School Certificate to be scrapped (3 Viewers)

[timlay]

oh well. i hope we ARE the last year to do it. i could rub it in to peoples faces. YOU'LL NEVER DO THE SC MUAHAHAHAHAHA... .

*Shrugs*

join the SC club. no wait, u can't.

 

[cem]

Can I just point out that you are all looking at this from the point of view of students whereas the governments have to consider the wider view of the state/country as a whole?

One concern that NSW does have to deal with is that it has a very low retention rate among its students from Year 10 to Year 12 in comparison with other states and territories (I know the NT is lower but I think that is the only one). As far as the country is concerned that is not good - about 1/3 of NSW students don't continue on past Year 10 and about 10% of the state don't even complete Year 10. There is quite a bit of anecdotal evidence among teachers that it is the SC that causes many of these students to leave school both before doing it and immediately after it.

In addition having tests in Years 3, 6, and 9 would reduce the amount of state wide testing done in NSW where students are currently tests in Years 3, 5, 7, 8, and 10 (from 5 testing years to 3 testing years).

NSW is the only state with an external exam in Year 10 and yet the students in other states, particulary Vic, with the VCE, seem to cope very well with the stress of that exam without the experience of a Year 10 exam.

QLD don't even have an external exam and they have a very high retention rate.

Is there a message for governments there - take some of the pressure away and keep kids at school for longer and off welfare and out of trouble.

 

[buchanan]

you are all looking at this from the point of view of students

I am not a student.

And I disagree with your argument. Other states and territories have lower standards than NSW. Until they have higher standards than us, I will not be in a great rush to follow in their footsteps.

But NSW isn't perfect. You lament that we don't have enough students staying on till Year 12. I say NSW isn't perfect for an entirely different reason - and that is that we have too many students staying on till Year 12. I don't want the HSC to be a holding pen for the dole queue. Many Year 12s who shouldn't be there are unmotivated and don't take the HSC seriously anyway. I wouldn't mind if the HSC cohort reduced in size but increased in quality.

 

[the leader]

Can I just point out that you are all looking at this from the point of view of students whereas the governments have to consider the wider view of the state/country as a whole?
quote]



Aaah, we are taking the view of students because we are students - and we, the students will be the ones directly affected by this change. Not the retirees, not the single mothers, not the politicians.

 

[buchanan]

Here is Cooney's final report:

https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/dethome/yr2007/cooneyreviewfll.pdf

 

[jaaaaay]

Can I just point out that you are all looking at this from the point of view of students whereas the governments have to consider the wider view of the state/country as a whole?

Aaah, we are taking the view of students because we are students - and we, the students will be the ones directly affected by this change. Not the retirees, not the single mothers, not the politicians.

*nods*

it's a shame we don't get a say though...

but seriously, sc was a waste of time - i'd be glad they scrapped it, if i hadn't already done it!

 

[bringbackshred]

The SC was a joke, but it appealed (and needed to) to the lowest common denominator. Now most of those kids would leave school at the end of the year. Unfortunately, the key word there is 'most', but anyway, that's not he subject at hand.

This does sound like a national test and that's not a good thing - NSW is so obviously better than every other state. Seriously though, having a test in Year 9 and then nothing really until prelim is fucked. If the Gov does decide to implement this new system, I hope it is a temporary solution until they bring back mandatory external Year 10 testing or something of the like, because kids will leave otherwise.

Congrats on failing Howard and cabinent. Now fuck off and sack all of them for us all.

 

[z600]

This does sound like a national test and that's not a good thing - NSW is so obviously better than every other state.

Victoria's exam scores are better than NSW.

 

[mudcake42]

I think the new system is better... no one asks for your results of your school certificate, only that you've done it. and anyone can do it.

But saying that, the school certificate for me was great for me to get use to the whole official and strict procedure of assignments and exams. So maybe not the content of the school certificate but the context I think is important.

 

[bringbackshred]

Victoria's exam scores are better than NSW.

I WAS MAKING A JOKE BASED ON MY BLIND PATRIOTISM.

 

[van.tango]

I think the most important thing is that the system of the School Certificate and having assessments prepares students for what is going to happen in the next two years. There should still be some kind of assessment system in place, under standard assessment rules, in Year 10. I personally found that the hardest thing for most people to adjust to was managing their time and organising themselves to prepare for assessments and the School Certificate, and they're still struggling now in Preliminary. Even with that preparation there, they're still having problems and that's something I think is common with a lot of people, so that has to be improved.

 

[sle3pe3bumz]

^ agreed

although the sc was a small thing, it believe that it should stay. It minimally does kinda prepare you for the senior years and exam conditions.

plus im just uping my post counts ! =]

 

[Jachie]

I think scrapping the SC is fucking stupid, to be perfectly frank. It may have been a waste of time for people who planned to continue on to senior years, but since a large proportion of Year 10 students plan on leaving, it needed to exist. Not to mention that it provides Year 10 students who plan on doing the HSC a taste of what external assesments are like.

I can see what they're trying to achieve with this new system, but I'm not confident it will work. The SC, while lame and stupid in retrospect for us BOSers who have been there and done that, was beneficial in some ways, no matter how slight. I don't agree that they should get rid of it.

 

[cem]

For anyone who is interested the School Cerficate is NOT going to be scrapped according the the official DET website.

https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/

If you go to the section National assessment program for literacy and numeracy and click on the FAQs for Parents the information in there says the following:

"What about the School Certificate and
Higher School Certificate?
The introduction of national testing does not affect the
School Certificate or Higher School Certificate (HSC).
These assessments will continue to be undertaken in exactly
the same way and at the same times as they currently are."

This information reached our school officially today.

 

[shaZ-]

SC's gay..
im studying for my trials atm and it's killing my life.
its so ridiculous seeing as the majority of yr 10 are continuing onto their senior years anyway, but like, whatever.
i guess it helps us get used to writing study notes or whatever for the HSC and shiz
but like, yea i dun fink dey shood get rid of the SC even tho it IS gay

 

[cs01001]

SC's gay..
im studying for my trials atm and it's killing my life.

Save that for next year.

 

[cem]

yeh, cant believe im gonna have to sit for the sc this year

the last year eh

man, im sure howards just pissed

he lost the war,hes gonna lose his seat, now, who else to take it out on than the wannabe seniors, year 10.

oh well, at least were gonna sit the last ever SC exam

The SC is NOT being scrapped at this stage. The word that we have had from the Dept. of Education is that it will be around for another 5 years at least.

Schools were clearly told this last term when they received notification of the timings for the nationwide tests for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. In that official notice there was a question about the SC and the answer from the department was that the SC and HSC would be continuing as normal for the forseeable future.

It really caught one school I know that had done their Year 9 elective choices for next year and had the students elect to do History or Geography, both or neither and then had to redo the entire exercise as the students have to continue with both and do the SC.

 

[AlexM]

I think its morris iemma not john howard.

I did sc in 2004. I think basic skills tests keep schools in line with their internal staff. to make sure if a student suddenly falls in grades then theres a search to why.

maybe basic skills should be every 2 years.

 

[Rhystah]

SC's gay..
im studying for my trials atm and it's killing my life.
its so ridiculous seeing as the majority of yr 10 are continuing onto their senior years anyway, but like, whatever.
i guess it helps us get used to writing study notes or whatever for the HSC and shiz
but like, yea i dun fink dey shood get rid of the SC even tho it IS gay

God.. I know what u mean:mad1:
My holidays were overtaken by rigorous studying for the SC and it feels like I haven't left school for the whole two weeks
Lol half of my grade aren't going to Year 11 and my school's in NSW
Honestly I reckon that they should just leave our education as it is atm.
Getting a job back in a few years was easier than it is today. A lot of jobs require the school certificate or higher (well the good ones anyway). If they DO scrap the SC, what will happen with the people who just finish up till Year 10??

 

[yvettemaree47]

God.. I know what u mean:mad1:
My holidays were overtaken by rigorous studying for the SC and it feels like I haven't left school for the whole two weeks

I feel the exact same way!!! I did nothing but study all holidays and I'm sick of it! After my trials finish today, I'm going to have a couple days break before getting back into my study routine.