In our society, a command of mathematics is essential - generally up to year 10 standard. The fact that there the SC is now comprised of English/Literacy, Maths, Science, History/Geography/Civics and Computing represents the absolute minimum standard that people are expected to operate under. This represents the "everybody passes the SC" position designed to create people who have the minimum requirements for society, and not much more.
The HSC however essentially cultivates an academic culture where certain academic values are emphasised over others. The English course, for example, is centred around the idea that sources must not be read at face value, no matter the intention of the person expressing the source. There are no right answers, and this is not the sort of environment which I, or many others, find most comfortable. There is much empirical data showing that girls are more likely to be analytical, where boys are more likely to be logical - and this is supported by the fact that most boys find the English course much harder than girls.
There is a huge gender imbalance reflected in the statistics from the HSC. 51% of SC candidates are male, and 49% of HSC candidates are male. But beyond the HSC, boys are not as successful within academic circles with only 40% of university students being male. Such a statistical drop strongly suggests what we already know - that girls do better in the HSC, and are more likely to get into uni.
On a bit of a tangent: In the HSC English courses (from ESL right through to Extension 2), students are tested not on their ability to understand the intention behind the sources, but on their abilities to reinterpret the sources, often with a political bent. In one past HSC, the author of source materials used in the exam actually sat the exam under the guise of a student. To the question "What is the composer trying to convey in this work", even the composer was criticised and penalised by markers for not looking deep enough into the meaning of the work. The idea that there is only one right answer is not one that even I'm game to debate, but to build the entire English curriculum upon the premise that All answers are wrong is dubious at best. That sort of thinking may thrive in Gender Studies and Philosophy departments in universities, but that's no excuse to force it upon high school students.
