Scout is the primary platform for analysing data for the HSC minimum standard. It supports schools to determine students’ progress towards achieving the HSC minimum standard based on online test attempts in reading, writing and numeracy from Year 10.

Teachers can access the ‘Test results’ report and the ‘Item results’ report, to monitor progress in specific focus areas within the domains of reading and numeracy, both at the individual student and cohort level. Scout does not provide feedback at the item level for the online writing test. More information on student results in the writing domain is available in 'Schools Online'.

School leaders can view the ‘Outcomes and Focus Areas’ report and the ‘Outcome Status Detailed’ report to view student progress at a school level. The ‘Student Status Detailed’ report enables school staff to analyse student status for two key equity groups using the filters for Aboriginality and EAL/D learning progression phases.'

Directors, Educational Leadership (DELs) and Executive Directors, Public Schools can observe the ‘Outcomes Across Schools’ report and the ‘Not meeting standard by domain’ report for a snapshot of HSC minimum standard achievement for all students in NSW. These reports help inform the planning of targeted teaching in support of literacy and numeracy development in preparation for the HSC minimum standard tests.

The horizontal bar graphs in the ‘Outcomes and Focus Areas’ report provide a snapshot of cohort and school performance by domain and two main equity groups. The report also provides a breakdown of individual student performance by domain and focus area for all attempts in reading and numeracy.

The HSC minimum standard coordinator can refer to the ‘Test results’ report to identify individual students who have not yet achieved the standard in one or more domains, including the number of attempts and their test result level each time. Then, they can drill down using the ‘Item results’ report to identify the areas that require further support. For example, a Low-Level 2 or Mid-Level 2 in all previous attempts may indicate that the student is not ready to attempt the test again until teachers are able to provide targeted support for these students based on the identified skills in a particular focus area.

A Report Explanation is provided in each report, located at the top of the page, to support the interpretation of data provided in tables and graphs. You can also access the ‘Key Terms’ page to learn more about the descriptions of data groups and available functions within each report.

To develop teaching capacity in providing explicit instruction on literacy and numeracy in preparation for the HSC minimum standard online tests, schools can enrol in professional learning via the literacy and numeracy homepage on the NSW Department of Education website.

For more information on the HSC minimum standard and how to support student achievement, please visit education.nsw.gov.au/hsc-minimum-standard