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Hsc: Exposed And Uncut (1 Viewer)

What is your personal opinion of the Higher School Certificate?

  • I think its the only way to test people

    Votes: 34 13.2%
  • Its too old fashioned

    Votes: 24 9.3%
  • Why test our ability to 'remember' stored information in a specific time limit, on our own?

    Votes: 126 49.0%
  • Why doesn't it test us as people, rather than as academic absorbant sponges?

    Votes: 82 31.9%
  • If I ever meet the person that started the bloody HSC....

    Votes: 66 25.7%
  • I love study, and most of all, love basing 2 years of work on 3 hours of regurgitation

    Votes: 31 12.1%

  • Total voters
    257

Gloriarel

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its not a matter of the HSC specifically being a painful experience, rather any sort of separating process that filters the "smart" from the "dumb" is painful.

but realistically, the separating process is the only way to keep the intelligence level of this country at least on a comparative level to other countries. it is a sad fact that our academic proficiency is the only measurable way of establishing the intelligencia, but its the only way. come on, realistically are they going to interview every single australian citizen to find out the intelligent people based on character and personality alone? i dont think so.
 

mack

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The HSC only measures your readiness for tertiary education at one particular point in time. It is not a measure of how smart or dumb you are. There are many other avenues to get in, such as graduate level degrees, mature age entry, TAFE courses.......It isn't as a big a deal as the media makes it out to be.
 

welshi

Clearly unemployed again.
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Gloriarel said:
its not a matter of the HSC specifically being a painful experience, rather any sort of separating process that filters the "smart" from the "dumb" is painful.

but realistically, the separating process is the only way to keep the intelligence level of this country at least on a comparative level to other countries. it is a sad fact that our academic proficiency is the only measurable way of establishing the intelligencia, but its the only way. come on, realistically are they going to interview every single australian citizen to find out the intelligent people based on character and personality alone? i dont think so.
we actually had a convo in english extension once about the possibility of supplementing the exams with a spoken element - just one interview at the end of the year that allowed those students who express themselves better in discussion than on paper to shine. it would be like language orals, only in english obviously. it would be like a conversation with the examiner in which the student would discuss some of what they had learned during the year, and would assess not just what they've remembered, but what they have actually got out of it. it would reward those students who have actually involved themselves in their education, and working towards this kind of assessment would surely help a lot of student both in their approach to their studies and in the final benefit they receive from it.

all the other states apart from victoria get along without the big FINAL EXAMS thing. why is the NSW bos so anal about it all?
 

Gloriarel

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all the other states apart from victoria get along without the big FINAL EXAMS thing. why is the NSW bos so anal about it all?
ok true. but i guess its not really specifically the BOS that makes them so BIG, rather people (and the media) create too much unnecesary hype surrounding them. but the way the whole system works, in the end the exams become so important because its the only way to compare everyone across the state - incase the assessment marks were just "given" to the students by school that want to excel. i dunno.

with regards to making the oral interview part of a marking process, it seems impractical, mainly because its not a measurable test, and more than likely people wont be satisfied with their results, and it will cause all sorts of problems.
 

silvermoon

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what makes you think that an interview would be any different? its just as easy to learn what you need to say to impress a marker in this capacity than it is learning it for an essay. except you get more time in the essay ;)

i dunno. im completely over the hsc - but i think its got some good points. i think a little competition is healthy; Australia seems to have an unhealthy tendency to promote mediocrity rather than support excellence.
 

jess pollard 1

New Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2004
Messages
18
Firstly, i just want to say, throughout this somewhat 'stressful' time in our lives 'ever' (apparently), it's good to know that we're so lucky as students to have rescources and really helpful supportive websites like this one available to us. cos i reckon without this sorta stuff alot of us would not be able to cope. we really do, despite the bullshit label the media puts on the HSC, have it pretty good with all the support networks eg. seminars, excel books, past papers AND answers, and shit like that, and places like this where we can have an outlet and converse with other's thoughts who are going thru the same thing. the HSC, like anything, is what you make it, for some it is the be all and end all, but for alot of us, it's sad to think how our thoughts and feelings to this sort of thing can be swayed and influenced by the hype everyone else gives it. reading alot of quotes and even i feel the same, alot of us are really OVER this fricken HSC, so isn't that a sign proving that we're all starting to realise that really this isn't something to worry too much about and that yes, although it is the only way to do this thing, it's all a load of shit and something that we all need to just think 'well hey, i've given it my best shot, that's all i can do, and lets just see what the future brings.' yes it sucks that 13 whole LONG years at school all goes into a bunch of 2 hour exams and u only have one shot at it, but hey that's life, that's the stupid education system for ya, and that's the HSC. the real world sucks but how we deal with it determines what great ppl we are, not a stoopid friggin number by the end of all our hard, or not so hard work. i feel sorry for the people who've taken this whole crappy sytem so seriously that they're life's dependant on it and to those that are takin it a little less intenself, i say good on u, it's the only way to be to survive it all!
 

Gloriarel

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Australia seems to have an unhealthy tendency to promote mediocrity rather than support excellence.
couldnt have put it better.

there is nothing wrong with competition, its only natural that at some stage all of us have to face it. and its only natural that some will cope with it better than others.

life isnt meant to be easy. but chances are it will reward those that aim high.
 

nick1048

Mè çHöP ŸèW
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the only joke in the HSC is english... wtf does analysing have to do with language??? Who cares that something has a technique I mean seriously... what ever happend to creativity and flair? Or was that the point? To scare people that enjoyed expressing themselves using English literature conventions off the though of doing so... What a fucking joke.
 

jess pollard 1

New Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2004
Messages
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nick1048 said:
the only joke in the HSC is english... wtf does analysing have to do with language??? Who cares that something has a technique I mean seriously... what ever happend to creativity and flair? Or was that the point? To scare people that enjoyed expressing themselves using English literature conventions off the though of doing so... What a fucking joke.
agreed! i'm with you mate well said!! and the same anything like that. god i don't reckon i could name what verbs, adjectives, pronouns and shit like that are without being incorrect at some point along the way...
 

myg0t

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The HSC is deadset unfair, yet is the only way to measure the state.

Its unfair because those who get >95 UAI are predominantly azn (no offence) but lack any direction in the real world.

You know its true.
 
T

timbk2

Guest
you guys dont realise how much easier you have it.

we didnt have anything like these forums or notes or anything when we first did the new hsc (2001). most teachers had no clue back then... nowadays, even if your teachers or tutors cant teach you properly at least you have the resources available for you and a place to come and talk to other students.

end rant*
 
T

timbk2

Guest
myg0t said:
The HSC is deadset unfair, yet is the only way to measure the state.

Its unfair because those who get >95 UAI are predominantly azn (no offence) but lack any direction in the real world.

You know its true.
FYI .. im asian.. im going to finish my degree next year and i already have a full-time job in a large corporate company. I didnt quite get >95 though. =)
 

shazzam

acta est fabula
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Not-That-Bright said:
In america heaps of people have degree's, they're pretty dumb.
Indeed. George W Bush received a score of 1206/1600 in the SAT I. That' s the equivalent to a UAI in the 70s.
 

jellybeenz

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Nov 21, 2003
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Funny how 70s uai can mean not going to Uni for some and a deadend job, but for people with money (i.e. dubya and many others) it means going to Yale and becoming president.

The thing about the HSC is though, you could ace it... you could absolutely slam it and it doesn't even mean that much. When you go to uni, there will be kids whose parents simply paid for their place and in the end your uai only meant so much to you because of what it could offer.

However, if you fail or achieve substantially lower than what you and everyone around you expected, you can be haunted by that number. Because for a lot of people this number will decide the course of the next few years of their lives.

In the long run it might not mean much- we will all end up in the ground. But right now to some it decides the immediate future and we are kids- we can't see beyond that.
 

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