Does Ext 1 Maths Scale That Well? (1 Viewer)

[kpq_sniper017]

Just looking around the posts, it seems that Ext 1 Maths scales a lot better than I thought.
Is it actually true that a mark around 70% in the HSC exam will get scaled to around 45/50??
Coz last year (Prelim) I was kind of disappointed with my results. 1st Assessment: 60%, 2nd: 70% and 3rd: 80%
I just had my first HSC Ext 1 assessment a few days ago (I reckon I might have got around 70-75%) - is that average, above/below average?

This year I'm competing with some ex-accelerants (who did it last year and got 49/50 and are repeating it). Do you reckon they'll pull the rest of us guys up, or just make us look like small-fry??

 

[cyrax83]

49/50 and repeating =| OMG FREAKS !

 

[Affinity]

It aligns quite well.. doesn't mean it scales well though.
The HSC mark you get from board of studies may be substantially higher than your raw mark, but the scale mark that UAC use may not be.

 

[Estel]

Nothing scales well, I think, after looking through all the documents.

As for what other people get, if they beat you soundly in internal, and beat you soundly in external, it makes pretty much no difference to your mark.

 

[Affinity]

Yeah.. who cares about what others get.
Repeating a 49/50 is just... DUMB... or that person has nothing better to do.

 

[felafel]

um and your the marks you get in your school assessments don't have anything to do with scaling, because your school's assessments could be really easy, or really hard

 

[skypryn]

yeah but the short answer is YES it scales well. YES it is good to find the right balance between a high rank and better people to pull you up, but obviously the best option is for you to be the better person and rank 1

 

[iambored]

Originally posted by pcx_demolition017
- is that average, above/below average?

there is no way of knowing, no one knows if your assessments are hard or easy compared to the rest of the state

 

[ameh]

If you arent getting atleast 70% in your ext 1 math exams then dont bother continuing!

 

[CM_Tutor]

Sorry, amoz_lilo, but I don't think that is good advice.

 

[Heinz]

Originally posted by amoz_lilo
If you arent getting atleast 70% in your ext 1 math exams then dont bother continuing!

You shouldnt really say that.I pretty much failed most of my exams and still ended up with an E4. You have to take into account the difficulty of the exams instead of generalising. Not all schools are the same.

 

[Estel]

But why isn't that good advice? If you're getting under 70% it usually means you don't give a stuff....

You might of failed your exams, but to get your E4, you must've worked hard

...

or so say the math teachers at my school.

 

[CM_Tutor]

Originally posted by Estel
But why isn't that good advice?

It's far too general. For example, when I did the HSC, my trial mark in Chemistry was low 70's. However, we had an evil paper - come the HSC, my Chemistry mark was 95 with a moderated assessment of 92. I was well inside Band 6 - should I have dropped Chemistry? This is just by way of emphasising the point Heinz made - you don't know the standard of the school and paper, and without that you would have trouble making a judgement.

Also, what about other subjects - Suppose you were doing 13 units in year 11 including Extn 1 maths and PDHPE. You are scoring 70 % in Extn 1 maths and 65 % in PDHPE. Do you drop 1 unit of maths, thus doing 12 units and keeping PDHPE, or do you drop PDHPE, keep Extn 1 maths, and do 11 units? - Would the answer change if you were getting 40 % in PDHPE?

Also, what are your goals - if you wanted to do science or economics at Uni, it is highly desirable to keep Extn 1 maths, but it wouldn't really matter if your goal was arts. You might choose to keep PDHPE at 65 % over Extn 1 maths at 70 % if you wanted to do a B.Ed. in PE and Health.

I haven't even mentioned scaling, but that is probably also a consideration. As is the fact that Extn 1 maths can improve your first 2 units of maths.

My point is the advice is way too general. Each person needs to make an evaluation based on ALL of their personal circumstances.

 

[kpq_sniper017]

"As is the fact that Extn 1 maths can improve your first 2 units of maths." - CM_Tutor

Do you mean that in reference to improving methods and logic etc. or do you mean scaling-wise? While I think of it, doing 3U doesn't improve the scaling of your 2U mark does it?? Only applies for 4U and your 3U mark...??

One thing I was wondering just yesterday - if you went to a school in which the students were pretty "average", and you came first by 20-30%, then got 95% in all of your HSC exams, you'd be guaranteed a UAI of around 99.8 or so wouldn't you (doing chemistry, physics, eco. etc)???

Aren't you more advantaged if you go to a "below-average" school (student-wise), but if you're comparatively smarter/more intelligent??? (provided you come first in all of your subjects though).

 

[CM_Tutor]

I meant with respect to practice, handling more complicated algebra so that most 2u stuff seems easier, improved confidence, etc. I wasn't talking about scaling.

Originally posted by pcx_demolition017
One thing I was wondering just yesterday - if you went to a school in which the students were pretty "average", and you came first by 20-30%, then got 95% in all of your HSC exams, you'd be guaranteed a UAI of around 99.8 or so wouldn't you (doing chemistry, physics, eco. etc)???

Guaranteed? No. But you'd do well, esp if this include a 95 % in Advanced English

Aren't you more advantaged if you go to a "below-average" school (student-wise), but if you're comparatively smarter/more intelligent??? (provided you come first in all of your subjects though).

I doubt it, because there is no guarantee that you are well prepared for the HSC. Coming first by a long way can lead to becoming complacent - we are competitive by nature (mostly). Also, you will probably have been gven comparatively easy assessments, as they need to spread out the all the students who are weaker than you, so they can be ranked. This can also lead to a false perception of the state-wide standard. IMO, a top student is much better off in an environment were they are challenged to excel, and a high standard is expected, rather than in an environment where they don't need to work hard to meet expectations.

 

[suiyi_z]

i think that being in a good school is probably better for your marks and studying attiitude. the tests are harder, u need to study harder and this will get you better marks in the external hsc when compared to other schools.
i was pretty bad at maths before but after doing 4u and 3u i find that its all becoming so much easier. doing 3u just helps with your 2u stuff becuase 3u requires higher algebraic, thinking skills etc... more practice is always good

 

[kimmeh]

omg 49/50 and repeating? you've got to be kidding... seriuosly, its people like me who got 83 who should repeat. even then, i was iffy about repeating.

 

[Grey Council]

why do people worry about this?
do your best! lol, makes no difference to you how it scales. Scaling is meant to be fair, no fairer system has been thought up, ergo it is still in place.

Worry'ing about it wastes time. Do your best in school, and do your best outside school.

Having said that, if you go to a normal school (average whatever), then coming firsts advantages you in the fact that you will not get affected by ANYTHING. You get the mark you get . . . no adjustments.
Apart from that, you'll get scaled. The better (selective schools) have harder exams, tougher inside school competition, more pressure to perform, etc etc. They perform better as compared to local high school, so its only fair they get better scaling.

very fair, if you ask me.

but don't worry about scaling. I'm not sure how it works, but thats the general gist of it.