Thirteen years at school, just for so much of it to come down to sitting in an exam hall for a few hours. For thousands of Year 12 students across NSW, that's basically what the HSC feels like, but, what if we got rid of HSC exam altogether? How else could we actually measure a students knowledge?
Instead of relying so heavily on final exams, students could also be assessed through things like major projects, presentations, portfolios and their work throughout the year. Rather than spending weeks memorising English quotes or math's formulas just to forget them after the exam.
Design and Technology is a good example of how both approaches can work together. Students complete a Major Design Project, where they spend months developing an idea, solving problems and creating a final product. Skills that would be impossible to demonstrate in a two hour exam. However, they also still sit a HSC exam to test their individual knowledge and understanding. Having both gives students different ways to show what they are capable of.
Of course, getting rid of exams is not so simple. Exams are beneficial in providing similar conditions. Without them, student's results can rely more heavily on external factors, such as access to tutoring, better technology, or extra help at home. Creating major discrepancies across NSW.
There is also now AI to think about. With AI now able to help write essays and complete assignments, it harder to know how much of someone's work is actually their own. At least in an exam, you know it's the student sitting there doing the work.
So maybe getting rid of HSC exams entirely isn't the answer.
Perhaps subjects like Design and Technology show us another option, a balance between exams and assessments. After all, if every student learns different, should on type of assessment really be expected to measure everyone fairly?
