No more Mid year exams. Good or Bad?

[jmosh002]

Hi guys,
What is your take on VTAC removing all the mid year exams as of 2013.
Do you think it will seperate students more? Less pressure? Etc.

[lexitu]

- More pressure
- Less testing opportunities; more emphasis on one performance
- No spreading of the workload
- Incongruous with what happens in university
- No sense of finality to a unit

[aes_999]

To sum it up, generally bad.

[lexitu]

To sum it up, generally bad.

Yup. Just about the only advantage I can see is that it's not disruptive in the sense that some students are having exams and some aren't. The solution to that is that all subjects should have mid-years, not the converse.

[paulsterio]

lex, i actually disagree, i think that if all subjects had mid-years the courses would have to be significantly shorter. the issue with that is that some vce courses are already really time constrained.

in many ways, i agree that some subjects need mid-year exams on the basis that there is no continuity between Unit 3 and Unit 4.

for example, out of the subjects i did which had mid-years, chem and physics, neither of them required Unit 3 knowledge to do Unit 4, so in some ways, Unit 3 and Unit 4 are separate and distinct. you can assess them individually, as in Unit 4 can be assessed without any dependencies on Unit 3

with other subjects i did which did not have mid-years, english, maths and software development, i felt this was fair enough because in those subjects, Unit 4 cannot be assessed without also assessing Unit 3 material, which in some ways means a "double up" on Unit 3 material.

for example, in methods, you can't really do calculus without a strong understanding of functions and you can't do probability without an understanding of both functions and calculus. if methods were to be split up into two exams, functions will be assessed in both exams, because assessing calculus and assessing probability implies assessing functions.

that's why i think that it's fairest to have the subjects where there is NO CONTINUITY (e.g. the sciences) to have mid-year exams and subjects where there is CONTINUITY (methods) to have only end-of-year exams.

[pi]

+1 Lex

One positive I found is that now you will only have to worry about ONE physics exam rather than two! Less physics the better imo

lex, i actually disagree, i think that if all subjects had mid-years the courses would have to be significantly shorter. the issue with that is that some vce courses are already really time constrained.

I don't think they are making "significant" cuts though

[playsimme]

It doesn't give someone a chance to redeem themselves if they bomb out on one. Plus - they're now worth 66% so I call bullshit on them :s

[Unknown_one]

I assume that for the first year, it will be a heck of a trouble for those that wish to excell, since basically the essentials that they have been taught in years 11 and 12, are different from the ones that are to happen, for those that go for tutor in year 11, for those year 12 subjects, are heavily envolved within the things that may not be part of the exam at all.
After the first year of no mid years, I guess it will be easier, after the exam is released, there will be companies that will modify their courses and ensure that pretty much those that wish to get high can do so, but with the removal of the end of semester/mid year exams, then, the prices are bound to go up, as they have to have removed the midyears program...


But all in all, it makes a larger impact ont he students, if you screw up the mid year exam and get a A, and then on the end of years you ghet a A+, the fact that you have two exams means that you have two chances to compensate for it you screw up one exam, so, like the math exams, it is a chance to do well, and then a side chance for the chance to idk, how to put it, like get an A on the first exam, annd compensate that by getting an A+ on exam 2, if you get what I mean...

Understandably, they want to change it, but they are simply putting more stress on the kids, they have Unit 3 and 4 to worry about, instead of hyst Unit 3, in midyears, and then the fact that there are no practise exams for UNit 3 and 4 end of yuears, which is a big worry, some kids only get doing that well, by doning many practise exams, so thus comes a year with no actual practise exams that are from VCAA as well as simply the only resouirces they have are to do both exams from the year, with no actual key ideas on whether those questions witll be directly linked to the exam, or not, or if the instructors/exam writers take a different approcah for the yaer ahead....

[Mariammm]

- More pressure
- Less testing opportunities; more emphasis on one performance
- No spreading of the workload
- Incongruous with what happens in university
- No sense of finality to a unit

I agree and others have probably thought this way as well - I'm sure the complaints are overflowing, so why doesn't VCAA listen or at least give us a good enough reason to axe midyears apart from them being 'disruptive' or whatever... It was such an abrupt decision anyway
Considering that all cons outweigh the pros, if this didnt go well, would they just ressurect mid-years?
So who thinks midyears will return in 2014?

[pi]

So who thinks mid-years will return in 2014?

I doubt it, VCAA would always give a change like this a few years (at least 5) before reconsidering it

[Special At Specialist]

- More pressure --- This is year 12. There's going to be a shitload of pressure no matter how you set out the exams.
- Less testing opportunities; more emphasis on one performance --- Most people who go through the hardships of a year 12 exam don't want to ever have to repeat it. This way, the students get what they want.
- No spreading of the workload --- Yes there are. Ever heard of SAC's?
- Incongruous with what happens in university --- University studies expect you to learn something and memorise it, not forget it a few months later.
- No sense of finality to a unit --- There is a small sense of finality since the holidays come up, but there was never meant to be a huge sense of finality until the very end of the year.

Fixed. And one other point:
- A subject is a comparison of you to the entire state. If you find it hard, then chances are that other people will also find it hard. If you find it easy, then other people probably will too. There really is no advantage in saying "this system is easier to get better marks, so let's go by that" because your state ranking won't change much at all.

[paulsterio]

I think it's pointless to argue this because if we were to sit here and pick apart VCAA's faults, there are seriously larger faults than the abolishing of mid-year exams. The truth is, people will get used to it, in a few years time they won't even complain about it anymore as the new crop of students come up.

[Mariammm]

I think it's pointless to argue this because if we were to sit here and pick apart VCAA's faults, there are seriously larger faults than the abolishing of mid-year exams. The truth is, people will get used to it, in a few years time they won't even complain about it anymore as the new crop of students come up.

I guess thats right
If there was no midyear this year, nobody would be complaining now and I'm sure everyone would have performed just as well ... If a student is determined to do well, they will do so regardless of the exam structure

[paulsterio]

Mariammm, that's right, people generally complain of change in general as opposed to a bad change. If we had all be accustomed to one exam, we'd be complaining if VCAA decides to introduce mid-year exams

[nisha]

I think it's pointless to argue this because if we were to sit here and pick apart VCAA's faults, there are seriously larger faults than the abolishing of mid-year exams. The truth is, people will get used to it, in a few years time they won't even complain about it anymore as the new crop of students come up.

Says the guy who already completed VCE. No pressure for you, buddy.