BOSTES has released the 2015 data for four programs that support the fairness and integrity of the NSW HSC.

Summary of 2015 statistics:

Disability provisions

• BOSTES received 6985 applications for disability provisions
• 94% were either fully or partially approved
• Almost 89% of all schools – and 89% of government schools – had at least one application for disability provisions. This is a small increase from 2014.

Illness/misadventure applications

• As Illness/misadventure applications are for occurrences of sickness or other unforeseen incidents, the numbers, types and schools vary from year to year
• Some Music listening exams were affected by loud thunderstorms that made hearing difficult.

Assessment integrity

• All schools are required to maintain a register of malpractice in school assessment tasks
• In 2015, 206 schools registered 719 instances involving 623 students
• The most frequent instance was plagiarism, for which 64% of cases received zero marks, and 32% were given reduced marks.

Examination integrity

• Incidents of cheating remain very small
• This includes a very small number of students (10 from over 77,000) appearing before the Examination Rules Committee for breaching examination rules and 97 students where the school was unable to certify that the student’s major project was all their own work or completed in the permitted time.

To ensure the HSC’s fairness and integrity, BOSTES applies stringent processes when assessing disability provisions and illness/misadventure applications, and applying assessment and examination integrity rules. BOSTES considers each application and incident on a case by case basis to ensure that all decisions are fair and transparent.

• Disability provisions in the HSC give practical assistance to students who may otherwise be disadvantaged when undertaking their exams. Emergency provisions are also approved for late injuries, such as a broken arm just prior to the examinations. Disability provisions do not confer additional marks and are not intended to confer any advantage. They allow students to participate in the examination process in the same way as their peers.

• Illness/misadventure applications also do not confer any advantage. If an illness/misadventure application is upheld, BOSTES will consider other indicators of the students’ performance, such as school assessment marks, to ensure students are not disadvantaged by this occurrence.

• Examination integrity includes breaches of examination rules and malpractice by students undertaking HSC examinations or school assessment tasks. BOSTES and schools take incidents of malpractice seriously, and warn students that the consequences of malpractice can range from loss of some marks to their entire HSC.

For more information, contact:
Michael Charlton
Director, Media
michael.charlton@bostes.nsw.edu.au
(02) 9367 8248