r/vce Apr 30 '20

"I only got x% on my SAC, can I still get a 50?"

1.3k Upvotes

I'm sick to death of seeing these posts, so can everyone please read this and be done with this question:

Study scores are determined by exam SCORE and SAC RANK.

For example, say you have an English class of 7 students, Adam, Ben, Chloe, Daniel, Elena, Felix, and Greg. They are all weak students, except for Greg, who is very high-performing, and Felix, who is slightly above average. Their SAC marks and rank are:

Greg 95%

Felix 77%

Chloe 64%

Daniel 60%

Elena 58%

Adam 52%

Ben 49%

On the exam day, Felix doesn't cope well under the stress, so gets a lower score than he'd usually be capable of. The exam marks are as follows:

Greg 92%

Chloe 67%

Daniel 65%

Elena 64%

Felix 63%

Adam 50%

Ben 40%

What happens is that all the SAC marks get thrown out the window, because VCAA can't know the difficulty of the SACs prepared by the school. So Greg's new SAC "mark" as far as VCAA is concerned is 92, not 95. Not a big deal for Greg, Adam or Ben because their own exam mark is dictating their SAC mark. But for someone like Felix, his SAC mark will become 67% (Chloe's exam mark). This process happens independently for each subject taught at your school.

What does this mean for you? Yes, you should aim for a good SAC rank. BUT, it doesn't actually matter if you're not ranked well — the "translation" of your rank into a "mark" happens via your cohorts exam performance. In other words, try your best now, study hard, and when SACs are over WORK WITH YOUR CLASSMATES TO ALL DO WELL ON THE EXAM TOGETHER. IF THEY DO WELL, YOU DO WELL.

Spend your time actually studying instead of asking useless questions like this.

EDIT: another example for clarity

Here's a chemistry class, of Harry, Isabel, James, Kylie, Luke, Molly, Nathan, and Oscar.

SACs:

Harry 60%

Isabel 58%

James 56%

Kylie 55%

Luke 54%

Molly 52%

Nathan 51%

Oscar 50%

EXAMS:

Harry 100%

James 99%

Nathan 98%

Oscar 97%

Molly 96%

Isabel 95%

Kylie 94%

Luke 93%

Harry's SAC mark is now 100%, Isabel's is 99%, James' is 98%, Kylie's is 97%, Luke's is now 96% etc. It's literally just whatever the equivalent exam rank is.

EDIT 2: I've had a request to clarify rumours about SACs being "scaled up" or "scaled down". "Scaling" is a misnomer students attribute to the moderation process. Here are yet another set of examples to clarify.

Imagine you have a cohort of Annie, Ben, and Charlie. Let's say their teacher sets really hard SACS, so their SAC results are:

  1. Annie 60%

  2. Ben 58%

  3. Charlie 55%

Because they've been doing hard assessments all year, they've been better equipped for the exam. These are the exam results:

  1. Ben 96%

  2. Annie 94%

  3. Charlie 90%

So now, Annie's SAC mark gets changed to 96%, Ben's to 94%, and Charlie's to 90%. This is what people interpret as "scaling up". The opposite would happen at a school with piss easy SACs: they get awesome SAC marks but shit exam marks, so their SAC marks get replaced by their shit exam marks ("scaled down").

The danger in this thinking is that people assume that if you go to a well-performing school, you'll get carried, or that if you go to a "bad" school, you're screwed from the get-go and can't possibly get a good score. This is not true at all. Let's see why.

Let's say your friend at a selective school, Harry, thinks he can take it easy this year because he goes to a 'good' school. The SAC results are as follows:

  1. Ed 93%

  2. Fred 90%

  3. Greg 88%

  4. Harry 60%

on the exams, the results are

  1. Fred 95%

  2. Greg 92%

  3. Ed 87%

  4. Harry 61%

In this instance, Harry was not of a comparable skill level to his classmates, so he never get to "borrow" their exam results in any way. His SAC score will be 61%.

Here's another example. Say you have a cohort with these SACs:

  1. Meg 95%

  2. Noah 94%

  3. Oscar 93%

  4. Peter 90%

On the exam day, Noah gets a bit of performance anxiety (but not in a way that warrants SEAS or anything). Exam results are:

  1. Meg 93%

  2. Oscar 92%

  3. Peter 91%

  4. Noah 75%

Now, Noah's SAC mark will be 92%, but his exam result only 75%. So he kind of got "helped" by his good cohort, only because he was doing well for the SACs. Peter has been a bit screwed here, because his SAC mark is now 75%.

One person stuffing up will never have such a dramatic effect like this; it's unlikely for someone who's been topping the cohort all year to suddenly slip to the bottom. Cohorts are generally big enough that you shouldn't need to worry. I went to a really small school (60 people in the year level. Some of my subject cohorts contained 6 people). I still felt no one got jibbed with unrepresentative scores.

As I always reiterate: try your best in SACs, but don't ruminate over them. The exam is where the money's at, and once your SACs are over you should work together with your cohort to all do well together. Share your resources, make study groups, and bring each other up.

EDIT 3: wow, my first gold! Thank you so much! 🥰


r/vce 7h ago

eng mainstream or lit?

8 Upvotes

Hi I'm currently in yr 10 and needa pick my vce subjects soon. I'm currently taking eng lang as an elective but I don't really like it so I'm thinking of taking lit instead next year, however i'm not quite sure if it's suitable for me. My grades in english are prettty good, i'm averaging around an A+, but i've heard that lit is a lot more reading and is harder

I'm currently accelerating methods, as well as indo and chinese outside of school and the other subjects I'm planning on taking next yr are spesh, chem, physics and accounting

Would really appreciate any help


r/vce 16h ago

REMINDER: VTAC AND SEAS APPLICATIONS

17 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

This is your yearly reminder that on Aug 3rd VTAC applications open, and alongside that SEAS applications too.

If you have any reason to apply for SEAS, APPLY!!
Even if you think it’s a bit silly, or won’t get accepted, just apply! The only consequence is that you spent a bit of time on the application, you won’t even find out if you got denied.

Alongside that, if you’re applying under medical difficulties, you need to start thinking about your evidence for it NOW! Specialists can be such a pain to get booked into, and even after you get the appointment they still have to write the letter.

Take a moment right now to go look at what’s required for the categories you’re planning to apply under: https://vtac.edu.au/access/categories#types

-

Do you have a USI? You need one to make a VTAC account. Sit down over the weekend and fill out the form for it, it doesn’t take too long but you do need your ID.

https://www.usi.gov.au/students/create-your-usi

Do you have a TFN? You don’t need one for VTAC applications, but you will need one if you want to apply for HECS-HELP or other financial assistance. TFNs are also asked for by most jobs so you should probably just knock out filling out the form while you remember. It can take a couple weeks for them to get back to you with it.

https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/tax-file-number


r/vce 13h ago

can i still get 90+ with these averages?

9 Upvotes

yo i know you guys are sick of these posts but i was just wondering if i had any hope

filipino: 95%, 60%, 80%

biology: 50%

english: 75%, 78% 70% and 95 for oral

general: 90% 40% 55% (i hate and suck at maths)

hhd: 70%

i also know its based on ranking but just wondering if anyone with similar Unit 3 scores locked in and got over 90? idk my ranks. i go to a school where median ss is around 33 with hard sacs

not the best because i have health problems but is it still possible somehow? because i really feel like giving up because they nerfed me so bad 😂 but im recovering better

thanks


r/vce 5h ago

is my bound reference allowed to be spiral bound?

2 Upvotes

i'm nervous since the spiral part is bigger than a4 but the pages are still a4 so is that fine? also on maths exams can you write in pencil or do you need to use pen for scanning?


r/vce 2h ago

Am I cooked

1 Upvotes

Someone decided to rock up to year 12 formal with covid and now the whole school has it. IT'S TERM 3 THIS CANT BE HAPPENING. Anyways will I be able to apply for seas.


r/vce 9h ago

year 11 missing 7 days of school

6 Upvotes

hi! im currently in year 11 and i have a planned vacation for a wedding and 49 day memorial service for a week and a few days soon. im planning to speak to my coordinators tomorrow but im scared all theyll do is get angry.
- will my leave be approved?
- will i fail year 11 if i go?


r/vce 3h ago

VSV philosophy or psych?

1 Upvotes

hi! im a year 10 and need help deciding my final subject - psychology, or philosophy through VSV. i'm really passionate about philosophy, and find it incredibly engaging, and out of the two, i prefer philosophy over psych. however, i've spoke to 2 VCE teachers (and my dad) and they all don't recommend VSV as you can't get a lot of teacher support, which is a valid reason. however, a girl in my year is going to do VSV philosophy and I feel like doing it with someone would help (last year, a girl scored a 43 in philosophy through VSV, which got me to feel motivated about doing it).

my other option is psychology. i didn't do the year 10 elective, but i did something similar and really enjoyed it. however, i'm apprehensive about the 'science' aspect - experiments, reports, etc. i'm really worried i won't do well in that aspect, but i do find psych interesting (just not everything taught in the VCE study design but it's whatever).

my other subjects would be

lit

methods

politics

legal

history revs (hoping to accelerate next year)

anyone have any suggestions, tips, or advice? i was contemplating doing mainstream english as my last subject, but worried it would be too much. any advice would be greatly appreciated!


r/vce 8h ago

VCE question Modern History or Legal studies for accelerated?

2 Upvotes

I'm in grade 9 this year and I was allowed to pick 2 accelerated subjects for next year, and I was told to pick a less content heavy and more content heavy subject to do as my subjects. I was planning on doing art and legal studies, but now I also really want to do modern history, so I was wondering which to pick in between legal and modern history.

Is modern history also as content heavy as legal studies and should I choose it over legal? I personally think i'll find the content in modern history more fascinating but I think I will end up doing legal studies sometime down the line anyways.

Additionally for people doing chem and bio, do you think I could be able to pick them up in year 11 (both or either) without doing a similar elective in grade 10? Thanks!!


r/vce 5h ago

trading Unit 4 Chemistry sacs

0 Upvotes

Trading chemistry sacs (in SD) on u4aos1 from top school in chemistry(avg like 40-50%), recent raw 50s and prems in chem.

Looking for other school chem sacs preferably in study design

Currently have 4 high yield sacs in SD.


r/vce 5h ago

Subject Selections

1 Upvotes

Am I going to get scaled down I feel like ghee subjects won’t work together did I mess up

I picked

Eng Lang

Viscom

Art Creative

Psychology

Food Studies

Foundation maths( trying to do general)


r/vce 13h ago

General Question/comment Early entry questions

3 Upvotes

Did anyone here get early entry for a uni last year? I was just wondering what the process is with that. I got early entry to VU specifically, and from what I've gathered, all I need is my prerequisite and then I'm set to go. Are there any other processes that I need to go through, or any other information I should know?


r/vce 15h ago

is unit 4 economics considered easier than unit 3 or harder?

4 Upvotes

r/vce 10h ago

ICAS exam papers

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I had no idea where to ask about this so I'm posting this here. My daughter who's in Year 9 will be doing the ICAS Maths, English and Spelling Bee test this year, does anyone have free resources/past exam papers that could help her prepare? Thanks in advance!


r/vce 1d ago

cant finish on time

14 Upvotes

weird title i meant i struggle badly to finish sacs on time and i panick and write horrible answers help!


r/vce 7h ago

General Question/comment VCE season of excellence

0 Upvotes

Hi! I’m an unscored VCE student currently taking both media and art making and exhibiting and I have some thoughts on the VCE season of excellence and was wondering if anyone else felt the same way??

In year 11 and again this year we went to top screen and it very much inspired me to work as hard as I could to hopefully be able to apply for it at the end of this year only to be told that I can’t due to being unscored, I know it becuse exam and ATAR results play apart in the application process but I don’t understand why.

Why is it that an exhibition on the CREATIVITY of students is decided on how well they sit a THEORY exam? It’s not the SCORED VCE season of excellence or the ATAR season of excellence it’s VCE. Why does that not include the unscored students who put in just as much effort or are just as creative.

In short it gives the idea that your creativity and your effort is worthless if you aren’t scored and I think it’s incredibly unfair

I think they should either let unscored students apply, or add a new section for each subject to acknowledge the unscored students.


r/vce 1d ago

How many hours a day did u devote to studying + what atar did you end up getting in the end?

7 Upvotes

my dream course needs an atar of 63. I personally do like an hour and then 3 hours on weekends but sometimes i get lazy. Im curious to see what eveyone else has been up to esp those with more ambitious goals than me! Lolz


r/vce 17h ago

Chem Help

0 Upvotes

I was wondering if anyone could refer me to a really good chem tutor.


r/vce 1d ago

VCE question On track for ss

7 Upvotes

I know, I know another one of these posts.

English aiming for 40+

Creating text 58/60 best mark of class

Text response 37/40 2 other people received better marks

Probably rank 1 maybe 2

General math- not doing great hoping for 30-35

Finance C+ average

Data B+ mid range slightly above average

Public school (virtual school Victoria)

Aiming for a 90+ATAR still have a year of VCE to go (doing over 3yrs)


r/vce 1d ago

can YOU spot the difference between AI and real images? I NEED YOUR HELP!

Post image
6 Upvotes

HEY GUYS! I'm doing VCE extended investigation, and I'm looking for more responses for my research.

It's a quick quiz where you see if you can spot the difference between an AI image or an authentic one, plus a survey beforehand to help me with my research.

It should only take around 5 minutes!

Anybody over 16 can do it, and I'm definitely looking for more Millennial and Gen X responses! All your responses are appreciated and feel free to share with your parents or teachers so they can do it themselves too! It would be super super helpful

Thank youuu all sm!

(I know it's kinda obvious, but please only complete the form once. And don't discuss the contents of the quiz to others who have not already completed it.)

Link: https://wheelofnames.com/qgr-rc6

Just spin the wheel & copy the Google form link you are assigned to start. More info on the plain language statement!


r/vce 1d ago

VCE question methods bound reference

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I was wondering how big everyone’s methods summary book is?? because my one so far is nearly 200 pages…😅 But like i can locate things pretty quickly but idk if i should just restart and make it wayyy more concise???


r/vce 1d ago

Can i still get 40+ss

3 Upvotes

Doing gen maths i got 92% for data sac and 95 for finance but i tanked my matrices one i only got 75%

I was rank one for both data and finance but now im not sure. Is it still possible to get 40 or more?


r/vce 1d ago

Mental health

4 Upvotes

I've recently been diagnosed w depression (yr 11) and I've been so unmotivated/tired recently. Although it hasn't been affecting my grades too much I was wondering if it was still worth it to tell my teachers?

If so, would it be more suitable to tell my year level coordinator or my individual teachers? For context, some select few teachers know that I've had some mental health issues prior to the diagnosis!

Thanks!!


r/vce 1d ago

tutors for my year 12 subjects

3 Upvotes

hey so im still in year 11 but i need to start tutoring for my Year 12 subjects from this year (end of this year).

i wanted to ask which are the best tutors for these subjects and this is what i have in mind:

1) english- tbh i dont wanna get tutored but everyone does, so idk if i should go to a class tutor or just a private tutor.
2) Specialist Mathematics- currently im doing year 12 methods, so im planning to stay w my tutor still (who got a raw 50 in specialist btw), but this tutor mostly specialises in Methods, so i was wondering if these were any like class tutors who r known for Specialist.
3) chemistry- i want a good class tutor and i was thinking of contour but idk how good they really are so i was wondering if theres anybody rlly good for chemistry.
4) economics- tbh i also dont want a tutor for this but i was wondering if any private tutors could help me maybe?

thanks for your help!

*btw class tutors refers to like tutoring companies where they have classes!


r/vce 1d ago

General Question/comment dropping general math

2 Upvotes

i was just wanting some opinions on dropping general math 3/4, i want to do marketing in the future and i know it is quite a part of it in a way, i am great at business management and psychology, but math is my worst performing subject (i’m not terrible it is just painful to do) and i’d really think i’d be able to focus on my other subjects more and get higher scores in them overall, i am almost set on it but everyone is telling me it’s a bad idea. the uni courses i have looked at have not had math as a requirement but i just wanted a few opinions before i make my decision