Ragerunner
Your friendly HSC guide
Seeing the large amount of threads that keep popping up asking whether SAM is accurate I've decided to clarify a few things as I understand how mis-interpreting the results could have a big impact.
Briefly, what SAM is not intended for:
<li> Inputting half yearly marks
<li> Inputting any form of assessment mark
<li> Inputting trial HSC exam marks
A quick FAQ.
I put in my half yearly marks, and I got a really low UAI, is this true?
Your half yearly are not marks that should be put into SAM. Mainly because:
<li> They are not scaled/moderated.
<li> They do not take into account the difficulty of the exam in comparison to every other school in NSW.
<li> They only test part of the HSC course. You haven't completed learning everything which means there is more to learn.
Those marks are however good indicators of predictive performance in further exams/assignments that can only be properly gauged by you and maybe your teacher. If you think the half yearly exam you did was difficult in terms of the questions asked yet you still did well would mean your performance in the HSC should be good taking into account your performance carries on throughout the rest of the year.
So what does SAM do?
SAM estimates the UAI you will receive if you sat the HSC in the year that is selected and attained the HSC marks that you input in.
- HSC marks refer to the final mark you see at the end of the year that is released by the offical Board of Studies in December. No other marks should be used.
If we don't see our results until December, what's the point of SAM?
There is a huge point of using it. That is to estimate your HSC marks. This can be done by using the HSC standards packages in conjunction with advice from your teachers. The HSC standards package contains sample answers that correspond to all the different bands so students can get an idea of the type of answers the Board of Studies expects of the student and the marks associated with it.
If anyone has any other questions, it will be great if you can ask it here and I'll build on this FAQ for the better of everyone. SAM is indeed a useful program, it just needs to be used correctly.
Briefly, what SAM is not intended for:
<li> Inputting half yearly marks
<li> Inputting any form of assessment mark
<li> Inputting trial HSC exam marks
A quick FAQ.
I put in my half yearly marks, and I got a really low UAI, is this true?
Your half yearly are not marks that should be put into SAM. Mainly because:
<li> They are not scaled/moderated.
<li> They do not take into account the difficulty of the exam in comparison to every other school in NSW.
<li> They only test part of the HSC course. You haven't completed learning everything which means there is more to learn.
Those marks are however good indicators of predictive performance in further exams/assignments that can only be properly gauged by you and maybe your teacher. If you think the half yearly exam you did was difficult in terms of the questions asked yet you still did well would mean your performance in the HSC should be good taking into account your performance carries on throughout the rest of the year.
So what does SAM do?
SAM estimates the UAI you will receive if you sat the HSC in the year that is selected and attained the HSC marks that you input in.
- HSC marks refer to the final mark you see at the end of the year that is released by the offical Board of Studies in December. No other marks should be used.
If we don't see our results until December, what's the point of SAM?
There is a huge point of using it. That is to estimate your HSC marks. This can be done by using the HSC standards packages in conjunction with advice from your teachers. The HSC standards package contains sample answers that correspond to all the different bands so students can get an idea of the type of answers the Board of Studies expects of the student and the marks associated with it.
If anyone has any other questions, it will be great if you can ask it here and I'll build on this FAQ for the better of everyone. SAM is indeed a useful program, it just needs to be used correctly.