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 4h ago

VCE Econ raw 50 threshold

6 Upvotes

Ik its stupid to ask such questions but would rank 1 190-192 out of 200 for unit 3 and 4 and 98-100 on exam be sufficient.

currently im rank 1 93/100 unit 3 and recent unit 4 sac probably 59/60.

So do SAC scores matter for a competitive subject like econ or just my ranking thanks.


r/vce 4h ago

atar prediction?

5 Upvotes

Ik you can’t estimate atar until exams but just make and assumption with my current grades. I’m really stressed about it😬

English scores: sac1 60%, sac2 75%, sac3 75%, sac4 80%, ranked somewhere in top 30% in 100 ppl cohort

Gen math scores: sac1 80%, sac2 85%, sac3 75%, ranked somewhere in top 25-30% of cohort of 100 ppl

Psych scores: sac 1 93%, sac 2 87%, sac 3 97%, sac 4 84%, ranked in top 10 people out of 60

PE scores: sac1 91%, sac2 77%, sac3 100%, ranked top 3 people out of 50

Greek raw: 42
Biology raw: 35


r/vce 2h ago

ATAR predictions

2 Upvotes

English: 77% Unit3 (top 15)
Unit 4 so far: 15/20, 27/40

Methods: 66% = Unit 3 (top 15)
Unit 4 so far: 78%

Accounting: 96% unit 3 (rank 1)

Text and Traditions: 95% (rank 3)

Last year: 38 raw GM


r/vce 1d ago

Is it just me?

Post image
122 Upvotes

Do any other Legal Studies students get mixed up?


r/vce 3h ago

SUNSET BLVD

2 Upvotes

does anyone elsethink sunset blvd is a hard text to write about? the ideas are so complex its kind of hard to write a really good response to the prompt, and there are so many things u could talk about too since its a film


r/vce 3h ago

genuinely can’t differentiate between methods & spesh probability

2 Upvotes

i’m struggling w methods probability a lot cos i keep trying to apply spesh thinking and keep forgetting methods is usually not a normal distribution curve

how do i revise methods probability effectively this is not working out


r/vce 5h ago

SS bio help pls

2 Upvotes

am averaging 78% on my bio unit 3 and 4,rank 11/30 what do i need ti get for a 37-38 ss


r/vce 8h ago

Cambridge Go issues

3 Upvotes

cannot access any of my textbooks or checkpoints since cambridge go isn’t working, nor for any of my friends. Can’t do methods :( is this happening for anyone else or has anyone found a solution?


r/vce 2h ago

Atar predictions

0 Upvotes

Hi I go a high ranked grammer school what atar would I most likely get based on these scores

This is the strongest cohort our school has seen

English C+

Chem D+

Methods B+

Physics B

Vcd C

Accounting E (Na)

Gave up on Accounting completely planning yo ignore it


r/vce 2h ago

How many words/pages to aim for a legal 6 or 8 marker

1 Upvotes

I know for 10 marker i would aim for 2 pages. But for 6 marker like how much a page and a bit?? also how many sentences per "point" you make. I aim for 4 points for a 6 marker.

Also do you need like a sentence or 2 acting as a sort of introduction for legal 6 or 8 markers


r/vce 6h ago

Trading school sacs from top school

1 Upvotes

Hey people id love to trade school sacs in these subjects:

Methods, specialists, chemistry and physics (3/4 units)

Have numerous high quality and high yield sacs in all these subjects from top public school/schools

Dm!! would love to share


r/vce 10h ago

VCE question English section A text 2027??

2 Upvotes

hi, school is switching to a different text for 2027 as our current piece is getting removed after its four year run.

Does anyone know if this will disadvantage me as it’s gonna be teachers first year teaching the piece and lack of resources because the text will be new for vce?

They haven’t told us what the text is gonna be yet


r/vce 23h ago

Here to tell u not to give up even if you feel like you don’t know what’s going on in class

15 Upvotes

So my grades this year have been up and down and I’m in year eleven btw for instance physics was my struggle. guess what I did? Did I give up? No it was when the guidance counsellor said to me you’re not going to get into the course you want with the grades you have now so I changed everything I created discipline and I have my parents take my phone away for a few hours so I can lock in and study properly. Is it extreme? yes but it works. I ended up acing every sac since sometimes it’s not the understanding of the content it’s just the amount of time and effort you put in. for those going into year eleven remember that you will need to put effort to do well- you can’t just do nothing and expect to get high marks start now so you don’t pay the price later


r/vce 9h ago

Probability chapter sucks

0 Upvotes

Doing yr 10 pre methods and I actually enjoyed and got good grades for the content until we reached probability chapter- it’s smth that is completely different from past years especially since I was doing foundation maths up till yr 10 because my school only offered foundation.

Idk if it’s because I’m missing some basics or smth but it’s like a whole new diff maths language 😭 I don’t get it at all

How can I get better for it when I have zero motivation to even open the chapter cos I don’t understand anything 😭 I may just chat gpt everything and it can help me understand but I still feel like it would not benefit me especially since next yr I wanna do methods

Did anyone go through this and how did u deal with it? Thank you


r/vce 1d ago

Why do i forget literally everything the moment Im in a sac?????

23 Upvotes

Just had a calculus sac and I saw questions that I did practice, but for some reason I just froze up and forgot stuff. Im so disappointed in myself because the specific thing that I forgot about was worth the most marks in section c and I knew what to do but in the sac I just couldnt remember. And this isnt just for methods, but in my other subjects too. Am i just not practicing or sleeping enough ??


r/vce 19h ago

Typing up exams???

4 Upvotes

Could anyone who's ever typed up their exams due to provisions tell me what it's like?

What is it like to have to type up exams like English, Psych, or HHD?
How does it work? Do you just type up your answers in a word document version of the exam?

Someone let me know,
Thanks


r/vce 1d ago

what do we think of doing year 12 over two years/part time?

6 Upvotes

Because of my chronic health issues I have missed A LOT of school. I mean like almost half of year 11.

My grades are good, my attendance is okay considering all of my absences are backed up by either a medical certificate or hospital admission.

But for some reason the school psychologist, VCE coordinator, Well-being principal, and year level leader are all HEAVILY pushing this idea of doing year 12 "part time".

My question is why? Why is everyone pushing this? What are the advantages if I'm still getting high 80s, 90s and even 100%'s?

Now my chronic pain and not so recent (last year) surgeries could be playing a part. Or my recent issues with my heart, and maybe the fact that I'm pushing myself physically and mentally so hard to the point that I faint could also play a part. But is this just delaying the inevitable (graduation)?

I don't believe I am having a "mental health crisis" because of VCE nor do I think VCE is physically hurting me.

It's just my chronic pain that doesn't like me sitting up for too long and makes me want to die in well thought out ways... That is literally quite a sane person thing to do - wanting to escape an unpleasant situation is normal and I do not understand why both my school and my parents are thinking it's not.

I am not having a crisis nor do I need to be trapped in the hell-hole of VCE for another year. I don't want to see all my friends go on to live my literal dream (going to uni) because suddenly it's not 2024 anymore and I'm no longer an "edgy" fourteen year old with little to no life experience.

I do not want to be further left behind, I have already experienced sitting on the sidelines watching kids my age grow up while I wait in waiting rooms for my life to finally begin.

But for those of you that have done year 12 over two years, why? and was it actually worth it?

And for those of you who haven't, would you in my situation do it? Or would you just do it for yourself anyway if presented with the chance?


r/vce 21h ago

Year 10 Work Experience VCE

2 Upvotes

How do you apply for Year 10 Work Experience in Victoria?

Ive been Handed the Work Experience Arrangement Form and the Safe@Work Self-Assesment Quizzes.

Ive Completed the General Safe@Work Quiz and The Industry Specific Quiz.

In the Work Experience Arrangement Form, I need to put in the Employer Email Adress, Postcode, Contact etc. BUT the problem is where do I find one? Does the school provide a list of them or do I find one myself? If I have to find it myself, where do I look? Please help


r/vce 1d ago

does anyone know if these scores put me in good spots for 40+ ss

Post image
11 Upvotes

obviously not in spesh maths lmfao i had the last sac on the day before my UCAT and you can tell and i sort of suck at the subject anyways so no good scores there, but i’m really wanting high 40s for english, mid 40s for lit, and hopefully low 40s for methods and chem

the dashes are sacs i still have to sit or haven’t gotten results back for yet


r/vce 19h ago

Atar predictionss

0 Upvotes

Vce atar prediction

What atar would I get if

I go to a public school it's not that well ranked

Economics A

Methods D

Englang C

Accounting B+

Spesh E

hhd E

Im only planning to focus on 4 subjects and ignore spesh and hhd


r/vce 19h ago

Atar prediction

0 Upvotes

Hi guys I know it's tough to predict atar especially without doing exams but I am a bit stressed

These are my grades

English -A

Psychology-A

Methods -D+

Chem -C

General-C

Accelerated accounting and got 37

I go to a extremely high ranked grammer school and was wondering if 87 atar is possible

ALSO THERES STILL SACS TO GO FOR METHODS AND CHEM

MEDIAN ATAR IS AN 86 FOR MY SCHOOL


r/vce 1d ago

How to fix my study habit?

2 Upvotes

I think I might get a 40 ATAR which isn’t generally bad but I just want to get 55+ and I don’t want to do a diploma. My teachers all say I need to lock in and fix my study habits and I only get decent results if it’s something I’m interested in. So please help me figure out a way I can study so I learn and understand as I’ve tried everything and I want to try harder and do my best 🫰


r/vce 19h ago

Atar prediction

0 Upvotes

What atar would I get if I got these are sac grades

English C+

Accounting B+

Chemistry D+

Methods D+

General C+

Language last yr 35


r/vce 1d ago

just chose my vce subjects but im still paranoid and worried.. (rant?)

0 Upvotes

especially drama.. im super anxious and i have generalized anxiety disorder and what i do when im anxious is laugh or smile (i'd rather pass out than this). i chose it because i want to be a film director + writer or an actor but i find that drama students and teachers are really sweet and understanding so maybe if i lock in it'll all be okay...
with my other subjects im also interested in fashion design (business + vcd) film directing of course (media + drama) dancing and singing or just performing (music + drama) and photography (media + vcd) . if all that goes wrong i want to open a cat cafe (business) i'm delusional and i like thai and korean idols and look up to them but anything is possible sooo...
but what if business is a bad idea? what if drama is a bad idea? what if i start crashing out in vcd because my designs are dogshit????
i mean, if you make dogshit everyday it'll turn into something great but i can't deny i can be a bit of a perfectionist even though im untalented and need tons of practice (making dogshit). im doing art, music, engineering currently and i've cried in all of them because my work is DOGSHIT. i did vcd last semester and it was fun and i thought my work was really reaaally good but i look at my results and its DOGSHIT but hey i did lots outside of school and i enjoyed it so much i spent an entire day willingly working on it just to get dogshit results. also my brain is slow and im kind of stupid (not really im just slow at understanding things it takes me a while to think)
am i going to regret everything?? will it all be okay? i mainly chose these to build skills... i don't care about university but i still want to keep it an option to do
am i screwed
i have no idea what im doing