ccc123
Member
Note: This is an old post, and some of the information it contains may be out of date.
FAQ: The correct answers to commonly asked questions- read before you post.
So ok, I've noticed that the same questions were coming up again and again, and I'm stupendously bored. Hence, I've devised an FAQ.
Q. Can someone give me a fairly correct estimation on my UAI? My marks and ranks are....
A. There is no possible way to obtain a 'correct' estimation of your UAI, especially if it is early on in the HSC year. Remember that the external exam is worth 50% and it is thus crucial to perform well in these, as this is the most important assessment of all.
Q. I'vc screwed up an HSC assessment worth [insert weighting]. Can I still achieve my UAI aim? OMGF.
A.Generally speaking, performing badly in one assessment will not have a major impact on your UAI. However, if there is a continuous pattern of poor marks, needless to say, it will have an impact.
Q. What happens if i stuff up the trials? Is it game over?
A. Since the trials will often be worth 40-50% of your assessment mark, performing very poorly in the trials can have a significantly detrimental impact on your final rankings and thus your final HSC marks. However, it is never game over and if you perform extra well if the external exams, you should be able to negate the effects of low trial results.
Q. I really need [insert some insanely high UAI] but I'm kinda failing everything. What can I do???
A. You need to be realistic with UAI and career aspirations. It is not feasible to be wanting a UAI of 99+ and failing your subjects. If this is the case for you, consider alternative uni options that don't require a UAI as high.
Q. I go to a shit school
. Can I still get a good UAI?
A. Yes. If you perform well as an individual, you will get a good UAI.
Q. I heard that only people from selective schools get really good UAI's. Is this true?
A. No. I go to a comprehensive school, and in 2006 we got 3 perfect UAI's, 9 over 99's, and 72 over 90's. For the most part, it depends on the individuals, not the school.
Q. Is it true if you go to a selective school like James Ruse, you are pretty much guarenteed a 99+ UAI?
A. No.
Q. I'm doing low-scaling subjects. Can I still get a good UAI?
A. Yes. You can get a practically perfect UAI with any combination of subjects.
Q. Can someone tell me what subjects scale well and what subjects don't?
Scaling will change from year to year, so it cannot be determined how subjects will scale in the future. However, Without Wings has posted the links if you want to see how certain subjects scaled in 2001-02. Please look at all the very helpful links Without Wings posts constantly as people ask the same old questions over and over.
Q. Can you get a band 5/6 in Standard English?
Yes, although traditionally, there will be more band 5's and 6's in Advanced English. Here are the statistics from past HSC years:
2006:
Advanced English
Band 6 (5.99%)
Band 5 (32.74%
Standard English
Band 6 (.02%)
Band 5 (3.24%)
2005:
Advanced English
Band 6 (7.95%)
Band 5 (37.84%)
Standard English
Band 6 (.01%)
Band 5 (2.36%)
2004:
Advanced English
Band 6 (7.56%)
Band 5 (42.53%)
Standard English
Band 6 -
Band 5 (1.97%)
Source: Board of Studies.
Q. How do they calculate your UAI/ How does scaling work?
A. Very few people fully understand the highly complex scaling process, and it is frequently explained incorrectly. For correct information on how UAI calculation and scaling works, click on the below link to the UAC website:
http://www.uac.edu.au/admin/uai.html
You may also find the following threads useful, though I cannot guarentee all information provided is factually correct:
http://community.boredofstudies.org/showthread.php?t=6642
http://community.boredofstudies.org/showthread.php?t=60687
http://community.boredofstudies.org/showthread.php?t=10442
Q. My UAI is lower than my average mark! What the hell?
A.The UAI is a rank, not a mark. There is a complex modification process that is undertaken in the calculation of the UAI, and there does not necessarily have to be any clear correlation between your marks and the UAI.
Q. SAM and JUAI lied to me!!!!!!! My UAI was lower than what both predicated. What the hell?
A. SAM and JUAI are both modellers. They estimate your UAI based on what it would have been if you had done the HSC in previous years. As scaling changes from year to year, you cannot expect that either will give you a correct estimation every time.
Q. What's the secret to achieving 90+ for your UAI?
A.There is no 'secret'. A good UAI is a result of a combination of factors, including natural aptitude, good subject selection, and scaling. Above all though, a good UAI is the product of hard work.
Q.Which is more important, ranks or marks?
A.In terms of your final HSC marks and UAI, your raw assessment marks are irrelevant, as they undergo a process of moderation based on your rankings. For this reason, your rank is more important than your mark.
Q. Can someone explain to me how internal marks are moderated to calculate the final HSC mark?
A. Ok. So your HSC mark is 50% internal and 50% external. However, your internal marks will undergo a process of moderation. This serves as an equaliser if some schools have harder assessments or marks easier etc etc.
So, for example:
Lets say the top three assessment marks submitted by School A are as follows:
98
97
96
And School B's top three assessment marks submitted are:
93
92
91
BUT in the exam, the top three marks for School A are:
94
92
90
and School B:
98
97
95
In this case, the marks are moderated so that the internal (i.e assessment) marks of the top three internally ranked students are changed to whatever the top three exam marks were in that school:
So, this would mean that in School A, the moderated assessment marks for the top 3 internally ranked students would be:
94
92
90
and in School B:
98
97
95
The HSC marks of these students would then be calculated with consideration of the exam mark.
For example, lets say in School A, the student ranked first internally achieved an exam mark of 90.
In this case, their HSC mark would be the average of 94 (their moderated assessment mark) and 90 (thier exam mark). This student would thus have an HSC mark of 92. In this sense, it is clear that the performance of your cohort can affect your assessment mark. However, if you are ranked 1st in both internal and external you will not be affected by the performance of other students in your school.
I'll edit this as I think of/notice more commonly asked questions/am informed of any errors/deficiencies.
Thankyou.
_END.
FAQ: The correct answers to commonly asked questions- read before you post.
So ok, I've noticed that the same questions were coming up again and again, and I'm stupendously bored. Hence, I've devised an FAQ.
Q. Can someone give me a fairly correct estimation on my UAI? My marks and ranks are....
A. There is no possible way to obtain a 'correct' estimation of your UAI, especially if it is early on in the HSC year. Remember that the external exam is worth 50% and it is thus crucial to perform well in these, as this is the most important assessment of all.
Q. I'vc screwed up an HSC assessment worth [insert weighting]. Can I still achieve my UAI aim? OMGF.
A.Generally speaking, performing badly in one assessment will not have a major impact on your UAI. However, if there is a continuous pattern of poor marks, needless to say, it will have an impact.
Q. What happens if i stuff up the trials? Is it game over?
A. Since the trials will often be worth 40-50% of your assessment mark, performing very poorly in the trials can have a significantly detrimental impact on your final rankings and thus your final HSC marks. However, it is never game over and if you perform extra well if the external exams, you should be able to negate the effects of low trial results.
Q. I really need [insert some insanely high UAI] but I'm kinda failing everything. What can I do???
A. You need to be realistic with UAI and career aspirations. It is not feasible to be wanting a UAI of 99+ and failing your subjects. If this is the case for you, consider alternative uni options that don't require a UAI as high.
Q. I go to a shit school
. Can I still get a good UAI?A. Yes. If you perform well as an individual, you will get a good UAI.
Q. I heard that only people from selective schools get really good UAI's. Is this true?
A. No. I go to a comprehensive school, and in 2006 we got 3 perfect UAI's, 9 over 99's, and 72 over 90's. For the most part, it depends on the individuals, not the school.
Q. Is it true if you go to a selective school like James Ruse, you are pretty much guarenteed a 99+ UAI?
A. No.
Q. I'm doing low-scaling subjects. Can I still get a good UAI?
A. Yes. You can get a practically perfect UAI with any combination of subjects.
Q. Can someone tell me what subjects scale well and what subjects don't?
Scaling will change from year to year, so it cannot be determined how subjects will scale in the future. However, Without Wings has posted the links if you want to see how certain subjects scaled in 2001-02. Please look at all the very helpful links Without Wings posts constantly as people ask the same old questions over and over.
Q. Can you get a band 5/6 in Standard English?
Yes, although traditionally, there will be more band 5's and 6's in Advanced English. Here are the statistics from past HSC years:
2006:
Advanced English
Band 6 (5.99%)
Band 5 (32.74%
Standard English
Band 6 (.02%)
Band 5 (3.24%)
2005:
Advanced English
Band 6 (7.95%)
Band 5 (37.84%)
Standard English
Band 6 (.01%)
Band 5 (2.36%)
2004:
Advanced English
Band 6 (7.56%)
Band 5 (42.53%)
Standard English
Band 6 -
Band 5 (1.97%)
Source: Board of Studies.
Q. How do they calculate your UAI/ How does scaling work?
A. Very few people fully understand the highly complex scaling process, and it is frequently explained incorrectly. For correct information on how UAI calculation and scaling works, click on the below link to the UAC website:
http://www.uac.edu.au/admin/uai.html
You may also find the following threads useful, though I cannot guarentee all information provided is factually correct:
http://community.boredofstudies.org/showthread.php?t=6642
http://community.boredofstudies.org/showthread.php?t=60687
http://community.boredofstudies.org/showthread.php?t=10442
Q. My UAI is lower than my average mark! What the hell?
A.The UAI is a rank, not a mark. There is a complex modification process that is undertaken in the calculation of the UAI, and there does not necessarily have to be any clear correlation between your marks and the UAI.
Q. SAM and JUAI lied to me!!!!!!! My UAI was lower than what both predicated. What the hell?
A. SAM and JUAI are both modellers. They estimate your UAI based on what it would have been if you had done the HSC in previous years. As scaling changes from year to year, you cannot expect that either will give you a correct estimation every time.
Q. What's the secret to achieving 90+ for your UAI?
A.There is no 'secret'. A good UAI is a result of a combination of factors, including natural aptitude, good subject selection, and scaling. Above all though, a good UAI is the product of hard work.
Q.Which is more important, ranks or marks?
A.In terms of your final HSC marks and UAI, your raw assessment marks are irrelevant, as they undergo a process of moderation based on your rankings. For this reason, your rank is more important than your mark.
Q. Can someone explain to me how internal marks are moderated to calculate the final HSC mark?
A. Ok. So your HSC mark is 50% internal and 50% external. However, your internal marks will undergo a process of moderation. This serves as an equaliser if some schools have harder assessments or marks easier etc etc.
So, for example:
Lets say the top three assessment marks submitted by School A are as follows:
98
97
96
And School B's top three assessment marks submitted are:
93
92
91
BUT in the exam, the top three marks for School A are:
94
92
90
and School B:
98
97
95
In this case, the marks are moderated so that the internal (i.e assessment) marks of the top three internally ranked students are changed to whatever the top three exam marks were in that school:
So, this would mean that in School A, the moderated assessment marks for the top 3 internally ranked students would be:
94
92
90
and in School B:
98
97
95
The HSC marks of these students would then be calculated with consideration of the exam mark.
For example, lets say in School A, the student ranked first internally achieved an exam mark of 90.
In this case, their HSC mark would be the average of 94 (their moderated assessment mark) and 90 (thier exam mark). This student would thus have an HSC mark of 92. In this sense, it is clear that the performance of your cohort can affect your assessment mark. However, if you are ranked 1st in both internal and external you will not be affected by the performance of other students in your school.
I'll edit this as I think of/notice more commonly asked questions/am informed of any errors/deficiencies.
Thankyou.
_END.
Last edited:
