Teachers flag unusual question format in HSC modern history exam
Teachers flagged an unusual question format on the HSC modern history exam, rarely seen in papers before.
Emily Lawson, a teacher at Rose Bay Secondary, reviewed the HSC modern history exam after 11,012 students across NSW sat for three hours on Friday. One question asked pupils to explain the problems that arise from a 1934 Daily Mail article that was pro-Nazi and covered the Night of the Long Knives.
"Explain the problems. I haven't seen that in a paper before," Lawson said.
Teachers typically see value questions, not ones framed this way. Other questions tested students on Allied leadership in World War II and on Stalin's totalitarian control.
- 11,012
- Students who sat exam
- 3 hours
- Exam duration
- 1934
- Article date
- 600 palm cards
- Student's preparation
Why it mattersUnusual question wording can confuse strong students and affect how fairly results measure what pupils actually know about history.
AustraliaNSW HSC students and teachers will need to understand if this question style signals a new approach to exams or was a one-off change.
Corroborated bytheage.com.au
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
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