Name: MINH PHUONG NGUYEN

Student ID: 19187336

STAGE 6 SCHOOL-BASED ASSESSMENT TASK – ECONOMICS

YEAR 12 ECONOMICS – ASSESSMENT TASK
TOPIC: Economic issues DATE: TERM 2, WEEK 7 Weighting: 25%
Task rationale: Focus students’ understand on Assessment type: Research task
the nature, causes and consequences of
particular economic issues that impose the
Australian economy. Develops students’ ICT
skills, research skills, literacy skills. Writing
reports help students familiarise with technical
economical terminology and concepts (which
requires research and understanding),
equipping students with contemporary cases
for use in written responses (such as the HSC).
Task description:
Students are to write an individual research report (800 – 1200 words length) to the evaluate
possible effects of various economic issues (one to two) such as unemployment, inflation, external
and internal stability, distribution of income/wealth, environmental sustainability, on the
Australian economy and its economic growth.
You need to:
1) Clearly identify one or two economic issues for research, and the purpose within the first
50 – 100 words
2) Consider the nature, causes and consequences of the economic issue(s) and problems
(take into consideration trends, statistics, how issues are measured; also consider positive
effects and negative effects)
3) Based on contemporary research, what are the effects is has on the global economy in
general, and the Australian economy specifically
4) From your understanding, propose hypothetical recommendations as solutions to
economic issues with researched evidence backing the proposal
Students submit a well organised, typed document of the research task via USB or shared Google
Drive (Students are to only include theirs and the teacher’s email). Formatted using Times New
Roman, size 12 font. References, bibliography, websites must be included, follow format: Author’s
Last name (Year), Title. [Link]. [Pages]
Assessment critera:
 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of economic issue(s), use appriopriate
economic terminology and concepts
 Analyse the effects of economic issue(s) on individual level, corporate level, national level,
global level
 Effective research, using updated, reliable sources as evidence
 Well-presented, coherent writing, original research and analysis (plagiarism will result in
immediate fail)
Outcomes assessed:
H1 demonstrates understanding of economic terms, concepts and relationships
H2 analyses the economic role of individuals, firms, institutions and governments
H7 evaluates the consequences of contemporary economic problems and issues on individuals,
firms and governments
H9 selects and organises information from a variety of sources for relevance and reliability
H10 communicates economic information, ideas and issues in appropriate forms
Additional learning support (EAL/D) learners:
 Teachers will provide assistance or scaffolded guidance on where and how to start
assessment
 Guide students on specifically what they need to look for, how the analysis is to be
presented and what to include
 All learners can send a draft asking for feedback before deadline
 Shared document on Google Drive for ongoing feedback and assistance
 Students that prefer drafting or writing can do so, submit A4 document on class of
deadline

Marking Guidelines

Criteria Mark
 Clear definition of economic issue(s), detailed understanding of
economic issue(s) and its aspects
21-25
 Demonstrates accurate analysis of the elements effected by economic
issue(s)
 Presents a sustained, logical, and cohesive response using relevant
economic terminology and concepts
 Provide relevant research, detailed information sources, evidence for
possible solutions
 Stated definition of economic issue(s), demonstrated thorough
understanding of economic issue(s) and its aspects
 Demonstrates analysis of the elements effected by economic issue(s)
 Presents logical and cohesive response using relevant economic 16-20
terminology and concepts
 Provide information sources and evidence of research, considered
possible solution
 Defined economic issue, demonstrated understanding of economic issue
and some aspects
 Demonstrates minor analysis of the elements effected by economic
issue(s) 11-15
 Presents response using relevant economic terminology and concepts
 Provide little information source, sources are not as updated, provided a
recommendation
 Unclear economic issue, unclear economic issue’s aspects
 Limited analysis of elements affected by economic issue
6-10
 Lacklustre response using little to no economic terminology or concepts
 Limited research and source usage, no recommendation/solution
 Lack of defined economic issue, may mention economic issue’s aspect
 Lacking analysis of effected elements
 Poor responses, no use of terminology or concepts 0-5
 Poorly organised, lack of research and sources, no
recommendation/solution
Importance and impacts of standardised assessment - Practice implications
A commonly discussed aspect of the standardised testing topic is the impact these exams have
on the examinees. Exams are often used to narrow down the curriculum content and harness
students’ understand of said content (O’Connor, et al., 2017; Yates, et al., 2017). Due to the
heavy emphasis on getting an exceptional grades and the dire stakes of law compulsion (in
countries such as China) (Hu and West, 2015), students are often forced into studying rather
than of their own accordance. The result tends to have impact upon students’ physical and
mental well-being and in some severe cases can be quite concerning. However, regardless of
extreme cases, it can be argued that standardised testing and exams in general cultivate a stress
specific to the majority of students.

Biologically, teens are at the age where they are most susceptible to all kinds of stress,
extending beyond learning to living (Xue, 2017). A survey done by the American
Psychological Association (APA) yielded over eighty percent of teens pointed towards school
as the primary source of stress (APA, 2014), attributing further the stressful impact of tests and
results. The impact of stress may varies, however higher level of stress tend to develop later
into the students’ live, consequently producing issues such as social anxiety, higher risk of job
burn-out, panic attacks, etc (Grillon, et al., 2017). Students with less capability in coping with
stress risk having lower overall motivation in adulthood (Hudson, et al., 2015)

This is only accounting for the stress regarding the end results. In other words, the expected
results students are supposed to meet contribute to the heavy pressure of exams. However,
students are also expected in school and by teachers to be well prepared prior to the test. Extra
study sessions, tutorials, private tutors, and in general time spent on preparing student also
takes a massive toll on students’ overall mentality and health. Combined with the actual time
taken during exams, students spend a large portion of their life time and stress on reaching
certain benchmark allocated by educational standards. Study by Hart et al. (2015), shows an
accumulated 20 to 25 hours on compulsory exams alone.

The heavy emphasis on meeting standardised results would have major impact on the educating
staffs as well. Considering Australia’s education system, although there is the National
Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) test in years 3, 5, 7, 9, there is also
the regular syllabus content teachers need to adhere to. Furthermore with year 7 and 9, the
introduction of the HSC creates a predicament in which teachers are to balance between
teaching for NAPLAN with syllabus content aligning with year 10, 11, and 12’s HSC courses.
Teaching towards examinations also is a very time-consuming process, unlike regular lessons
which addresses 1-3 syllabus outcomes, teaching and learning for a standardised exam is a
long-term process requiring full mental commitment. Statistics in OECD indicators (2014),
shows Australia already exceeds the average teaching load of 655 hours, currently at 800 hours.
Time spent on teaching towards exams and preparing students, the stakes associated with
achieving expected grades all contribute to the larger picture of students’ stress and impact on
their mental-health (Banks and Smyth, 2015).

Although not all tests are considered high stakes, students tend to percieve standardised tests
to come with high stakes or dire consequences related to schools and administrations (such as
repeating a grade). Studies by Steinmayr, et al. (2016), showed the students have great fear of
grand event such as formal standardised exams and the negative connotations that comes with
poor results. Occurances in the past where students had stress-induced nausea or even vomit
during preparation or within exams are no surprises (Valizadeh, et al., 2012). In addition,
students have report health issues such as stomaches, insomia, sleep issues, depression and
mild mood swings (Schneiderman, et al., 2005; Lucassen, et al., 2010); stemming from stresses
of standardised exams.

Students’ with health concerns are also alarming for teachings since their health directly
impacts their ability to learn and influences the pacing of lessons. The importance of inclusive
education for students with actual mental health also fills a major role as these students are
most vulnerable to the effects of high chronic stress from exam preparations (Colten, 2017).

Since business studies and economics are closely tied with students’ daily life, the knowledge
will actively benefit the students in various financial aspects of life, enables students to make
smart and informed financial decisions. Although it is beneficial for students to achieve higher
degrees of the syllabus outcomes, assessments such as HSC require students to focus more on
the testing elements, studying what is needed to pass which tends to lead students to study what
will be assessed, trying to memorise concept rather than understanding it.

As mention prior, this extends to the way teachers approach syllabus content, to focus more on
standardised testing results more so than the development of students’ understanding.
Furthermore, this create a culture revolving purely around testing (Kwok, 2004).

It can be argued that there are not adverse effects for students’ that are capable of studying for
standardised testing, or prefer the assessment system of learning what will be examined. Some
students would prefer testing as it yields them good results or it does not affect them (APA,
2014); and these students only account for the minority percentage of the entire student base.
However, generally with a system that based learning outcomes on assessment would create a
generation purely on being book smart and not from actual real-life experiences. In the
economic world, it is important for the students to understand that economic itself is ever-
changing which requires it “participants” to be flexible. Currently there already is seen an
decrease in social interaction in younger generations due to various social media platforms
such as Instagram (Reid and Reid, 2007; Pierce 2009). Having the instant satisfaction and
communicate without being physically direct to one another could potentially lead to individual
isolation while offline and lower social well-being. Combined with the focus of learning by the
test, students could potentially be very deficient in general social skills, confidence, flexibility
(La Greca and Lopez, 1998), all of which are crucial once students eventually seek for jobs.

The implications from these literature reviews is for every educators to avoid overemphasising
the stakes of these standardised exams. That is not to strip away completely the focus of
achieving a passing grade but rather alleviate the tension and fear of failure. By having students
constantly fear the possiblity of failure, it influences their trust in their own capabilities,
resulting in lowered self-esteem and higher anxiety (Hudson, et al., 2015). While exams do
yield relevant information about the student’s learning, it is important for schools and teachers
to have reassurance and support for their students in affirming the learned content, focusing on
positive pedagogy and motivational learning (Kiemer, 2017; Skinner, et al., 2016). Higher
motivation and student engagement will produce long-term results in establishing academic
stress coping mechanism, persistance and learning (Skinner, et al., 2016). From these
implications, teachers could differentiate school-based assessment tasks towards more
engaging and relevant practice outlets. Especially with the emphasis on developing students’
general capabilities, a school-based assessment task can incorporate usage of ICT, having
students scour reliable and viable information on online sources to construct a comprehensive
analysis of economic issue(s) (such as the above assessment task). This also reduces the time
students spent on memorising content and repeated practice test format while still utilising
students’ knowledge and understanding of assessible content.

Another trending implication for stress reduction is the cultivation of mindfulness (Ching,
2015). Lymeus, Lindberg, and Hartig (2018) discusses how mindfulness can improve
monitoring and restore attention span. Through a guided 3-minutes period of secular meditation
with the focus on inhaling and exhaling slowly, students are hopefully able to grasp the present
moment with their fullest attention, feeling the texture of their chairs or desks, bring the
perspective of the surrounding environment to ease tension (Hartel, et al., 2017; Viafora, et al.,
2015; Fuertes, et al., 2015). Reminding students to re-grasp the present, taking things into
perspective to better effectively manage their stress and/ or anxiety will improve their overall
mental fortitude and lessen the extremities of exams.

References
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stress habits? Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2013/stress-report.pdf

Banks, J., & Smyth, E. (2015). ‘Your whole life depends on it’: Academic stress and high-
stakes testing in Ireland. Journal of youth studies, 18(5), 598-616.

Ching, H. H., Koo, M., Tsai, T. H., & Chen, C. Y. (2015). Effects of a mindfulness meditation
course on learning and cognitive performance among university students in
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Colten, M. E. (2017). Introduction: Adolescent stress, social relationships, and mental health.
In Adolescent stress (pp. 1-14). Routledge.

Fuertes, A., & Wayland, M. (2015). Cultivating Mindfulness through Meditation in a

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Hart, R., Casserly, M., Uzzell, R., Palacios, M., Corcoran, A., & Spurgeon, L. (2015). Student
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