Do assessment marks matter at all or is it just the ranks? (1 Viewer)

[zocdae]

So I got a 75 on my first general maths assignment worth 15% (98 in yearlies), it was the top mark (I go to a 400+ school). While it was a fairly easy test, I just didn't have enough time to finish and missed out on a lot of marks.

Will this low mark matter at all (and in what way?) or is it solely the rank that matters?

 

[pikachu975]

It's just the rank.

 

[zocdae]

It's just the rank.

Oh alright thanks, that's good to hear. Does anyone know how that actually works with ranks being submitted to BOS? I heard if you came first internally, your internal mark will be the top HSC exam mark and that will be averaged with your actual HSC exam mark to get your HSC result. Is that how things work?

 

[BandSixFix]

Oh alright thanks, that's good to hear. Does anyone know how that actually works with ranks being submitted to BOS? I heard if you came first internally, your internal mark will be the top HSC exam mark and that will be averaged with your actual HSC exam mark to get your HSC result. Is that how things work?

More or less

 

[si2136]

Wait, so the marks don't count towards anything at all, just the rank?

 

[eyeseeyou]

Wait, so the marks don't count towards anything at all, just the rank?

I'm pree your marks do get affected to some extent, especially when BOSTES needs to align the raw marks to scaled marks

But yes getting a great rank is nonetheless important as you don't want to get affected by aligning and if you bomb out on the actual HSC external, your internal rank will bring you back up (I'm pree sure that's why ranking first is important)

 

[pikachu975]

Wait, so the marks don't count towards anything at all, just the rank?

No the marks don't matter because you might have a teacher that gives everyone really low marks then you guys all get 95+ in HSC

 

[jazz519]

All that matters is your rank and the relative mark gaps between those ranks. Like if your first in your school say gets 90 in total for weighting in all of their school exams, but 95 in the HSC which becomes their exam mark, then that person also gets the highest internal mark which will also be 95, thus they get 95 overall. That's why like if you are first in both the school and the HSC exam you are not affected by others in your cohort. In terms of the mark gaps in the school exams say first had 90, 2nd had 89, 3rd had 83, 4th had 82. That gap of 89 to 83 of 6 marks isn't going to close that much after moderation. It might go from like 6 to 3. So you need to ensure even if you are 'ranked high' that you are as close as possible to the first in your cohort.

 

[jazz519]

You can read more about this on here: http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc-results/understanding.html but rather than worrying how this whole system works and wasting time, it's best to just focus on studying at the moment and then read it later in the holidays as I'm sure many of you have exams on at the moment.

 

[A1P]

Both rank and marks matter. While rank is a good indication of where you are, the true value is in your marks relative to your cohort's average marks.

If cohort's average marks stay the same while you stay at the same rank but get say 85 instead of 75, it's a big boost (despite same rank).

Otoh if you get 85 vs cohort's average 70, it's WORSE OFF than you 75 vs cohort's average 50.

 

[zocdae]

That's why like if you are first in both the school and the HSC exam you are not affected by others in your cohort. In terms of the mark gaps in the school exams say first had 90, 2nd had 89, 3rd had 83, 4th had 82. That gap of 89 to 83 of 6 marks isn't going to close that much after moderation. It might go from like 6 to 3. So you need to ensure even if you are 'ranked high' that you are as close as possible to the first in your cohort.

So if you rank first in the assessments, irrespective of whether it was with a 70 vs a 90, the mark gaps don't matter at all to you, right?

 

[jazz519]

Yeah essentially

 

[InteGrand]

The 'relative gaps' in your marks matter, so the marks aren't completely irrelevant. See http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc-results/moderation.html for further details.

 

[D94]

So if you rank first in the assessments, irrespective of whether it was with a 70 vs a 90, the mark gaps don't matter at all to you, right?

They don't, but now you need to ask yourself if the assessments that you sat were of HSC standards ??

What good is achieving 90% or 70% if those school assessments are way too easy compared to the HSC exam? Similarly, what good is coming first if those school assessments are way too easy compared to the HSC exam?

Questions like yours are usually misguided because you might not have achieved that desired 90%+ in your assessment but you're highly ranked, so some sort of clarification or validation is needed.

You should recognise that if your school historically does poorly in the HSC (i.e. not many Band 6s), then it's likely that your school assessments aren't really as hard as the HSC.

If you are not able to finish your test, but still come first, all that says is that your entire cohort didn't do well and you're at the top of group of students at the bottom. In this case, you shouldn't even be asking about your mark or your rank, you should be more concerned about your own understanding of the content and exam technique. If you can't recognise this now or you don't accept this as a possibility, then unfortunately, you may be in for a rude shock when you sit the HSC exams.

 

[zocdae]

They don't, but now you need to ask yourself if the assessments that you sat were of HSC standards ??

What good is achieving 90% or 70% if those school assessments are way too easy compared to the HSC exam? Similarly, what good is coming first if those school assessments are way too easy compared to the HSC exam?

Questions like yours are usually misguided because you might not have achieved that desired 90%+ in your assessment but you're highly ranked, so some sort of clarification or validation is needed.

You should recognise that if your school historically does poorly in the HSC (i.e. not many Band 6s), then it's likely that your school assessments aren't really as hard as the HSC.

If you are not able to finish your test, but still come first, all that says is that your entire cohort didn't do well and you're at the top of group of students at the bottom. In this case, you shouldn't even be asking about your mark or your rank, you should be more concerned about your own understanding of the content and exam technique. If you can't recognise this now or you don't accept this as a possibility, then unfortunately, you may be in for a rude shock when you sit the HSC exams.

The test was long AND difficult, with that said I did get every question I answered correct plus my year 11 course mark was 98% with the next person at around 85%. While I completely understand what you're saying, this was simply an off day for me, so i'm just relieved that it won't really affect me. I do agree with you on exam technique though, I get paranoid and go over my calculations for every question twice and that's what really got me.

 

[D94]

The test was long AND difficult, with that said I did get every question I answered correct plus my year 11 course mark was 98% with the next person at around 85%. While I completely understand what you're saying, this was simply an off day for me, so i'm just relieved that it won't really affect me. I do agree with you on exam technique though, I get paranoid and go over my calculations for evey question twice and that's what really got me.

Try to do past papers from other schools such as the selective schools. See how you go with those questions and you can improve exam technique there because those papers are generally long and difficult. More of those papers will be quite beneficial for you, especially if you are capable.