The modern HSC is a combination of examinations and school-based assessment:
- Approximately 50% from final HSC exams
- Approximately 50% from assessment tasks completed during Year 12
This model was designed to reduce the pressure of one high-stakes exam. While it has broadened how students can demonstrate achievement, it has also extended assessment across a longer period.
Students complete:
- A Preliminary Course (Year 11)
Both require a set number of teaching hours to be eligible for the HSC.
At Covenant, students also complete our mandatory Knowing God course, reflecting our commitment to Christian formation alongside academic learning.
Subject Selection and Extension Courses
Students typically study:
- 12 units in Year 11, then
They may:
- Drop a subject after Year 11, or
- Take on Extension courses in areas such as English, Mathematics, Science, History and Music
Extension subjects can contribute positively to ATAR outcomes, but they are academically demanding. The best advice is simple and enduring:
👉 Students should choose subjects they enjoy and in which they can succeed.
Assessment and Moderation
HSC results are moderated by NESA (NSW Education Standards Authority) to ensure fairness across schools. While schools determine internal rankings, NESA adjusts marks to align with exam performance across the state.
A few key points:
- A student’s rank within their school is critical
- Final marks are a combination of exam and assessment results
- Results are placed into Bands (e.g. Band 6: 90–100), but these boundaries are set fresh each year
Understanding the ATAR
The ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) is often misunderstood.
- It is not a mark out of 100, but a ranking of a student’s position in the state
- The highest ATAR is 99.95
- The average ATAR is around 50, even though the average HSC mark is around 75
This difference reflects that the ATAR ranks students across the entire age cohort, not just those who complete the HSC.
Scaling and Subject Difficulty
Universities use a process called scaling to account for differences in subject difficulty.
For example:
- A lower mark in a more demanding subject may be ranked higher than a higher mark in a less demanding one
Subjects that have historically scaled well include:
- Advanced and Extension English
- Physics, Chemistry, and Economics
However, scaling should not drive decision-making.
👉 Students thrive when they choose subjects suited to their interests, abilities, and strengths.
Early University Offers
In recent years, universities have begun making early offers based on:
While these offers can be encouraging, they can sometimes lead students to lose focus. It is important that students:
- Maintain consistent effort
- Keep options open, as interests may change
League Tables and School Performance
Media ‘league tables based on Band 6 results can be misleading:
- They do not measure student growth (value added)
- They favour schools with selective enrolment
At Covenant, we focus on:
- Strong ATAR outcomes and post-school pathways
- Holistic development, not just headline statistics
What Truly Matters
The HSC and ATAR are important – they open doors to future opportunities. However, they are not the whole purpose of education.
At Covenant, we are committed to developing the whole person:
- Head – academic understanding
- Heart – character and faith
- Hands – service and practical wisdom
As we seek to nurture young people in Christ, we hold to the vision expressed in Ephesians 4:13:
“…until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Now that is an aim worth pursuing.
Holidays!
When are holidays not holidays? The answer is often for staff who attend to all kinds of work-related activities while the school is out of session. The same may be said (or should be) of Year 12 as they approach their HSC written examinations in just three months. The above notwithstanding, I wish a good school holiday mid-year break to all of our school community.
Bursary Appeal
We are so thankful for the generous response to our recent Bursary Appeal.
We had a target of $80,000 by June 30, and together we raised $82,018! Thank you to all who gave to the appeal and those who continue to support our community through prayer and giving. Your generous support is directly assisting families in our Covenant community and will make a lifelong difference.
Dr John Collier
Interim Principal
