"No one would want a child not meeting minimum standards but these tests are completely unnecessary because we have a thing called years 11 and 12 with a rich assessment component and the HSC, which is a world-class qualification," Mr Mulheron said. "We should be building it all into actual syllabuses. These tests are moving teachers away from doing what they should be doing and teaching the curriculum." Under the new policy, which has come into effect for students who are currently in year 10, pupils will have two chances to sit the tests every year in years 10, 11 and 12 and for five years after they leave school. Students who do not pass the online tests by the time they finish year 12 will be able to sit their HSC exams but will receive a Record of School Achievement instead of the HSC. They will still be able to receive an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) and apply to university. The initial plan to introduce the online tests stated that "students who have not reached the numeracy standard by the end of year 10 will be required to take a prescribed mathematics course or topics in preliminary and HSC and specific English units".

However, a spokesman for the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA), which runs the online tests, said schools will now choose the best way to help students struggling with the tests. "Individual schools and teachers are best placed to determine the most appropriate ways to support students at risk of not meeting the HSC minimum standard by the end of year 12," the spokesman said. "NESA has mapped the Stage 6 syllabuses in English Studies, English Standard and the year 11 Mathematics Standard syllabus to the HSC minimum standard. "In addition, NESA has released mathematics pathways for years 9 and 10 linked to the HSC minimum standard for teachers’ use with students at risk of not meeting the minimum standard." A controversial policy that allowed students who got a band 8 in the year 9 reading, writing and numeracy NAPLAN tests to qualify for their HSC without taking the online tests was scrapped earlier this year by NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes, who said linking the diagnostic test to the minimum standard put too much pressure on year 9 students.

Last year's NAPLAN results revealed that only 32 per cent of year 9 students achieved a band 8 in all three domains, and 68 per cent would need to sit at least one online test to qualify for their HSC. "We have introduced the HSC reforms to raise standards for our students leaving school - to make sure they have a minimum standard of literacy and numeracy...and to prepare them as well as possible for life after school," Mr Stokes told the Herald last year. NESA has set four test windows in February, May, August and November this year for students to attempt the exams, with the first window closing on March 23. Schools are required to enrol students and facilitate the tests. Example questions from the literacy test

1. Which is the correct punctuation to complete this sentence?

That's amazing

A. ! B. ? C. : D. ; 2. Which word is not needed in this sentence?

A towbar is used to attach together a trailer to a car.

A. used B. attach C. together D. to 3. Which sentence uses the word fold as a noun?

A. She cut the paper along the fold.

B. The doors can fold back to make one large room.

C. When you fold your arms it often expresses anger.

D. I am going to fold the cloth before putting it in the cupboard. 4. Which sentence uses correct grammar?

A. They sung the same song twice.

B. Is he the tallest of the two?

C. She sent it to you and I.

D. He swims quite quickly. 5. In which of the following are all the words synonyms for the word permeate?

A. dry, match, perm

B. infuse, seep, infiltrate

C. imbue, avalanche, seep

D. saturate, diffuse, dehydrate

Answers:

1. A 2. C 3. A 4. D 5. B Example questions from the numeracy test 1. Fred notices that it is a quarter to five in the afternoon. He tries to find this time on a train timetable which is written in 24-hour time. How would this time be written on the timetable?

A. 04.45 B. 05.25 C. 16.45 D. 16.75 2. Which two temperatures are closest to each other?

A. -6C and -3C B. -2C and 3C C. 2C and 6C D. -3C and 3C 3. 15% of 1.5 tonnes is

A. 22.5 kg B. 100 kg C. 225 kg D. 1000 kg