Holding in-class assignments is already a common assessment strategy in high schools. Teachers often plan and work on assessment tasks with students in class time.
NSW Teachers Federation president, Maurie Mulheron, said that while there are dozens of assignments given to a senior class each year, only three or four count towards the final HSC assessment mark.
“It is those three or four that could be done in class, closely supervised by teachers.
"Students could prepare for a general topic, but the actual specific question could be given to students on the day,” Mulheron told The Educator.
“The strategy won’t fail. It is a very simple and effective method and is a much more authentic teaching and assessment strategy than sending students away to work by themselves unsupervised.”
Mulheron added that the “world class” HSC is too valuable to risk being undermined by a "corrupt and unscrupulous cheating industry"
“The NSW HSC is a world class exit credential and its integrity must be preserved,” Mulheron said.
The Board of Studies recently announced it will launch an investigation into the operators of “cheating factories” after it was revealed that under-pressure NSW students were paying hundreds of dollars to have assignments written for them by private companies and individual tutors.
The announcement comes as students at one selective school are being threatened with expulsion for failing to score grades above 60.