Years 9 and 10 in NSW: subjects, grades, the RoSA and the HSC tests
Years 9 and 10 are Stage 5 of the NSW syllabus, the last stage before Years 11 and 12. Here is what students study, how the grades work, what the Record of School Achievement is, when the HSC minimum standard tests start, and how a parent can help, from NESA and the NSW curriculum site.
Try 10 free questions with your child, marked as soon as you finish: the Year 9 or Year 10 check.
What do students study in Years 9 and 10?
The curriculum site lists the high school learning areas as English, Mathematics, Science, Technological and Applied Studies, HSIE, PDHPE, Creative Arts, Languages, and Vocational Education and Training. Your child's school decides which elective courses it offers.
NESA's rules for the Record of School Achievement give the mandatory curriculum, including 400 hours each of English, Mathematics, Science and HSIE. Ask the school how its timetable meets that, and which courses your child has a choice in.
How does maths work in Stage 5?
The Mathematics K-10 Syllabus (2022) has a Core and Paths. The syllabus says the Core will typically cover work "up to the middle of Stage 5", and it gives the foundation for the Mathematics Standard courses in Years 11 and 12.
Teachers then choose Path content to suit their students by the end of Stage 5, and the syllabus says the structure should not "lock students into predetermined pathways at the end of Stage 4". So the question to ask is which Path content your child's class covers, and what the teacher suggests for Year 11.
What grades do students get?
Schools award a grade from A to E for each Stage 5 course a student satisfactorily completes, and they submit those grades to NESA in Term 4. Ask the school how its assessment tasks build up to the grade.
What is the Record of School Achievement?
The Record of School Achievement, or RoSA, is a credential for a student who leaves school after Year 10 and before finishing the HSC. NESA says it "includes an A to E grade" for the Stage 5 courses and any Year 11 courses the student satisfactorily completed.
- Attendance
- A student must attend school until the final day of Year 10.
- Mandatory curriculum
- A student must meet the mandatory curriculum, including the hours above.
- N determinations
- An N determination in a mandatory course means the course was not satisfactorily completed, and it makes a student ineligible for the RoSA. If the school warns you about one, act on the letter straight away.
What are the HSC minimum standard tests?
NESA says all students "need to reach a minimum standard of functional literacy and numeracy to receive the HSC". A student shows it by reaching Level 3 or 4 in short online tests. The tests start well before Year 12, which leaves time to try again.
- When
- From Year 10, until the student reaches the standard in that test.
- How often
- Up to 4 times a year in Year 10 or Year 11, and up to 6 times a year in Year 12. A student waits at least 30 days between attempts at the same test.
- Numeracy and reading
- 45 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes each, and the questions adapt to the student's answers.
- Writing
- One question, with a choice of a visual or a text prompt, in 45 minutes.
Exemptions apply to students studying Life Skills courses, and there are provisions for students with disability. A student who has met every other HSC requirement can apply to sit the tests after leaving school. NAPLAN is a separate test, and the Year 9 NAPLAN guide covers it.
How can a parent help in Years 9 and 10?
- Ask the school for its assessment schedule, and put the dates where your child can see them.
- Read warning letters on the day they arrive, and ask the school what work would satisfy the course.
- Ask about the HSC minimum standard tests in Year 10: when the school runs them, and whether your child has reached the standard yet.
- Talk about Year 11 subject choices before the school asks for them, and ask the teachers what each course expects.
- Keep a small daily habit going. Short, regular work on one weak skill holds up better than a long weekend catch-up, and a tired student can still do it.
- If your child leaves after Year 10, check that the RoSA requirements are met before the last day.
Questions parents ask
What stage is Year 9 and Year 10?
Stage 5 of the NSW syllabus. Stage 4 is Years 7 and 8, and Stage 6 is Years 11 and 12.
Is the RoSA the same as the HSC?
No. The Record of School Achievement is for a student who leaves after Year 10 and before finishing the HSC, and it lists A to E grades for completed courses. The HSC comes at the end of Stage 6.
When can my child sit the HSC minimum standard tests?
From Year 10, up to 4 times a year in Years 10 and 11 and up to 6 times a year in Year 12, with at least 30 days between attempts at the same test.
Does my child have to pass all three tests at once?
No. NESA treats numeracy, reading and writing as separate domains, and a student can sit each one until they reach the standard for that domain.
How Learnest helps
Learnest gives a Year 9 or Year 10 student up to twenty minutes a day of the NSW syllabus in maths, English and science, pitched at the skill they are on. In maths it covers the Stage 5 core: path topics such as quadratic equations and surds are not in Learnest yet. The app finds the exact skill a student is stuck on, teaches it again and checks it holds, and the nightly email names the one skill that slipped. You can also set a timed writing task, NAPLAN-style in Year 9 or Stage 5 English-style in Years 9 and 10, and an AI writes the feedback, which is not a school mark. Learnest does not prepare students for the HSC minimum standard tests by name. Every question is Learnest's own.
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Sources
Checked 6 November 2026. Every date, number and rule above comes from these pages. If one of them has changed since, it is right and this page is behind.
- Curriculum structure on curriculum.nsw.edu.au
- Mathematics K-10 Syllabus (2022): overview on curriculum.nsw.edu.au
- Record of School Achievement on nsw.gov.au
- HSC minimum standard on nsw.gov.au
- Taking the minimum standard tests on nsw.gov.au
Learnest is not affiliated with ACARA, NESA, the NSW Department of Education or the Australian Maths Trust. This guide explains the published facts in Learnest's own words; the official pages above are the record.