Re: I go a VERY competitive school. So, does that place me at a disadvantage for rank
Firstly, you might want to have a read of my thread on the moderation of assessment marks located in the
Technical Arcana.
That thread outlines and provides examples of how the Board of Studies takes into account the difficulty of tasks administered by every school to ensure all students are fairly treated (Or rather as fair as it can be).
In your case being in a highly acedemic school, the fact that those ranked above you are doing better than you means they probably will be doing just as well in the final HSC exam.
Hypothetically if you were ranked 3rd, you will receive approximately the 3rd highest HSC exam mark in your class as your moderated assessment mark, which lets pretend is the mark you got in the final exam which may be 92.
If you were in a poorly acedemic school and you were ranked first, you will receive the highest HSC exam mark as your moderated assessment mark. So if you did your best and got 92, you will still be left with a moderated assessment mark of 92 showing there isn't really much of a difference on what school you attend.
It's mostly a feeling that you are surrounded by high acedemic students that you feel you aren't doing very well, but when comparing state-wise which is what the HSC does, you might find you are doing extremely well.
So yeah, I suggest you read the thread I mentioned at the start of this post to have a thorough understanding of the processes involved and you will realise it is a very fair system.
