Thinking of filming doco about hsc stress for bos & urging a change from current form (1 Viewer)

[stazi]

The HSC is a shitload of stress. Sure the school tries to organise trials to let students get used to conditions but there is most certainly a difference between a 30% assessment internally and a 100% external one.
There is a large number of smokers before and after exams and this is worrying. I have become one of them, as smoking has a placebo calming effect pre-hsc. Exams that are grouped as two on one day I won't even get into. It's just stupid.

I propose that 10% external + 10% internal marks are decided in year 11 for each subject (or half-way through year 12 for external). This will reduce pressure, if only by a little bit, but it would nevertheless be substantial. Yes, this will require more administration costs, but its a small price to pay for the long term benefits. Students also wouldnt slack off to study for just the hsc (as I have and funnily enough I may go better than people who have been at it all year).

Do you thinking filming a doco such as this would be a good idea? Possibly talking to hsc students prior to exams next year?

 

[username]

Personally im not stressed at all, and if you do your work you shouldn't be. I agree with you on the yr 11 hsc part but overall the hsc hasn't been stressful at all for. Mind you i would never do it again!

 

[ChrisE]

i think the hsc doesnt sufficietly reward people who have been consistently achieving all year as maybe a couple of curly questions or a mind blank in an exam for one small part can blow it all, but at the same time its all part of it and u have to be ready on the day. which can be hard as i know many like me had two 3 hour exams in one day which doesnt help. im sure there is a better more fair way to assess people for uni entrance that can be thought of

 

[the questions]

I think that it is a great idea and yeah, you should go for it. It could make for a very good doc, if you planned and delivered it well....

 

[matt_f64]

sounds like a great idea, as long as u can afford to fund it or whateva.

 

[Dougie]

yeah, sound like a good idea, only i'm not stressing. u could alter it to... "why so many ppl got over the hsc before it begins"

 

[Acid]

They should base it on IQ to eradicate the dense people who have a tutor for all subjects and study 24/7.

They have to discriminate between us somehow, so I think IQ is probably the fairest method.

 

[jumb]

I think the current way is fine. Mainly, becasue I never worked during the year and I'm a really good crammer.

I'm also VERY laid back. Everyone is always surprised when they see how calm I am.

 

[angelduck]

yeah, the HSC is kinda crap, but not really stressful, i mean, u just gotta realise that if u do do shit, its not the end of the world. There are so many other ways you can get into UNI now, its alot easier than it was in the past

 

[Dougie]

if u never worked, how bout ur assessmnet mark?
i agree with the calm thing, but anyone can do that. look around , and so many ppl r still stressed; hanging out for results

 

[Cactus]

i have PM'ed you to talk about your idea further. I think that in addition to the things you have said, such as the smoking thing, i think there are a lot more long-term effects prior to and post HSC. Look at the ammount of people who go out and get drunk every weekend. im one of them, and one of the reasons is because after 5 days straight of thinking about the HSC, you need a release. Not to mention the numerous suicide attempts each year; i know i had someone very close to me try it this year, and it has a huge effect not only on the suicider and their family, but the school and the persons friends. I think there is a lot of good material that could be used for a doco like this.

 

[ThePix]

i think the hsc doesnt sufficietly reward people who have been consistently achieving all year as maybe a couple of curly questions or a mind blank in an exam for one small part can blow it all, but at the same time its all part of it and u have to be ready on the day. which can be hard as i know many like me had two 3 hour exams in one day which doesnt help. im sure there is a better more fair way to assess people for uni entrance that can be thought of

i very much agree with you chris

the hsc isnt always fair but neither is anything really, its the unfortunate reality... id still watch the doco with keen interest and i agree the hsc isnt ideal, but i just think their isnt any better alternative, cant always please everyone

 

[Timmay]

i think if part of our assessment was in year 11 it would create more stress... like in year 11 your fairly laid back (i know i was and everyone around me) and year 12 you focus on your future (hsc) but if you made the assessment in year 11 as well thats 2 years of being focused on and stressing about the hsc... the system as it is is fair as its gonna get, some people are better at assessments some people are better at exams, it balances both, but the exam is still the easiest and most effective measurement of your knowledge... quit whinging cos your stress is probably driving you to achieve a better mark and instead of smoking you could try yoga or some crap, 3 deep breaths or whatever...

 

[Trigger189]

The NSW HSC is better than some other systems - I reckon the QLD one is a shocker. I think our system does reward consistent effort, and is not stressful at all if you have applied yourself all year. That being said, I'm not too stressed myself. But there is a better way to do it, which would be similar to handing in a major work - eg. Extension 2 English, which is marked internally and externally. A student could be consistently working on a work to submit on their course that is assessed throughout the year and is marked externally. It would be better at showing the students true capability, no stress, better monitored, etc. Anyway, I think this is a much better system, but the HSC as it is isnt too bad and I dont know why some people take it so seriously - like the whole suicide thing. Personally, I dont think its that stressful, not unless the student feels pressured by family or their school to really achieve well. In the end, its all about personal best.

 

[ruzha]

Ban the HSC

I don't believe that the HSC is a good measure of ability. Surely when a person is put under pressure it does not cause them to perform to their best. Where this notion arose that if you put a bunch of students together for 3 hours, doing an exam that is based on a whole years worth of work, which will supposedly make the students achieve highly is beyond me. How the officails at the Education Department came up with an idea such as this is truly puzzling.

Every year in the lead up to the HSC there are news reports about students commiting suicide or attempting to commit suicide because of the stress that comes along with the HSC. Thankfully this year there have been no such reports(as far as I know), but isn't all of this death and pain a sign that there is something wrong?

Telling would be HSC students that this exam is incredible important I don't believe is right. Putting so much pressure on them to perform I don't believe is right either. Leading them to believe that this hyped up exam is the be all and the end all of their educational career is not right.

Today there are many ways in which students are able to further their education. Uni is just one option and there many ways in which a student is able to enter, not just by the UAI. So while yes, the HSC is important, it is not so much so that the media hype, the build-up from the teachers and the pressure from people who are supposed to be supportive such as our family, is right. In fact it is this handful of facts that cause the stress. The pressure from parents on their child to do well is understandable but usually will be the downfall of their child.

Yes, there are those few students who luckily do not feel the stress and the panic that starts around the month of October, I am one of them. But as I sit in the exam room and watch my fellow peers struggle, as I watch their faces pale and start to look panicky, I wonder who thought this was a good idea in the first place?

Setting an on going assessment I believe is much more successful in determining a students potential. This way the hard workers are separated from the last minute workers and there is a much lower stress level.

Film your documentary and send it to the Board of Studies, so that they can see the effects of the HSC first hand. Let them see the stress and the worry on the students faces. Let them see the trauma that they have caused.

The HSC is not the way to determine students potential and this is why it should be banned!

 

[ChrisE]

never a truer word spoken. i know that for my hsc i will most likely miss out on the uni course i want because i picked harder subjects for me and even tho i do extremely well in some, in others i only do fairly well and not fantastic, i chose them because i enjoy them and have a passion for them. i know deep down i would go much better than many people who get accepted into uni and i have the skills and a good mix of various intelligences to still acheive in life despite what mark i get in my hsc. its not a measure of who you are and thank god there are other ways to get into university because then we would only get high hsc achievers doing these high skilled degree dependent jobs which isnt fair. an iq test makes sense as it measures your intelligence and what reasoning skills you possess, not how hard you worked for 12 months, which are vital in the real world. thankyou for listening to my silly rant. im going now