Schools will be limited to a maximum of one take-home assessment task worth no more than 15 per cent of the school-based assessment mark – or 7.5 per cent of the total HSC mark – as part of reform by the Minns Labor Government to protect student learning.
The advice from the NSW Education Standards Authority follows a request made by Acting Premier of New South Wales and Minister for Education and Early Learning, Prue Car, at the end of last month for NESA to examine measures to protect student learning amid the rapid rise in the use of artificial intelligence in schools.
Half of a student’s HSC result is based on school-based assessment. Under the current rules, schools determine how much of that 50 per cent is assessed through take-home tasks and how much is completed in class.
The new rule will limit schools to one take-home assessment task worth no more than 15 per cent of the school-based assessment component.
Schools will still be able to use a range of assessment types appropriate to each course, including examinations, oral tasks, and process diaries.
HSC major works are not included in the restrictions, but schools are still required to authenticate students’ work. Some courses with assessment tasks linked to the development of major works will also be exempt, including courses across the creative arts, technologies, and English Extension 2.
The advice comes before the Class of 2027 begins their HSC studies in Term 4 this year, providing schools and teachers with certainty as they finalise their assessment programs.
The limit will also apply to students beginning Year 11 in Term 1, 2027.
The NESA Board will now consider additional subject-specific advice, as well as guidance for teachers, to be released to schools from next year for the 2028 HSC and beyond.
The NESA Board, which includes representatives of the public, Catholic, and independent school sectors, as well as high school principals and education unions, strongly supported the need to protect students’ learning and the integrity of the HSC.
Based on current evidence, the decision gives schools the flexibility to choose assessment types that are appropriate to the nature of each course, while ensuring appropriate safeguards are in place.
Importantly, the message to parents, schools, and students is that the Minns Labor Government is acting now to keep pace with the rapid rise of AI in schools and society more broadly.
The new limit provides a clear direction that HSC marks should reflect a student’s own knowledge, skills and thinking, without reliance on generative AI tools.
Acting Premier of New South Wales and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:
“School communities are concerned about the tide of AI technology impacting our classrooms, which is undermining learning, thinking, creativity, and hard work.
“NSW is leading the nation in our response to AI in schools, and mitigating risks to the HSC is a critical first step to deal with the rapid intrusion of AI into our learning and brain development.
“The message this sends to schools and communities more broadly is that we are committed to protecting the teaching and learning happening in schools.
“When students outsource their learning – whether that is to tutors, classmates, or artificial intelligence – they are missing out on the rigorous, high-quality education they need to set themselves up for the future.”
NSW Education Standards Authority CEO Paul Martin said:
“These immediate measures being put in place are an important starting point while we consider additional ways to support schools who share our objective of protecting student learning.
“Generative AI may offer students a short-cut to complex school work, but it bypasses the opportunity to build knowledge and learning.
“It is not an overstatement to say the consequences of that could be severe over time.
“We have a moral obligation to the students and teachers of NSW to protect the learning process, the integrity of assessments, and to maintain confidence in the HSC credential.”
