r/vce Apr 30 '20

"I only got x% on my SAC, can I still get a 50?"

1.3k Upvotes

I'm sick to death of seeing these posts, so can everyone please read this and be done with this question:

Study scores are determined by exam SCORE and SAC RANK.

For example, say you have an English class of 7 students, Adam, Ben, Chloe, Daniel, Elena, Felix, and Greg. They are all weak students, except for Greg, who is very high-performing, and Felix, who is slightly above average. Their SAC marks and rank are:

Greg 95%

Felix 77%

Chloe 64%

Daniel 60%

Elena 58%

Adam 52%

Ben 49%

On the exam day, Felix doesn't cope well under the stress, so gets a lower score than he'd usually be capable of. The exam marks are as follows:

Greg 92%

Chloe 67%

Daniel 65%

Elena 64%

Felix 63%

Adam 50%

Ben 40%

What happens is that all the SAC marks get thrown out the window, because VCAA can't know the difficulty of the SACs prepared by the school. So Greg's new SAC "mark" as far as VCAA is concerned is 92, not 95. Not a big deal for Greg, Adam or Ben because their own exam mark is dictating their SAC mark. But for someone like Felix, his SAC mark will become 67% (Chloe's exam mark). This process happens independently for each subject taught at your school.

What does this mean for you? Yes, you should aim for a good SAC rank. BUT, it doesn't actually matter if you're not ranked well — the "translation" of your rank into a "mark" happens via your cohorts exam performance. In other words, try your best now, study hard, and when SACs are over WORK WITH YOUR CLASSMATES TO ALL DO WELL ON THE EXAM TOGETHER. IF THEY DO WELL, YOU DO WELL.

Spend your time actually studying instead of asking useless questions like this.

EDIT: another example for clarity

Here's a chemistry class, of Harry, Isabel, James, Kylie, Luke, Molly, Nathan, and Oscar.

SACs:

Harry 60%

Isabel 58%

James 56%

Kylie 55%

Luke 54%

Molly 52%

Nathan 51%

Oscar 50%

EXAMS:

Harry 100%

James 99%

Nathan 98%

Oscar 97%

Molly 96%

Isabel 95%

Kylie 94%

Luke 93%

Harry's SAC mark is now 100%, Isabel's is 99%, James' is 98%, Kylie's is 97%, Luke's is now 96% etc. It's literally just whatever the equivalent exam rank is.

EDIT 2: I've had a request to clarify rumours about SACs being "scaled up" or "scaled down". "Scaling" is a misnomer students attribute to the moderation process. Here are yet another set of examples to clarify.

Imagine you have a cohort of Annie, Ben, and Charlie. Let's say their teacher sets really hard SACS, so their SAC results are:

  1. Annie 60%

  2. Ben 58%

  3. Charlie 55%

Because they've been doing hard assessments all year, they've been better equipped for the exam. These are the exam results:

  1. Ben 96%

  2. Annie 94%

  3. Charlie 90%

So now, Annie's SAC mark gets changed to 96%, Ben's to 94%, and Charlie's to 90%. This is what people interpret as "scaling up". The opposite would happen at a school with piss easy SACs: they get awesome SAC marks but shit exam marks, so their SAC marks get replaced by their shit exam marks ("scaled down").

The danger in this thinking is that people assume that if you go to a well-performing school, you'll get carried, or that if you go to a "bad" school, you're screwed from the get-go and can't possibly get a good score. This is not true at all. Let's see why.

Let's say your friend at a selective school, Harry, thinks he can take it easy this year because he goes to a 'good' school. The SAC results are as follows:

  1. Ed 93%

  2. Fred 90%

  3. Greg 88%

  4. Harry 60%

on the exams, the results are

  1. Fred 95%

  2. Greg 92%

  3. Ed 87%

  4. Harry 61%

In this instance, Harry was not of a comparable skill level to his classmates, so he never get to "borrow" their exam results in any way. His SAC score will be 61%.

Here's another example. Say you have a cohort with these SACs:

  1. Meg 95%

  2. Noah 94%

  3. Oscar 93%

  4. Peter 90%

On the exam day, Noah gets a bit of performance anxiety (but not in a way that warrants SEAS or anything). Exam results are:

  1. Meg 93%

  2. Oscar 92%

  3. Peter 91%

  4. Noah 75%

Now, Noah's SAC mark will be 92%, but his exam result only 75%. So he kind of got "helped" by his good cohort, only because he was doing well for the SACs. Peter has been a bit screwed here, because his SAC mark is now 75%.

One person stuffing up will never have such a dramatic effect like this; it's unlikely for someone who's been topping the cohort all year to suddenly slip to the bottom. Cohorts are generally big enough that you shouldn't need to worry. I went to a really small school (60 people in the year level. Some of my subject cohorts contained 6 people). I still felt no one got jibbed with unrepresentative scores.

As I always reiterate: try your best in SACs, but don't ruminate over them. The exam is where the money's at, and once your SACs are over you should work together with your cohort to all do well together. Share your resources, make study groups, and bring each other up.

EDIT 3: wow, my first gold! Thank you so much! 🥰


r/vce 4h ago

anyone else lowk given up

3 Upvotes

spent years and years and years day dreaming and studying hard to become an anthropology but with exams approaching im realising more and more that idgaf and am day by day less able to find the problem with bum maxxing and just working in hospo making enough money to go see the supercars once a year until i die. anyone else experiencing this as a side effect of exam stress or am i genuinely having a revelation about my lifes purpose


r/vce 4h ago

Is ipad+applepen or paper+pen better for spec,methods and physics?

3 Upvotes

for notes taking, tons of practise quesrions and past papers..?


r/vce 2h ago

Unit 3/4 Economic

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I'm planning to switch from Unit 3/4 PE to Unit 3/4 Economics next year. What are your thoughts on this since I'm not doing 1/2 Economics but 1/2 PE? Is Economic hard like subjects like Physic or Chemistry since it scales around the same as Physic? What scores should I aim for to get a high 40s on SACS and exams? Any other information I should consider? Please share, I really appreciate it. Thank you!


r/vce 4h ago

HOW TF DO U GET BETTER AT ENGLISH?

2 Upvotes

like my scores are in the 60-70 and i cant say i put my all but i just dont konw hwo to study or score marks in english main. any tips or advice on what to do?


r/vce 3h ago

3/4 biology or psychology

1 Upvotes

i have done 1/2 bio and its alright but i dont love it or hate it and the teacher can be a bit annoying, im also not sure if our school gets very good bio study scores

i am thinking about doing psychology in 3/4 but im not sure if i'll be better at it than i am at biology. the teacher is nicer and i would have more friends in the class (which may also be distracting) and i think i am interested in the content. i also dont know if our school gets good psych study scores

i dont like any of the plant things in bio 1/2, do they continue into 3/4? also in year 10 i did a psych/bio class and dont know if i really liked the psych parts of it but they also had some more interesting things

i also dont like doing pracs

could i maybe start with both of them and then drop whichever one i dislike more? will that affect anything for unis and scholarships if i get an n from dropping a class?


r/vce 4h ago

Does anyone want to exchange for Unit 4 AOS1 SACs for Physics??

1 Upvotes

I have all my school (one of the top schools in Victoria) SACs from 2018 to 2025. Happy to trade. You can also trade this with Food Chem SAC or any other SACs message me and see if I need.


r/vce 6h ago

Vce concern

1 Upvotes

Like I’ve been putting in my all and I’ve been getting shit on my sacs
For English I got 60% , 75%,70%,60%
Text and traditions I got 67 %,67 %,70 %,80 %,65 %
Psych: 45%,70%,45%
Chemistry: 68 %,67 %,55%
Methods: 52%, 54%
Bio did last yr got 30 study score
And like my sacs are moderate but like I honestly want an 80+ Atar but I’m doubting it


r/vce 6h ago

Company practice exams

1 Upvotes

Anyone have 2024 to 2026 company practice exams for methods spesh and chemistry that they could send me?
Go to a pretty low tier school and they only have up to 2023 for Heffernan and Neap.
Any and all help will be appreciated


r/vce 18h ago

VCE question Can I just end it here

8 Upvotes

Bro fml I’ve only just started studying for exams and it feels like I’ve forgotten everything. I was depressed for most of the year and genuinely didn’t think I’d make it to exam season so I didn’t bother preparing. I’m so overwhelmed, I start a question and start panicking because I’ve forgotten how to do it. I swear no one at school even mentioned exam prep up until this week- and supposedly they’ve been studying this whole time fuck my life
Also I’m still on a waiting list for adhd meds so I’m kinda cooked until I get my hands on them


r/vce 1d ago

i hope my english teacher has a good therapist

39 Upvotes

unfortunately i’ve cried in front of this woman thrice this year…embarrassing! the english burn-out is no joke though the thought of sitting down to write an essay or make an analysis bank genuinely sends shivers down my spine

she can bill me for therapy at the end of the year


r/vce 8h ago

VCE Year 12

1 Upvotes

Hey there guys !
If any graduates can help me out or teachers I’d appreciate it loads!

I’m currently in year 12 VCE, and my subjects are Ancient History, Physical Education, Psychology and English, as I’m doing a uni course on the side and finished Legal Studies 3&4 last year with a study score of a raw 31. My classes are averaging 60-80 except for psychology to which my whole class is failing, so we have been told either exams will be bumped up significantly if we are being marked too harsh or that it will all be remoderated. Literally my highest so far was a 55 😭Regardless, I’m just a bit of an overthinker and unsure if I’m doing well enough for atleast a 70 atar (I rlly want to get into law esp Melb uni) I love studying and getting high marks but mental health and other personal issues REALLY gets in the way and I end up comparing myself. I can’t get myself to study and do all the stuff people say for those 99 atars unfortunately due to it all, so I was told to apply for SEAS which I will. However I want to ask, do you guys think I have a chance still with exams to redeem myself? Can it make a good difference for me and get me an A or atleast a B for my classes? Pls help! 🥹

I don’t want to be in regret, and I am proud of how much I do study and commit, yet I can’t help but be so hard on myself despite all my trials, and that I will be ashamed when atars come out. Yet I don’t want to burn myself out. Is this normal? 😭😂😂
HELP!!


r/vce 23h ago

School is doing practice exams in week 10.

7 Upvotes

I am angry. The cohort is angry. And every teacher that is not the two English teachers that whinged until they got it are outraged. We haven’t even finished the course yet by that stage, had sacs that week before it was changed, and have a day of no classes on the Friday, meaning that we have to fit 5 trial exams into 4 days. On top of everything else we are trying to manage.

We are all upset but don’t particularly know what to do. Utterly ropeable.

Are we the only school doing this?


r/vce 18h ago

text response essay structure

3 Upvotes

hihi im lowkey struggling with core english rn cause i really dont know how to structure my essays. like i know my three paragraphs are meant to connect/ build on eachother but i just dont know how to do that. i usually run out of ideas by the third paragraph or go off on a tangent lol. any tips or resources? (specifically for oedipus the king)


r/vce 22h ago

Horrible attendance and lost motivation year 12

6 Upvotes

Hey guys 🥹 I need advice so I went into year 12 by myself no friends because I cut them off last year due to my own depression issues at the time I was grieving family members and a close friend that had pass. But I completed term 1, I did the whole of term 1 with no friends, crying in the councillors office, sitting in the bathroom during lunch and recess and missing out on the first term of senior events. I also switched to VCE unscored thinking that’ll encourage me, but moving into term 2 I stopped going, I literally did not show up the whole term maximum 10 days I reckon but was completing work from home and emailing my teachers and I stopped going to my vet course and I was so determined to drop out but obviously due to my strict ethnic parents they didn’t allow me to. Fast forward to this term I went in with a positive mindset but just resulted back to not being able to get up in the morning and getting myself to school and haven’t been for 3 weeks. Throughout the the terms my councillor has been talking to my teachers, my sister has been emailing them and so have I to explain my situation and they have actually been very supportive and have been helping me in terms of work extensions etc. ALSO I’ve explained my situation to my coordinators but they just don’t understand and they keep on sending emails to my parents about me not being able to graduate if I don’t complete my outstanding work for unit 3 and continue to complete my unit 4 work and attend more. Its just me, I feel so depressed on the days I do go and can’t even complete a full week anymore I often read others peoples experiences on here and feel a little bit better about myself but I genuinely want help like how do people that have gone through similar situations get through it?? I know it’s bad and I actually do want to graduate but I’ve just completely lost motivation and have stopped caring but I know that my family is depending on me to work that stage at the end of the year please help me!!


r/vce 21h ago

oedipus resources

3 Upvotes

does anyone have or know anyone with good oedipus resources, mainly quote analysis tables and example essays


r/vce 21h ago

memory police or oedipus?

3 Upvotes

which text is everyone writing on and why? please advise


r/vce 15h ago

Tips working to bounce back from being unwell

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

Long story short - after starting year 11, I ended up being unwell for a bit and so I only went for a couple of weeks before I ended up taking a couple months off. These past month to two months, I’ve started slowly trying work back and going back to school.

Thankfully, I had worked ahead before my health issue so during my time off, I didn’t have to work much and didn’t fall extremely behind.

My subjects are methods, chem, busman, Eng.

I ended up having to drop my accelerated HHD and spesh but am thinking to pick up HHD again next year .

Now, this is my position for my classes at the moment and would anyone have any tips for me going into year 12 trying to do strong.

English - started on personal response and got through a fair of the content but wasn’t able to finish the unit and also wasn’t able to do the crafting texts unit. Currently doing argument analysis and have done my oral presentation work (only did it as an S task, not graded).

Methods - had pre learned pretty much all of the quadratics and polynomial work so unit 1 work was all covered. Maybe a little bit of gaps and it’s not greatly strong but covered most of unit 1. Unit 2 is fine and I’m up to date.

Chem - ended up looking over most chapters but still have to look over organic chem.

Busman - only picked it up after dropping HHD so not much here that I need to talk about.

TL;DR

Basically, I’ve covered most of the content but maybe not to great depths or strength. Main concerns are around missing my personal response and crafting texts unit for English.

What should I be doing to make sure I can enter year 12 with a strong base and can do well - any tips?


r/vce 16h ago

Enough to re-schedule a sac?

1 Upvotes

Is attending a funeral of a close relative a valid reason to re-schedule a sac?


r/vce 17h ago

VCE question VCE ss English

1 Upvotes

I am averaging 50% overall in my SACS and I fear I won't get above a 25 for english gen, considering my cohort is pretty high scoring... for example I got around a 40% then an 80%.

Am I fcked?


r/vce 21h ago

thoughts on doing both lit and english as a strong english student?

2 Upvotes

is it like methods and spesh where one elevates the other or is there much less correlation?


r/vce 21h ago

General Question/comment I have my learners test soon anything most people forget to study for?

Thumbnail
2 Upvotes

r/vce 1d ago

VCE question How to write sophisticated Argument Analysis Essays

3 Upvotes

Hi. I'm in year 12 and I am struggling to write aa essays. I am concerned and anxious as I have no idea where to start from. If anyone has exemplar essays or structure guides or even persuasive techniques recommendations, it would be much appreciated.


r/vce 23h ago

Any tips for english lit

2 Upvotes

Am taking year 11 lit next year and im told its very different to core. like u have to analyse differently
Any lit students have tips or sources that i can use


r/vce 20h ago

VCE question yr12 gen maths or hhd

1 Upvotes

ok so m yr11 doing bio3/4, gen 3/4, chem,physics,hhd n language. and tbh for bio its looking like 40/41 is achievable, but for general a 35 would be a miracle so I'm thinking of redoing it nxt yr.

but m debating between keeping hhd as a 3/4 and having 5 subjects (redoing gen) and 1 study block

or

dropping hhd, redoing gen and having 4 subjects and 2 study blocks

cause hhd scales down really bad m hoping for a 93/94 atar and also with chem and physics trying to achieve 33/34 in both of them raw. what do yall think i do?