Not understanding Atar marks? (1 Viewer)

[theonly1]

Hey,

My friend got back his mark and was disappointed. He did the following subjects;

English Sd
General Math
Modern History
PDHPE
Biology

he got average of 70-75 in all subjects except for math where he got 60. This is for both Internal and External. Now the funny thing is he ended up with a atar of 58.0. Why did it drop so low? Was it because he did general math or what?

 

[theonly1]

your friend is doing mostly low scaling subjects

Would you consider bio to be low scale?

How would you rate my subjects;

English Std
Mathematics
Ancient History
Physics
Biology

Would i be affected by the scaling?

 

[cem]

Hey,

My friend got back his mark and was disappointed. He did the following subjects;

English Sd
General Math
Modern History
PDHPE
Biology

he got average of 70-75 in all subjects except for math where he got 60. This is for both Internal and External. Now the funny thing is he ended up with a atar of 58.0. Why did it drop so low? Was it because he did general math or what?

Just a note - ATAR is a RANK not a mark.

Theoretically a person who received 90 for every subject could still end up an asterisk ATAR - if everyone else in the state received higher marks in all their subjects.

Having those marks I would expect an ATAR in the high 50s or low 60s based on my experience.

 

[theonly1]

For your subjects, mathematics, physics and biology scale quite well.

Would any of my subjects bring me down?

 

[iJimmy]

experiment with atar calculators with different subs and marks

 

[theonly1]

experiment with atar calculators with different subs and marks

Which is most accurate?

 

[Spiritual Bean]

He got average marks in pretty average subjects.

Think about it. 70 is the median atar IIRC, and if one attains average marks (say all 70) for high scaling subjects (adv eng, 2u math, eco, chem etc etc) you'll see that they'll be like borderline 70. If you get average marks in average subjects, you're thus pushed down even more, so 58 sounds right.

 

[iJimmy]

matrix atar calc.

 

[mz-sandraa]

I don't understand my atar :/
I got the following marks for hsc:

English - 66
Maths - 61
Hospitality - 83
CAFS - 83
Textiles and design - 76
Food tech - 71

Yet, I got an atar of 59.9... What must've dropped me down this much?

 

[rumbleroar]

I don't understand my atar :/
I got the following marks for hsc:

English - 66
Maths - 61
Hospitality - 83
CAFS - 83
Textiles and design - 76
Food tech - 71

Yet, I got an atar of 59.9... What must've dropped me down this much?

What maths were you doing?

and you're measured against your relative cohorts. As you scored average (or below) in some "lower-scaling" (i.e. cohorts of a weaker calibre), that effectively drags your scaled mark when they calculate your ATAR aggregates during the ranking process.

I would guess your English and FT dropped your scaled marks down. Assuming maths is general, it would've dragged you down as well. Your subjects are often deemed "lower scaling", i.e. to not be affected by scaling, you would've needed to get around 90+, as scaling starts affecting students around the 80 mark.

Remember, your ATAR is a rank that measures you against your relative cohort. I'm not sure if my explanation made clear sense, so let me know if you need further clarification (the ATAR process is a bit confusing, I must admit.)

 

[tashe]

Type those marks into the Matrix ATAR calculator. On the side of each subject, it'll give you a rough ATAR equivalent. They will tell you which ones dragged you down.

 

[braintic]

I got an atar of 59.9... What must've dropped me down this much?

The fact that 40.1% of the state did better than you. (Actually its more than that)

 

[study1234]

You must remember your ATAR is a ranking, NOT an average mark.