2006 Mathematics Ext I (3 Unit) exam too hard, relative to previous years.
The article below was adopted from SMH for educational intentions and judgement.
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November 2, 2006
THE NSW Board of Studies will consider whether it will give special marking consideration to HSC students who sat the 3-unit maths paper yesterday.
Students complained the extension 1 paper was exceptionally difficult compared with previous years.
A spokeswoman for the NSW Board of Studies, Rebecca Lloyd, said yesterday the paper was designed to be challenging because it catered to three- and four-unit students.
However, the board was concerned to ensure standards were comparable year on year.
"Many people have told us they believe it was a fair paper," Ms Lloyd said. "But if it appears to be a different standard of difficulty to previous years, that will be taken into consideration in the marking guidelines.
"We always look to the responses because we are looking for consistent standards from year to year."
The mathematics co-ordinator at PLC Sydney, Stuart Palmer, said his top students found the paper harder than past papers. "Some of my really capable students said that compared to previous years the paper was more difficult," he said. "On the other hand, the 2-unit paper was more straightforward than it has been for the past three or four years."
He said one of the promises of the new HSC was that the level of difficulty would be consistent from year to year so that students' performances could be measured accurately.
Anna Patty
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