Do accelerated HSC courses give some students an unfair advantage?

Hundreds of students at selective schools,and many at private schools,are sitting HSC exams in year 10 or 11 for subjects ranging from maths to ancient history,raising questions about whether they are getting an unfair advantage.

Students who finish an HSC course in year 10 or 11 can spend more time focusing on their other subjects in year 12,and also have the advantage of understanding the HSC examination process better than their peers.

Over three years between 2018 and 2020,an average of more than 800 students a year did accelerated courses at fully selective NSW schools,data from the NSW Department of Education,obtained under freedom of information laws,show.

Between 2018 and 2020,the most popular accelerated course was HSC maths,which 373 students at fully selective NSW high schools finished before they began year 12. The second was information processes and technology (295) followed by business studies (235).

Merewether High in Newcastle offered nine accelerated courses,including legal studies and biology. Baulkham Hills High offered eight,ranging from economics to ancient history,and six at Sydney Boys High,the data shows.

The most common accelerated course was information processes and technology,which was offered by six fully selective schools including James Ruse Agricultural High,which also offered agriculture,music 2,software design and development and PDHPE.

Many private schools also advertise accelerated courses;studies of religion is particularly popular,as it is compulsory in many religious schools. But some are worried the program has become a marketing tool.

“A lot of the selectives … are allowing whole classes of students – not just individuals,that’s been happening for a long time – to do their two-year HSC course in years 9-10 or 10-11,” said one teacher who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

“The offering of these accelerated subjects is becoming a big selling point for the selective arms race,which has been a thing for a good 10-15 years.”

In a research paper on why some students fare better than others during the HSC,Alan Parsons,an academic and deputy principal at Newcastle Grammar,pointed to accelerated programs as helpful for the students he interviewed.

They gave students skills in how to manage their time,deal with assessments and sit a three-hour exam that they could then use for their other subjects the following year. “You really learn how to manage studying an HSC subject,” Dr Parsons said. “You’ve got a reduced load,you’ve got more time to study - if you’re talking about students who are serious.”

However,Dr Parsons said the advantage was not necessarily unfair. At schools like his,students had to be invited to do an accelerated course. “For most students,it would put them under so much pressure,it would be negative for them,” he said.

“Students develop at different ages and speeds and rates;are we better off having these top kids bored or are we better off giving them more challenges? Most of our students don’t do an accelerated course,and there’s no indication that they’re disadvantaged.”

Craig Petersen,the head of the Secondary Principals Council,said students who did accelerated courses had an advantage in the sense that they could study fewer subjects during their final year.

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However,“there’s really compelling reasons why we should allow them to accelerate,” he said. “One of the contributors to disengagement is where we’re holding students back despite their ability when they’ve mastered the content.

“There’s pros and cons for the acceleration argument. I think it’s becoming more common.”

One person familiar with the running of the HSC,who did not want to be quoted because they were not authorised to speak,said accelerated courses did advantage students but there were “a million ways in which things don’t play out evenly”,he said.

“Some kids choose to do 12 or even 13 units,and others do 10 by option,some courses are easier than others - and the ATAR reflects that. It’s not like everything is equally calibrated.”

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