Year 12 exams are just around the corner, bringing the usual dose of anxiety and expectation among students, teachers and parents.
Remote learning is behind us, but this year is bringing its own set of changes and challenges. Here’s what you need to know.
When are the exams?
The exam period depends on each state and territory’s jurisdiction, but generally runs from October until mid-November.
In New South Wales, HSC written exams kick off with English on Wednesday 12 October and finish with food technology on Friday 3 November.
Victoria’s VCE exams run for a longer period, beginning with performance examinations on Monday 2 October and concluding on Wednesday 15 November.
In Queensland, QCE exams start later, running from Monday 23 October until Tuesday 14 November.
Atar results are then released in mid-December, followed by first round university offers. Undergraduate offers continue until March.
What subjects are students flocking to?
English – the only compulsory subject – and mathematics continue to top the list, the latest Acara data shows. They are followed by society and environment, and science courses.
Technology ranks fourth, largely due to high uptake among male students (35% of the cohort compared with 21% of females). Yet it has dropped off in recent years, from a peak of 42% of males and 25% of females in 2012.
Arts ranks sixth after a significant decline in the past decade, with 28% of female students and 17% of male students enrolled in arts subjects in 2021, down from 37% and 23% a decade earlier.
The falling enrolments across traditional subject areas can be in large part attributed to a rise in Vocational Education and Training (Vet) courses. The first year cross-disciplinary areas were included in Acara data in 2021, holding about 18% of student enrolments.
From this year, Victoria has replaced its certificate of applied learning (Vcal) with a new vocational major, meaning it will recognise different students equally under one integrated Victorian certificate of education (VCE). The changes, aimed to slow the surge in un-scored VCEs, will probably see a further uptick in vocational courses such as health, education and trades.
What else is different this year?
This is the first year the education department is grappling with the widespread uptake of new artificial intelligence technologies, including ChatGPT.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) program was on the front foot in February, allowing students to use the chatbot in essays with appropriate attribution.
But schools remain on high alert for the use of banned devices in written exams, including phones and smartwatches, to cheat on tests.
Figures released by the NSW Education Standards Authority earlier this year found about 680 students were found to have cheated in HSC assessment and tasks last year, with greater challenges expected this year thanks to the rapid proliferation of AI.
Dr Claire Golledge, a lecturer in education at the University of Sydney and former teacher, says Covid was a “missed opportunity” to shake up final exams.
She was working in schools during lockdowns when many teachers thought end-of-year exams wouldn’t happen and she is among a growing coalition of educators who have lobbied for internal assessments including research projects, presentations and oral exams to replace the traditional Atar.
“It was an opportunity to moderate based on school-based assessment,” she says. “But instead, we doubled down.
“Lots of students don’t perform well in exams. And they’re not necessarily a good predictor of university achievement.”
How important is an Atar?
Final exams can be seen as a defining moment in a teenager’s life. But experts say students don’t need to pin their career trajectory on a single number. Instead, they should view their Atar as a single pathway, rather than the only one.
Golledge says higher education is increasingly leaving Atars behind, replaced by early offers, mature age enrolments and bridging pathways – including from Tafe to the tertiary sector.
A Centre for Independent Studies paper released this year found the share of school leavers being admitted to universities on a non-Atar basis had grown from 15% in 2016 to at least 25% today.
The caveat was non-Atar based admissions were almost twice as likely to drop out of university in the first year.
The Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) received 22,737 applications via this year’s early offer scheme, now closed.
It was a 6.8% decrease on last year, which UAC says is likely due to the proliferation of other schemes that make offers earlier than the completion of HSC exams in mid-November.
“With the resources and energy it requires, two years of schooling … the number of courses just requiring an Atar are becoming quite small,” Golledge says.
“The question I’m asking is why all of this energy, anxiety and stress for teachers when it’s not what it used to be.
“The biggest challenge isn’t the outcome of students, but their mental health.”
What happens if you don’t get the Atar you want?
Firstly, it’s important to understand what the Atar measures.
The Atar calculates a number between zero and 99.95 that ranks you in relation to your year group. So an Atar of 80% doesn’t mean your score, but that you’re in the top 20% of your cohort.
Universities use Atars to set the lowest rank to receive an offer for each course, as a nationally recognised measure for student comparison.
But if you don’t get the Atar you hoped for, most institutions offer pathway options via adjustment factors, which increase your selection rank for particular courses.
Adjustment factors are available for a range of measures, including the location of school, educational access schemes (EAS), performance in certain subjects and for elite athletes and performers.
So while you may not have reached the Atar you hoped for, the more important score is your selection rank, which includes adjustments made by a university.
How can stress be managed?
Peita Mages, an award-winning teacher and director of the Clever Cookie Academy, says her No 1 piece of advice for students is to “keep it in perspective”.
“Gone are the days of Atar being the one determinate of success in your life,” she says.
“There’s multiple pathways, try your best but if you’re persistent and want to follow a career you’ll get there.
“Stay resilient – if you don’t get the result you’re looking for, there are pathways and bridging courses.”
To parents, she says maintaining routine is key.
“Make sure [students] have a place to study and a study regime, keep them eating, sleeping, exercising and living,” she says. “And don’t let the pressure get too much – it’s one measure of your child on one day.”
