct of the Speaking Skills Examination
HTML
Acrobat PDF
4 pages (68KB)
MS Word 97
4 pages (136KB)

Frequently Asked Questions - Speaking Skills Examination:
HTML
Acrobat PDF
4 pages (68KB)
MS Word 97 file
4 pages (136KB)

Revised Syllabus
To be implemented in Preliminary 2008
PDF (38 pages, 350 KB)
Word (39 pages, 390 KB)
(Some text may display incorrectly on platforms that do not have Arabic font installed)
Published 29 October 2007

Guide to the revised Arabic Beginners Stage 6 Syllabus

Advice on Programming and Assessment:
Acrobat PDF (17 pages, (644KB)
MS Word (17 pages, 164KB)

2009 Specimen HSC Examination Resources package (PDF, 48 pages, 740 KB)
includes:
  • Introduction
  • Specimen Examination
  • Listening Transcript
  • Specimen paper Translation
  • Marking Guidelines
  • Oral Examination
  • Mapping Grid
  • Performance bands
Published 18 June 2008
HSC Languages Courses - Oral Examination
General Information for Teachers
PDF (4 pages, 132 KB)
Word (4 pages, 512 KB)
Published 1 August 2008
Oral Examination
General Information for Teachers
PDF (4 pages, 140 KB)
Word (4 pages, 60 KB)
Published 1 August 2008

Arabic Continuers

Syllabus Introduction
PDF (3 pages, 68 KB)
Word (3 pages, 136 KB)
Syllabus (31 pages, 294 KB)
Consultation Report
PDF (27 pages, 303 KB)
Revised Syllabus (PDF, 31 pages, 248 KB)
Published 30 July 2008
Resource list (PDF, 5 pages, 59 KB)
Summary of changes to revised syllabus
- effective for HSC Exam in 2009
Published 30 July 2008

Draft Performance Bands:
HTML
Acrobat PDF
1 page (24KB)

Past HSC Examination Paper and Notes from the Marking Centre

Specimen HSC Examination Resources:
Acrobat PDF
41 pages (508KB)

Examination Rubrics
HTML
Acrobat PDF
1 page (28KB)

HSC Languages Courses - Oral Examination
General Information for Teachers
PDF (4 pages, 132 KB)
Word (4 pages, 512 KB)
Published 1 August 2008
Oral Examination
General Information for Teachers
PDF (4 pages, 140 KB)
Word (4 pages, 56 KB)
Published 1 August 2008

Arabic Extension

Syllabus introduction
Acrobat PDF
3 pages (68KB)
MS Word 97 file
3 pages (136KB)

Syllabus (PDF, 26 pages, 204 KB)
Revised Syllabus (PDF, 26 pages, 276 KB)
Published 30 July 2008

Resource List:
Acrobat PDF
MS Word 97 file

Course Prescriptions 2007-2008
PDF (3 pages, 40 KB)
Word (3 pages, 164 KB)
Published 20 August 2007
Course Prescriptions 2009-2013
PDF (4 pages, 85 KB)
Word (4 pages, 140 KB)
Published 26 October 2007
Summary of changes to revised syllabus
- effective for HSC Exam in 2009
Published 30 July 2008
Text Types
  • Amendments to the list of text types for productive use (Section 8.3) have been made to ensure that there is no duplication of text types that are prescribed in the Continuers syllabus.
  • ‘Narrative account’ has been glossed to clarify ways in which this text type can be addressed.
HSC External Examination Specifications
  • The inclusion of a wider range of texts for productive use (Section 11.6 HSC External Examination Specifications Section I: Response to prescribed text Part B) allows more opportunity for students to engage with Arabic.
(See Official Notice BOS 32/08, Vol 17 No 3)

Draft Performance Bands:
HTML
Acrobat PDF
2 pages (68KB)
MS Word 97 file
2 pages (136KB)

Past HSC Examination Paper and Notes from the Marking Centre

Specimen HSC Examination Resources:
Acrobat PDF
23 pages (596KB)

Examination Rubrics
HTML
Acrobat PDF
1 page (28KB)

HSC Languages Courses - Oral Examination
General Information for Teachers
PDF (4 pages, 132 KB)
Word (4 pages, 512 KB)
Published 1 August 2008
Oral Examination
General Information for Teachers
PDF (4 pages, 140 KB)
Word (4 pages, 68 KB)
Published 1 August 2008

Armenian Continuers

Syllabus Introduction:
HTML
Acrobat PDF
3 pages (68KB)
MS Word 97 file
3 pages (136KB)

Syllabus:
Acrobat PDF
32 pages (272KB)
MS Word 97 file
32 pages (680KB)

Resource list:
Acrobat PDF
3 pages (204KB)
MS Word 97 file
3 pages (68KB)

Draft Performance Bands
Acrobat PDF
MS Word 97 file
2 pages (136KB)

Past HSC Examination Paper and Notes from the Marking Centre

Assessment Items:
Acrobat PDF
13 pages (476KB)

HSC Languages Courses - Oral Examination
General Information for Teachers
PDF (4 pages, 132 KB)
Word (4 pages, 512 KB)
Published 1 August 2008
Oral Examination
General Information for Teachers
PDF (5 pages, 156 KB)
Word (5 pages, 68 KB)
Published 1 August 2008

Automotive Curriculum Framework (approved September 2007)

For implementation from 2008 for Year 11 students

Syllabus Part A
PDF (122 pages, 1.2 MB)
Word (122 pages, 1.4 MB)
Published 8 October 2007
Syllabus Part B
Contains the units of competency from the Training Package including HSC Requirements and Advice for each mandatory unit
Draft Syllabus Consultation Report (2007)
PDF (49 pages, 335 KB)
Published 8 October 2007
HSC Course description
Anticipated approval for implementation for Year 11, 2008
PDF (8 pages, 60 KB)
Published 27 August 2007
Industry Curriculum Frameworks Support Document for students with special education needs
PDF (87 pages, 475 KB)
Word (87 pages, 630 KB)

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Proposed changes to HSC examinations and school assessment

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