withoutaface
Premium Member
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2004
- Messages
- 15,098
- Gender
- Male
- HSC
- 2004
I've seen a lot of questions on how scaling works, so I've decided to create something of an FAQ, which Lazarus can add corrections/additions to if he feels like it.
Who determines scaling and UAIs?
The actual calculations are performed on behalf of the universities by the Technical Committee on Scaling, which obtains the necessary HSC results from the NSW Board of Studies.
Once all of the calculations have been done, the Technical Committee passes the data on to the UAC which then distributes UAIs to students and universities.
What about aligning?
This is a completely different process, carried out by the BOS, where students raw marks are aligned to standards, say if their raw mark would indicate thorough knowledge of the work they get a band 6. Raw marks, not aligned marks are used in the calculation of scaled marks and the UAI. Aligned marks are explained in more detail here.
What is the scaled mean for a subject?
It is, as the name suggests, the average scaled mark in a subject among all the candidates. Scaled means can be found here.
The scaled mean for a given course is an estimate of the average academic ability of the students taking that course.
How is the scaled mean for each subject determined?
It is determined by calculating the performance of the average student doing a course in other subjects. This is why English is compulsory, because it provides a common subject against which scaling can be determined.
Scaling in extension courses is determined differently, in that the only course the candidates' results are compared with are either the core subject, or in the case of extension 2, the extension 1 subject. If the average extension 2 student performs twice as well as the average extension 1 student in the extension 1 course, the scaling for the extension 2 course will be roughly twice as good as that of the extension 1 course.
What are scaled marks used for?
The students best two units of English and their 8 other best units have their scaled marks totalled to calculate a scaled aggregate, out of 500. This scaled aggregate is then compared to other students, the students are then ranked, and a UAI is calculated based on this rank.
Hope this answers some of your questions
Who determines scaling and UAIs?
The actual calculations are performed on behalf of the universities by the Technical Committee on Scaling, which obtains the necessary HSC results from the NSW Board of Studies.
Once all of the calculations have been done, the Technical Committee passes the data on to the UAC which then distributes UAIs to students and universities.
What about aligning?
This is a completely different process, carried out by the BOS, where students raw marks are aligned to standards, say if their raw mark would indicate thorough knowledge of the work they get a band 6. Raw marks, not aligned marks are used in the calculation of scaled marks and the UAI. Aligned marks are explained in more detail here.
What is the scaled mean for a subject?
It is, as the name suggests, the average scaled mark in a subject among all the candidates. Scaled means can be found here.
The scaled mean for a given course is an estimate of the average academic ability of the students taking that course.
How is the scaled mean for each subject determined?
It is determined by calculating the performance of the average student doing a course in other subjects. This is why English is compulsory, because it provides a common subject against which scaling can be determined.
Scaling in extension courses is determined differently, in that the only course the candidates' results are compared with are either the core subject, or in the case of extension 2, the extension 1 subject. If the average extension 2 student performs twice as well as the average extension 1 student in the extension 1 course, the scaling for the extension 2 course will be roughly twice as good as that of the extension 1 course.
What are scaled marks used for?
The students best two units of English and their 8 other best units have their scaled marks totalled to calculate a scaled aggregate, out of 500. This scaled aggregate is then compared to other students, the students are then ranked, and a UAI is calculated based on this rank.
Hope this answers some of your questions
Last edited:
