15th November 2024

NESA, the agency that develops NSW school syllabus documents and assessments, has released a draft revision of the stage 6 (year 11 & 12) Music Syllabus.

The draft syllabus has stirred some outrage from music teachers and academics, with a range of concerns including the balance of written and practical assessment, terminology, the assessment model, suggestions that the revision may be driven by reducing costs (of external assessments). While the AMA does not typically comment on the detail of curriculum reforms, one concern raised by a number of experts is that NSW has the highest rate of enrolment in senior school Music courses, and this could be put at risk with a syllabus that discourages students (due to the greater emphasis on written assessment, in relation to practical).

The draft syllabus can be found here, information about the consultation process can be found here.