Challenging the norm

This week I was asked to speak at the SMH School’s Summit in Sydney. I was part of a panel discussing the trends in education and how pathways from school have changed and are becoming increasingly important to understand. On the panel with me were Dr Kim Paino the General Manager, Marketing and Engagement from the Universities Admission Centre, Paul Martin the Acting Head of NESA and Patrick O’Reilly from Southern Cross Vocational College. 

The topic was something NGS has been grappling with and in our current strategic plan we have begun seriously looking at how we can best engage our students in a rapidly changing University, wider education and workforce environment. 

2020 is the first year all students must pass basic Literacy and Numeracy tests to obtain an HSC. These tests are designed to ensure students who have a HSC, have functional literacy and numeracy skills. About 20 000 students leave school each year without an HSC and around 70 000 complete an HSC in NSW. This new test is designed to help maintain the integrity of the HSC as a qualification. Schools administer the test from Year 10 and work to ensure all students are positioned to pass it before sitting for the HSC in Year 12. 

As apprenticeships and paths directly to the workforce have dried up, an HSC remains an essential for the majority of students. Further higher education is just as important as the HSC for both job stability and future earnings. Recent studies that show the main occupations for Year 12 completers who do not go on to Higher Education in NSW, Victoria and Queensland are sales assistants, waiters, cashiers, store persons and kitchen hands. All these jobs are increasingly casual and vulnerable to technology. A student at school must expect to study well after they leave school and their pathways to transition successfully into this next phase of learning are shifting.

The ATAR is quite separate to the HSC and provides a rank for each student based on their best 10 Units of study. The University Admissions Centre (UAC) manages the ATAR and University entry. Over the last two years several Universities have changed the ways they are enrolling students and it will be interesting to see whether other Universities follow suit. If you were to ask many teachers what they thought would be better than an ATAR for University entry, you would find they would echo how some University courses are now selecting students – through portfolio, response to criteria and interview. Early Entry is a term now frequently used and at NGS we have had a growing number of students being offered entry to University before they sit the HSC exams. Some courses still require an ATAR- others however are offering students unconditional entry. Other Universities participate ask Schools to recommend students for courses, while others have separate entry requirements. This is a game changer for students and schools as Universities use wider criteria for selection. 

It is said that employers increasingly want the so called ‘soft skills’ – such as leadership, teamwork, communication, problem solving, work ethic, flexibility. Defining what each of these are in a work- place can be difficult however we know that schools promote these skills through curriculum, co-curricular programmes and in addition, teach ethical and social behaviours. Building a portfolio that shows these skills is something that most NGS students can easily put together because of their involvement in the wide number of opportunities they are offered.  

Micro credentialing is also something we are exploring at NGS. Walking away from school with a number of credentials as well as the HSC should set students up well for their future. Our efforts over the last 12 months to build authentic work experience opportunities for students – specifically in the Health, Engineering, Technology fields has started the School on a pathway to grow connections with industry as well as build opportunities to experience working environments. We are hoping some may develop longer term relationships with our students.

A key study in 2015 found high levels of anxiety amongst Year 11 and 12 students – about double the population norm. This level was consistent across a range of cultural groups. The causes of the anxiety came from family (44%), school (35%) and other sources including ‘self’.  Since then assessment has changed for HSC courses, and schools are attempting to reframe the HSC.  The HSC is not an end point- rather a stage of learning and a passport to further education. Understanding that there are now many paths to University, opportunities for gaining smaller credentials along the way and finding work experience opportunities that open wider doors, are just some of the areas that are moving away from the norm. It is an exciting time, full of opportunity. 

Parents and students need to be aware of:

• The changing University entry landscape
• The growth of online sites designed to help students – e.g. Job Jump – all, Year 10, 11 and 12 students can register – see the Careers section on School Box https://portal.ngs.nsw.edu.au/homepage/2405
• The partnerships we have built with Industry for those students interested in the Health, Engineering and Technology Fields
• How building a portfolio from Year 9/10 to Year 12 may assist a student’s entry to University