Sac Moderation

[homeworkisapotato]

Hi AN! I hope you are all doing well 
I was wondering for subjects like Bio where you have two ranks, how do they moderate your sac marks?
I'm in the top ten in Unit 3, but I think I might have dropped a bit for Unit 4... so which rank would they use in the exams to moderate my sac marks?

[Sine]

Hi AN! I hope you are all doing well 
I was wondering for subjects like Bio where you have two ranks, how do they moderate your sac marks?
I'm in the top ten in Unit 3, but I think I might have dropped a bit for Unit 4... so which rank would they use in the exams to moderate my sac marks?

Both ranks are used, so it is very possible (and likely) you will get difference scaled sac scores for each unit.

The unit 3 sac ranks will be compared to the exam and then independently the unit 4 sac ranks will be compared to the exam.

[chem-nerd]

Where U3 and U4 results are reported as separate GA grades, they are each moderated against an external grade (mostly based off the exam mark and converted to a scale that matches the GA total). So you can have different rankings and different moderations for each GA result.

SAC marks are not averaged - the study designs clearly outline how many marks each SAC is out of and the total marks for the GA result.  Students might be given a percentage or a mark out of X, but the teacher will report the result as a whole number.

[homeworkisapotato]

Thank you so much! To get 40+ in Bio at Suzanne Cory, what do you think the target minimum rank should be?

[waterangel82]

Thank you so much! To get 40+ in Bio at Suzanne Cory, what do you think the target minimum rank should be?

I'd say the best bet is to be in the top 15-20. Looking at how many people get 40+ in bio each year, it seems to vary between 15-20. That being said, based on my experience of bio at Cory (this was 2017 and prior), SACs rankings were quite poor indicators of final exam performance (I was probably ranked 10-15 in SACs but ended up with equal first study score in the end).

[homeworkisapotato]

I'd say the best bet is to be in the top 15-20. Looking at how many people get 40+ in bio each year, it seems to vary between 15-20. That being said, based on my experience of bio at Cory (this was 2017 and prior), SACs rankings were quite poor indicators of final exam performance (I was probably ranked 10-15 in SACs but ended up with equal first study score in the end).

Thank you! Were you top 10-15 in both Unit 3 and Unit 4?

[waterangel82]

Thank you! Were you top 10-15 in both Unit 3 and Unit 4?

I'm not sure if I was in the top 10-15, since our teacher didn't tell us our ranks, but maybe I was. I didn't do too well on 2 sacs (got 85 and 87 when a lot of ppl got 90+), so I don't think my ranking was that good. I think my average for unit 3 was like 90 and my average for unit 4 was like 88, so I definitely didn't think I would be in the top 10.

[Coolgalbornin03Lo]

I'm not sure if I was in the top 10-15, since our teacher didn't tell us our ranks, but maybe I was. I didn't do too well on 2 sacs (got 85 and 87 when a lot of ppl got 90+), so I don't think my ranking was that good. I think my average for unit 3 was like 90 and my average for unit 4 was like 88, so I definitely didn't think I would be in the top 10.

I have been averaging high 80s at my school when the average is usually about 73 however in the last SAC the average was 73 and I got 77, will this have a HUGE impact on my study score?

[homeworkisapotato]

Hey! It's less about the exact percentage and more about your ranking, so even if you got 77, if you maintained your ranking it shouldn't be a problem (correct me if I'm wrong though)

[Coolgalbornin03Lo]

Hey! It's less about the exact percentage and more about your ranking, so even if you got 77, if you maintained your ranking it shouldn't be a problem (correct me if I'm wrong though)

I do know its about ranking not percentage but I gave the % to give an idea of ranking. I don't think I maintained my ranking as I got above the average but was quite close. So I am asking if "slipping" down the rankings once is likely to have happened from one bad SAC.

[waterangel82]

I have been averaging high 80s at my school when the average is usually about 73 however in the last SAC the average was 73 and I got 77, will this have a HUGE impact on my study score?

Getting a 77 is unlikely to really impact your study score. Sure, you may have gotten average for one SAC and that's probably going to affect your unit 4 ranking, but if you smash the final exam, it really doesn't matter. For instance, when I got 87 and 85 in my bio SACs, my ranking would have slipped a fair bit (a fair few people got 90+), but I must have done really well in the exam to get 50 in the end. The other person who got 50 also had a very similar ranking to me, and I remember they got 80 in one SAC too. So the main thing with bio is to smash the final exam, cos that matters so much more than the SACs.

[homeworkisapotato]

Thank you! Do you have an idea of what rank I could be in Unit 4 with an average of 85-88%? in Suzanne Cory?
Edit: Also I think for Unit 3 you were definitely in the top 10. Usually people don't do well in their first Unit 3 sac so the cohort average is like in the 70's.

[waterangel82]

Thank you! Do you have an idea of what rank I could be in Unit 4 with an average of 85-88%? in Suzanne Cory?
Edit: Also I think for Unit 3 you were definitely in the top 10. Usually people don't do well in their first Unit 3 sac so the cohort average is like in the 70's.

I'm not exactly sure how strong your bio cohort for this year is (I feel it really fluctuates each year at Cory), but I think you might be in the top 10, very likely in the top 10-15. I had a similar average (I think 88%), so you should be good.