Misconceptions about scaling (1 Viewer)

[meLoncoLLie]

Recently, I had 2 arguments - one with a teacher and one with a friend - about scaling.

What my teacher said:

Everyone, as far as I know, only two courses are definitely scaled up-Maths Ext 1 and Maths Ext 2. All other 2 unit courses are scaled pretty much the same. All languages are scaled exactly the same; there is no reason why Chinese Extension should be scaled higher than Chinese Background Speakers.

What my friend said:

My dad says Physics and Chemistry have had the same scaling in the past 2 years. I've checked with [insert well-known tuition centre] and [insert another expensive, well-known tuition centre] and they told me the same. There is no way Physics should be scaled lower than Chemistry because Physics is harder! Do you REALLY believe UAC-released data and boredofstudies? They might not be right.




please, someone tell me if I should believe them.
(imo they are both ridiculously wrong)

 

[Napstar]

u shouldn't argue with your teachers! they now best

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

What my teacher said:

Everyone, as far as I know, only two courses are definitely scaled up-Maths Ext 1 and Maths Ext 2. All other 2 unit courses are scaled pretty much the same. All languages are scaled exactly the same; there is no reason why Chinese Extension should be scaled higher than Chinese Background Speakers.

Definitely wrong and I'll explain below.

What my friend said:

My dad says Physics and Chemistry have had the same scaling in the past 2 years. I've checked with [insert well-known tuition centre] and [insert another expensive, well-known tuition centre] and they told me the same. There is no way Physics should be scaled lower than Chemistry because Physics is harder! Do you REALLY believe UAC-released data and boredofstudies? They might not be right.

Scaling is different for every course. And it is not based on the difficulty of the course!! - that is one of the BIGGEST misconceptions about scaling. Scaling is based on the quality of the candidature sitting the course in a particular year. Hence it changes from year to year. And believe it or not, for the past several years Chemistry has scaled higher than Physics because the students who study Chemistry have generally been more able than Physics students (not to say that Physics students are dumb )

Yes, UAC is right and yes: what you see posted by people such as Laz on BoS is correct

That said, don't concern yourself too much about scaling. It only adds unnecessary worry during a year in which you should be focused on studying

 

[nick1048]

Rench is right against both your arguments there.

Napstar that's incorrect. Go ask two different teachers an identicle generic question and you will get two seperate answers. This sire provides some of the most relevant details about HSC politics, I'd take my advice from the smartest members on these boards over teachers...

 

[withoutaface]

http://www.boredofstudies.org/scaledmeans.php

 

[meLoncoLLie]

rench, nick and waf- that's EXACTLY what i said to them!

if my friend hadn't lied to me, then the major tutoring centres she's currently attending are VERY wrong, but i don't see why they should have the wrong info.

as for my teacher, i have no comment on him. for a whole lesson he just sat there and sprouted incorrect HSC/UAI/uni info at us, i'm still trying to convince my fellow classmates not to take in anything he said.

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

rench, nick and waf- that's EXACTLY what i said to them!

if my friend hadn't lied to me, then the major tutoring centres she's currently attending are VERY wrong, but i don't see why they should have the wrong info.

as for my teacher, i have no comment on him. for a whole lesson he just sat there and sprouted incorrect HSC marks/UAI/uni info at us, i'm still trying to convince my fellow classmates not to take in anything he said.

Tutors are there to teach, not to understand the scaling system...
In this situation, teachers aren't necessarily the best sources of information...few teachers have the time or the motivation to read about and understand the scaling system. I'd be hard struck to find more than a handful of teachers at my school who understand and can explain scaling.

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

Btw. you could get Laz to visit your school and inform the teachers of how wrong they are

 

[wrong_turn]

Btw. you could get Laz to visit your school and inform the teachers of how wrong they are

what rench said.

oh and the my daddy says "blah" conceptions are always wrong. its like saying "my mommy says that i'm special."

so really what rench said and what i said

 

[meLoncoLLie]

Btw. you could get Laz to visit your school and inform the teachers of how wrong they are

would you, Laz? we'd love it

 

[Lazarus]

Hmm.

Some people already see me as a bit of a trouble-maker.

Though I will confirm the comments of Rench and nick. It's also the case that even teachers and tuition centres usually don't really know how the system works. From my experience, if a discussion on the topic arises between a number of teachers or tutors, they'll usually just reinforce each other's misconceptions. Not really a good thing, especially considering that these misconceptions are then presented to students.

I suspect that the top schools (Ruse, PLC, Grammar, etc) have their own designated 'specialist' who endeavours to maintain a working knowledge of the scaling procedures. But most schools don't.

 

[Napstar]

lazraus. how come you got all those boxes under ur picture?

 

[Lazarus]

Just one of those perks that come with being an administrator.

 

[wrong_turn]

isn't waf and breaking almost at a reputation beyond repute?

 

[velox]

I suspect that the top schools (Ruse, PLC, Grammar, etc) have their own designated 'specialist' who endeavours to maintain a working knowledge of the scaling procedures. But most schools don't.

I'd imagine maths teachers would do this.

 

[meLoncoLLie]

i've heard that james ruse has its own UAI scaling/subjects counsellor who advises yr 10 students on subject selection *based* on scaling. (some tutoring centre told me this). and that is one of the key factors why ruse students get such high UAIs (but of course, the quality of the entire candidature is the most important reason)

 

[Casmira]

i never knew the higher the scaling depended on quality of canditure, i guess that would explain why extension greek was scaled more than ext 2 maths, because I went over the extension greek exam, then went over ext 2 maths exam and i guarantee i knew 1/2 (at least) of that HSC in greek extension and nothing in that ext 2 exam

 

[Lazarus]

You can't determine the quality of the candidature by just looking at the examination though - it's measured by how the students in that course were placed relative to the rest of the state in all of their courses.

 

[beccaxx]

look look its laz! i get so excited when he posts!!!! hes a celebrity on here.

 

[xeuyrawp]

Heh, I did 4 really good scalling (for my marks) subjects, and 2 really bad (for my marks) subjects. Don't play the scaling game, it's a waste of time and is silly because you will do worse in a subject chosen purely for scaling reasons.