What bos said about the sor 2009 hsc exam (5 Viewers)

[MzBiiBii]

you know what is really pissing me off?
the fact that some schools got a whole hour after reading time to 'cool down' and ask questions regarding section III.

a whole hour? our school had nothing. noone put up their hand to complain, no one even sighed. we just got on with it. and mind you, we weren't prepared for the question either. everyone was venting AFTER the exam, but we dared not waste our breath or energy during the actual paper. and, fyi, i go to an all girl school. we get pretty dramatic sometimes, but we know how to hold our panic attacks for the right time.

my point is, if my school had freaked out and made a massive deal out of it, would we have gotten an hour 'break' as well? are we not being disadvantaged for staying calm and sensible?

so unfair. i could have planned three responses in twenty minutes, let alone an hour.

and to those who are stressing over the question like i was--honestly, it's not as bad as it seems. it was part of the year 11 syllabus. and i admit that it was unfair that they had changed it without warning, and that it would have been nice to know that year 11 content would need to be revised, but we DID learn it. and everyone's in the same boat--we all went through the 'living religion' theme in year 11, we all didn't revise it for the HSC exam, and we all prepared for a practice/religious figure/practice long response. it took us ALL by surprise. and there is only a very microscopic few who would have seen the question, and been completely confident in answering it.

so relax, because noone's disadvantaged here. we're all in the same boat.

except for those drama queens who had a seizure at the sight of section 3 and demanded an hour long break. they're in a bloody five star ship packed with floaties and life savers.

if your school was one of them, please, free feel to explain to me why on earth you would need an hour's calming down, when my entire grade was able to stay in control, and get on with the exam without question or complaint. the exam room is no place for whinging or objections. expecially when the whole of australia (excl qld) is in the exact same conditions.

completely stuffed up the strict (and fair) system that has been set up by the BOS to ensure uniform exam conditions. completely. stuffed. it. up.

unnecessary, unsportmanlike, and unfair.

I understand what you're saying, and it makes sense why you're angry. The thing that shocked me most though was the people who didn't attempt the question, or wrote "invalid question".

I was annoyed about that at the beginning, because my whole class managed to answer the question.. and yes some people were crying about it, but there were no delays, they read the question a few more times, and wrote whatever they could. It was only when we had finished the exam and met with our teacher that he said yes what we (half of us only) wrote was what the question expected us to write.

Oh well.


So do the people who didn't answer the question get average mark?

 

[feliciaaardvark]

people who didn't write anything, i'm guessing, would get a zero. right?

the BOS might have said that they would take into consideration the 'unexpectedness' of the question when marking, but i can't picture them awarding 'empathy marks' to those who didn't even make an attempt.

it's ridiculous that some people didn't even attempt it. doesn't that just show you how artificial the assessment method was in the previous years? that students didn't even bother to develop an intrinsic understanding of the content, but rather just memorised answers to questions?

i'm glad the BOS has changed their papers this year. it's for the better, in my opinon.

 

[MzBiiBii]

people who didn't write anything, i'm guessing, would get a zero. right?

the BOS might have said that they would take into consideration the 'unexpectedness' of the question when marking, but i can't picture them awarding 'empathy marks' to those who didn't even make an attempt.

it's ridiculous that some people didn't even attempt it. doesn't that just show you how artificial the assessment method was in the previous years? that students didn't even bother to develop an intrinsic understanding of the content, but rather just memorised answers to questions?

i'm glad the BOS has changed their papers this year. it's for the better, in my opinon.

Wow, it never occurred to me that they would actually receive a 0.

How much does a misadventure form help? I know alot of people are doing it.... but will that really make a difference?

 

[feliciaaardvark]

huh? a misadventure form? even though they sat the exam?

where did the misadventure come in? they never made it to the last page because they broke their leg or something during the two hours?

no way. ridiculous.

 

[MzBiiBii]

huh? a misadventure form? even though they sat the exam?

where did the misadventure come in? they never made it to the last page because they broke their leg or something during the two hours?

no way. ridiculous.

Yeah.

My teacher explained that misadventures only apply if

1) you're too ill to do the exam/assesment

2) something prevents you attempting the exam


I personally thought it applied for more circumstances

 

[feliciaaardvark]

NO WAY. you're kidding??? people filed for a misadventure even though they were IN THE EXAM ROOM?? oh my god...

okay well, i'm guessing they're opting for 2) something prevents you attempting the exam
i suppose if someone has a microscopic panic threshold, and has a seizure at the sight of an unexpected 20 marker...that is a misadventure.
however, i'm guessing they would have had to be frothing at the mouth, twitching, rolling on the floor and bawling their eyes out IN FRONT of the HSC supervisors...and a medical certificate or some sort of official document proving their being diagnosed to be um...'mentally unstable' or unable to cope with 'extreme stress' would have to be provided.
fair enough. i can understand if they couldn't complete a paper with a mental condition...but i doubt that's the case. and so does the BOS, thus the need to produce medical proof on applying for misadventure points.

however, the thing about misadventure forms is that they result in the adjustment of marks in accordance with the student's usual performance. the problem that arises here is that the HSC exam is an entirely separate entity from your internal school marks...the BOS ensures that the markers are not biased in knowing your usual potential. the HSC exam is not to be marked or compared with your previous exam results. hence i don't see how the BOS would be able to 'adjust' your marks to be consistent with your previous performances, as is usually done in misadventures, since they would have no indication of your usual results to compare it to.
unless they were to base their estimation of your potential on your performance in the other exam sections...which would be illogical since completely difference outcomes are assessed in each question.
so i don't see how they would provide an estimate/adjustment of marks for misadventured students...
misadventure forms can also grant a student greater leniency in the marking criteria...however i don't see how one can be 'lenient' on a non-attempt. they could mark easier in the other sections, i suppose, but again, that would be illogical as different outcomes are being assessed.

so i guess my opinion is that misadv. forms would only be accepted with medical documentation and witnessing proof by the HSC supervisors....but i can't imagine what kind of procedures would be taken by the BOS after accepting a form...what can they even do!?
i can't think of anything.

 

[feliciaaardvark]

also if the student really did have a panic attack and couldn't attempt the question...i don't see how they could have managed to complete the rest of the exam?

surely if they answered every question but section III, the BOS will realise that their file for a 'misadventure' isn't genuine...right? board of studies? are you reading this? please be reading this.

unless they have evidence that they read the question for the first time AFTER they completed the rest of the exam, and not in the 5 mins reading time...which is unlikely.
and hard to prove.

 

[possessionless]

^ but i thought it was like a whole school that wrote invalid question on the papers? wasnt it?
i dunno i read that somewhere...

so a whole school cant have seizures? well they all could but highly unlikely so i dont know what they'd do in this case. :S

 

[feliciaaardvark]

no way?? a whole school wrote 'invalid question'?
so their exam was cut 40 mins short?
SERIOUSLY?!

 

[louie1107]

I do 2 unit SOR and i dont think the question was that bad..
i felt there was a different tone to the paper and it seemed
a bit diffferent from usual but what i have a problem with is
the fact that some schools, after reading time, stopped the exam
cause they had a cry about it and while the supervisors called
BOS or whatever, they all were talking and had a whole extra
hour to prepare their responses!!!
This is disadvanging the students who were shitting themselves
in the exam but dealt with it . i think thats so unfair!

 

[Skaps]

Sorry im relatively new to this website, could someone tell me how to start a separate discussion?

thanks in advance

 

[feliciaaardvark]

Sorry im relatively new to this website, could someone tell me how to start a separate discussion?

thanks in advance

go to 'studies of religion' or whatever subject yuo wanna talk about...then click on 'new thread' just below the 'ads by google'

 

[louie1107]

you know what is really pissing me off?
The fact that some schools got a whole hour after reading time to 'cool down' and ask questions regarding section iii.

A whole hour? Our school had nothing. Noone put up their hand to complain, no one even sighed. We just got on with it. And mind you, we weren't prepared for the question either. Everyone was venting after the exam, but we dared not waste our breath or energy during the actual paper. And, fyi, i go to an all girl school. We get pretty dramatic sometimes, but we know how to hold our panic attacks for the right time.

My point is, if my school had freaked out and made a massive deal out of it, would we have gotten an hour 'break' as well? Are we not being disadvantaged for staying calm and sensible?

So unfair. I could have planned three responses in twenty minutes, let alone an hour.

And to those who are stressing over the question like i was--honestly, it's not as bad as it seems. It was part of the year 11 syllabus. And i admit that it was unfair that they had changed it without warning, and that it would have been nice to know that year 11 content would need to be revised, but we did learn it. And everyone's in the same boat--we all went through the 'living religion' theme in year 11, we all didn't revise it for the hsc exam, and we all prepared for a practice/religious figure/practice long response. It took us all by surprise. And there is only a very microscopic few who would have seen the question, and been completely confident in answering it.

So relax, because noone's disadvantaged here. We're all in the same boat.

Except for those drama queens who had a seizure at the sight of section 3 and demanded an hour long break. They're in a bloody five star ship packed with floaties and life savers.

If your school was one of them, please, free feel to explain to me why on earth you would need an hour's calming down, when my entire grade was able to stay in control, and get on with the exam without question or complaint. The exam room is no place for whinging or objections. Expecially when the whole of australia (excl qld) is in the exact same conditions.

Completely stuffed up the strict (and fair) system that has been set up by the bos to ensure uniform exam conditions. Completely. Stuffed. It. Up.

Unnecessary, unsportmanlike, and unfair.

omg i agree 100% !!!!!!!
We all know the value an extra hour would have been in planning our responses!!!
If i had a known that a dummy spit could have got me some more planning time, i would have made a big fking scene
but we all just accepted it and got on with it

 

[possessionless]

no way?? a whole school wrote 'invalid question'?
so their exam was cut 40 mins short?
SERIOUSLY?!

well thats what i read. cant be 100% sure though.

 

[Skaps]

go to 'studies of religion' or whatever subject yuo wanna talk about...then click on 'new thread' just below the 'ads by google'

thanks so much

 

[feliciaaardvark]

well thats what i read. cant be 100% sure though.

whoa...do you know if the HSC supervisors advised them to do it? or was it sort of...a rebellion type thing?

 

[louie1107]

I FREAKIN KNOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.
the bloody schools probably KNEW it would have bought them time. or else those who genuinely were stressing out held up the exam to give the clear headed students time to sit back, and plan it all out.
they would have been laughing through the whole thing.

unfair.

the students who dealt with it and persevered and answered the question
should instantly be given full marks for being mature and doing what
they're supposed to do not chucking a spaz
i reallyyyy hope this doesnt disadvantage us, more than it already has!!!

 

[Skaps]

i started a new thread about what people think might be the raw mark needed for a band 6 in sor2. I didn't want to start it here but if anyone could add their thoughts it would be much appreciated. Might stop me worrying lol

 

[possessionless]

whoa...do you know if the HSC supervisors advised them to do it? or was it sort of...a rebellion type thing?

no idea sorry

 

[louie1107]

done lol.

and by the way...read this:
Students in tears over HSC 'nightmare' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

far out. the supervisors didnt know that we HAD actually studied it. the WHOLE grade lied, or 'forgot' about the year 11 syllabus.

read this
http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/maralynparker/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/studies_of_religion_exam_stopped_for_one_hour/

couldnt the students have chosen a different religious tradition for the extended response?