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September 30, 2025

Taking the Leap: Insights from Australia's first large-scale synchronous Trial Examinations

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Introduction

Across NSW, more than three-quarters of students enrolled in this year’s online HSC subjects have already completed their Trial HSC exams on Gradeo. New research shows they overwhelmingly prefer typing to handwriting, and teachers say AI-assisted feedback could save more than 17,000 teaching days a year.

The Taking the Leap report surveyed more than 250 teachers and students who completed the CSSA Online Trial HSC Examinations 2025. It provides the first large-scale evaluation of Australia’s transition to digital exams.

Key findings

  • Typing vs handwriting: 8 in 10 students (78%) who trialled both formats said they would prefer to type their HSC rather than handwrite it. Students reported typing made it easier to express ideas and reduced concerns about handwriting legibility.‍
  • AI-assisted marking: Teachers using Gradeo’s AI-generated feedback tools reported saving 18 minutes per script, even before AI was applied to complex answer types such as diagrams and coding. If applied across all HSC Trial exams in NSW, this would equate to over 17,000 teacher-days saved annually.
  • ‍Subjects moving online: Nearly 3 in 5 students (57%) want more subjects delivered online, with strong support for essay-based subjects such as English, HSIE, PDHPE, VET, Languages and Technologies. Teachers were also supportive, with more than half (53%) backing expansion.

Background

  • Over 100 jurisdictions globally are moving from pen-and-paper to online exams, including digital trials for the United Kingdom's GCSE this year and the International Baccalaureate next year.
  • In New South Wales, NESA will deliver three online HSC exams next month: Science Extension, Software Engineering and Enterprise Computing. English Extension 1 and 2 will follow in 2027. More than 4,300 NSW students are enrolled in these online subjects this year.
  • CSSA, one of the state’s leading providers of Trial HSC examinations, has partnered with Gradeo to deliver online exams across all three sectors.
  • In the past four months alone, students have logged 24,000 hours of activity and over 172,000 exam sessions on Gradeo.

‍

You can automatically download the full report here.

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