HSC Disability Provisions Scheme Needs Review

More than 76,000 NSW students sat their HSC exams last month. Now they are waiting for the results until December 18. Herald will, as always, highlight the day by celebrating academic excellence and other success stories of the Class of 2024.

The culmination of 13 years of education, statewide assessments have been a source of stress, pride and, admittedly, sometimes frustration, for school leavers since the 1960s, especially for the growing number of those who sought to use their grades to secure a place in university course.

But the extent to which a student’s entrance score to university, called ATAR since 2009, depends on how well they do while sitting in an exam room with pen in sweaty hand and clock ticking, is declining.

Early entry schemes are common, with thousands of university places offered to HSC students just weeks before their final exams. Last year, Macquarie University admitted just 965 students through the ATAR program alone, compared with 5,000 across other streams. New South Wales Education Minister Prue Car says the programs target students from privileged backgrounds.

And as Lucy Carroll reports today, a growing number of students – particularly in private schools or from higher socio-economic areas – are accessing special provisions for GCSEs in the first place, also raising concerns about equality.

The state’s schools regulator has ordered a thorough review of the HSC disability provisions scheme as new data shows almost 12,000 students applied for extra help – such as extra time, rest breaks or a personal reader or writer – in this year’s tests.

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One in five private school students now apply for some kind of exam provision. At some of Sydney’s highest-fee schools, the figure is over 30 per cent.

While schools in Sydney’s north and east have some of the highest application numbers, in some parts of the city and state where many more children are on the NDIS or receiving learning support, fewer students are accessing this support: distribution HSC application support does not match what we know about these students.

These provisions should make HSC exams fairer; create a level playing field so that all students can achieve their full potential and are not disadvantaged by unfair factors in the examination environment. But the data suggests there are problems with the current system, which is more likely to meet the needs of more privileged students.