Aligning vs moderating (2 Viewers)

[~ ReNcH ~]

What's the difference? (if there is one)

* Scenario: supposing someone gets 90% in an HSC exam but comes first overall, will their aligned mark become 100?

 

[jm1234567890]

hmm... no

aligning and moderatiing are totally different things

aligning is a process where an aligned exam mark is calculated from the raw mark

moderating is a process where a class' exam marks are distibuted fairly to achieve an assessment mark.

 

[mishka]

and the differences between each person's school rankings are taken into consideration when moderating, correct??

 

[iambored]

What's the difference? (if there is one)

* Scenario: supposing someone gets 90% in an HSC exam but comes first overall, will their aligned mark become 100?

taking that example, if someone gets 90 in the hsc exam, was ranked first in assessments at school and someone in their class got 100 in the hsc, then they would get 100 for their assessment mark and 90 for their exam mark.


extra info - school's ranks have nothing to do with anything. they are just a way of the papers deciding to rank schools so they can have another reason to sell more papers. moderating is where differences in STUDENT's ranks are taken into place (yes you may have typed that wrong by accident)

miksha - edit: i'll leave that above for other people but sorry, you're right, the student's school ranks (as in how they were ranked within their classes) is taken into consideration in moderating

 

[Tuna]

taking that example, if someone gets 90 in the hsc exam, was ranked first in assessments at school and someone in their class got 100 in the hsc, then they would get 100 for their assessment mark and 90 for their exam mark.


extra info - school's ranks have nothing to do with anything. they are just a way of the papers deciding to rank schools so they can have another reason to sell more papers. moderating is where differences in STUDENT's ranks are taken into place (yes you may have typed that wrong by accident)

miksha - edit: i'll leave that above for other people but sorry, you're right, the student's school ranks (as in how they were ranked within their classes) is taken into consideration in moderating

School's ranking doesn't affect your UAI because it changes every year but school's average will affect your UAI. School's ranking is a way of identifying school's perfomance and how the tests are written, could be hard or easy..Thus high ranking schools set harder tests, hence students will perform better in the actual HSC where school's average counts most.

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

taking that example, if someone gets 90 in the hsc exam, was ranked first in assessments at school and someone in their class got 100 in the hsc, then they would get 100 for their assessment mark and 90 for their exam mark.


extra info - school's ranks have nothing to do with anything. they are just a way of the papers deciding to rank schools so they can have another reason to sell more papers. moderating is where differences in STUDENT's ranks are taken into place (yes you may have typed that wrong by accident)

miksha - edit: i'll leave that above for other people but sorry, you're right, the student's school ranks (as in how they were ranked within their classes) is taken into consideration in moderating

Hhhmm..
What happens if the highest mark in the HSC exam (across the state) is 90% (hard exam). Assuming that the person who attained that mark was also first in his/her own grade at school, would his/her aligned mark be 90? Or would it be 100, since he/she was first? Or is that taken into account through scaling, as opposed to moderating/aligning?

 

[jm1234567890]

if the raw mark was 90, we have no idea what the aligned mark is, not enough data to analyse.

The aligned mark might be 100, we don't know and it depends on the subject

the aligned exam mark has nothing to do with the rank of the person in the school, only the aligned assessment mark and the aligned HSC mark has to do with school rank.

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

if the raw mark was 90, we have no idea what the aligned mark is, not enough data to analyse.

The aligned mark might be 100, we don't know and it depends on the subject

the aligned exam mark has nothing to do with the rank of the person in the school, only the aligned assessment mark and the aligned HSC mark has to do with school rank.

So does that mean that the top mark in the state could be only 105/120, and yet the highest aligned mark could actually be something as high as 99? (hypothetically speaking)

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

"The reported HSC mark is the average of the aligned <b>school assessment mark</b> and <b>examination mark</b>"
- http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc/hsc_update_2002_06.html

Does this mean the average of the <b>moderated school assessment mark</b> and the <b>aligned examination mark</b>? Or is it the average of the school assessment mark and the <b>raw</b> examination mark?

 

[Lazarus]

Hhhmm..
What happens if the highest mark in the HSC exam (across the state) is 90% (hard exam). Assuming that the person who attained that mark was also first in his/her own grade at school, would his/her aligned mark be 90? Or would it be 100, since he/she was first?

You need to attain a raw mark of 100% in order to receive an aligned mark of 100.

Whether or not a raw mark of 90% is aligned up or down depends on the judges' determination of the raw band cut-offs.

So does that mean that the top mark in the state could be only 105/120, and yet the highest aligned mark could actually be something as high as 99? (hypothetically speaking)

Yes, this is possible.

"The reported HSC mark is the average of the aligned <b>school assessment mark</b> and <b>examination mark</b>"
- http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc/hsc_update_2002_06.html

Does this mean the average of the <b>moderated school assessment mark</b> and the <b>aligned examination mark</b>? Or is it the average of the school assessment mark and the <b>raw</b> examination mark?

It means the former.

The Board's terminology can be confusing at times.

See <a href="/other/flowchart.pdf">this flowchart</a> for further clarification.

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

Just for curiosity, do the marks for the School Certificate also undergo an "aligning" process, just as in the HSC?

As for the aligning process for the HSC: even though it's done by professional judges, how can they be certain that they are setting the same standards throughout the years?

 

[Lazarus]

Just for curiosity, do the marks for the School Certificate also undergo an "aligning" process, just as in the HSC?

Yes, they do. It's a very similar process.

As for the aligning process for the HSC: even though it's done by professional judges, how can they be certain that they are setting the same standards throughout the years?

The Board has published details of the process on their website:
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc/hsc_update_2002_06.html

In short, the judges compare the exam responses from the current year to responses from past years (using the Board's standards packages). The standards are maintained.

 

[jm1234567890]

You need to attain a raw mark of 100% in order to receive an aligned mark of 100.
.......

alot od people don't seem to agree with me on that

 

[Lazarus]

A raw mark of 100% might not end up as a scaled mark of 100%, but it will always become an aligned mark of 100%.

 

[jm1234567890]

A raw mark of 100% might not end up as a scaled mark of 100%, but it will always become an aligned mark of 100%.

really? why?

 

[Lazarus]

A lot of courses are capped when it comes to scaling... maximum scaled marks are imposed.

In those courses, the top mark won't be 100% irrespective of whether or not the top raw mark was 100%.

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

Isn't capping kind of poor though?
Not all people who do "capped" subjects are "dumbing down" to get better marks e.g. after doing Business Studies in Year 11 so far, I can say that it isn't the "easy" subject that people claim it to be - it is probably somewhat easier than Chemistry or Economics, but isn't it unfair to restrict the marks that students can get?

On that note, if a subject has no capping and a student gets an aligned mark of 100 will they automatically get a scaled mark of 100?

 

[Lazarus]

If a student 'dumbs down', it doesn't mean that they're taking an 'easy' course - it means that they're taking a course with a less able candidature. This makes it easier for them to beat other students, and hence to obtain a high ranking in the course.

Imposing a maximum scaled mark, which varies with the demonstrated ability of the candidature, counteracts this.

The maximum scaled mark for an uncapped course is always 100%. There is a procedure currently in place which 'stretches' the distribution of marks for a course if the actual maximum scaled mark is less than the maximum possible scaled mark, such that the maximum possible scaled mark is always attained.

My personal opinion is that if the maximum scaled mark is going to be reduced for courses with 'less able' candidatures, it should be increased for courses with 'more able' candidatures - above 50 if necessary. It's a little unjust otherwise. Don't know whether that will ever happen though.

 

[Xayma]

Laz, isn't any capping determined year by year? If so do you know how they determine if a subject is to be capped and how much to cap it?

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

If a student 'dumbs down', it doesn't mean that they're taking an 'easy' course - it means that they're taking a course with a less able candidature. This makes it easier for them to beat other students, and hence to obtain a high ranking in the course.

Imposing a maximum scaled mark, which varies with the demonstrated ability of the candidature, counteracts this.

The maximum scaled mark for an uncapped course is always 100%. There is a procedure currently in place which 'stretches' the distribution of marks for a course if the actual maximum scaled mark is less than the maximum possible scaled mark, such that the maximum possible scaled mark is always attained.

My personal opinion is that if the maximum scaled mark is going to be reduced for courses with 'less able' candidatures, it should be increased for courses with 'more able' candidatures - above 50 if necessary. It's a little unjust otherwise. Don't know whether that will ever happen though.

But what if someone were bright but they enjoyed Visual Arts (and I know some such students). In order to avoid the capping, they may be obliged to choose something such as Physics or Chemistry. What happens if a bright student enjoys subjects that are capped? Their abilities are being restricted by such caps, and they would therefore be hindered from achieving the UAI they may otherwise deserve. In other words, a great artist and a great physicist are being given different marks despite both their apparent abilities.