Girl gets 99.95, appeals for discrimination afterwards

[pi]

^wow, CONGRATS!

99.95%

WHY NO 100%?

Just on the side, in 2008, it WAS actually possible for her to get 100 under the then UAI system, so that question is "realistic" (although very stupid given it is now 2012).

[MJRomeo81]

If she managed to score 99.95 then I doubt her wrist problems had a severe impact on her ATAR / study scores.

I guess I could understand her reasoning if she scored 99.90 or something like that. But to appeal solely for what looks like to be bragging rights it's an absolute disgrace. As someone previously said, who the hell doesn't get wrist cramps in an English exam?

And she wanted to use a computer. That's the funniest part of all. Obviously she's never heard of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. If she has sore wrists while writing, I'd like to see her sitting at a pc for three hours typing without a rest. Oh wait she'd demand a rest for that as well.

[pi]

If she managed to score 99.95 then I doubt her wrist problems had a severe impact on her ATAR / study scores.

I guess I could understand her reasoning if she scored 99.90 or something like that. But to appeal solely for what looks like to be bragging rights it's an absolute disgrace. As someone previously said, who the hell doesn't get wrist cramps in an English exam?

In her defense:
1) It looks like her mother is more pushy, as she has been the persistent one
2) Maybe she could have got 100 instead of 99.95 (100 was actually possible to get in UAI in 2008 - 99.95 was NOT the highest score then)


But I agree that to bring it out now is just stupid and I don't agree with that.

[ninwa]

I have writing problems; I have a ganglion on my wrist that flares up when I write, so I cannot write fast at all. As a result, I did not finish A SINGLE EXAM (it was worse in English and Literature where I didn't finish a single essay for both exams - I had to leave them all half-finished to try and attain maximum marks. It was even worse for my Revolutions exam where I had a blood nose part-way through (I was sick in that week) which lasted at least twenty minutes (Not part of my argument; I'm just complaining about it ).

and you still got 91.10?

:\

[ProtonStar]

Haha well I reckon it was aliens, 'cause I seriously don't understand!
Mind you, my SAC marks saved me; I ended up with A+ for my GA1 and GA2 for all of my subjects (even though I never finished an English or Literature SAC either )

Also, I did not have to worry about my hand as much for Drama, so I ended up doing pretty well in that haha.

[lynt.br]

''But you want your disability to be sufficiently addressed with special examination provisions so that everyone has a capability to communicate what they know in the HSC examinations, otherwise it is not a fair test of your knowledge."

otherwise it is not a fair test of your knowledge.

not a fair test of your knowledge

test of your knowledge

lolololol

[Mao]

test of your knowledge

Bahahaha, well played.

[nacho]

I'm so surprised at how much hate she is getting.. She hasn't done anything wrong at all.
If a student felt there disabilities were inadequately catered for then just because they did really well doesn't mean they can't complain..
She obviously has nothing to gain from this, i mean shes in uni studying medicine already.. So why else would she do it unless she felt the HSC board were truly in the wrong?
Personally i think she's somewhat of a hero, the bizarre scenario just shines light into a flawed education system that fails to cater for those with disabilities.

And also it's not like she knew she was gonna get a perfect score. That would have caused so much stress and frustration in the exam.
Look at all of you getting on your high horses judging her and stereotyping her parents, wtf?

If she wins, she shouldn't be able to do certain things as a doctor. After all, "malfunctioning of the wrist" during a vaccination could result in serious injures in the patient, even moreso in surgery.
If she wants to claim on bullshit (let's be honest, this is bullshit), then she should get called up on it everywhere.
EDIT: Oh, and I don't think driving is safe if your wrist is at risk of malfunctioning - she could cause the car to swerve and crash into somebody else. Goodbye drivers license.

common dude, i've driven before, it's no where near as tedious as writing in an exam, were you are under pressure like that. i mean i've driven 1 hour and 30 minutes straight, and i've only got 25 hours on my L's and i managed that fine.
I doubt delivering a vaccination is that stressful on the hand. Perhaps she'd be limited to performing surgery though, since you need extreme precision and steady hands.. but so be it.
i dont see how you can claim on that being bullshit.

I have writing problems; I have a ganglion on my wrist that flares up when I write, so I cannot write fast at all. As a result, I did not finish A SINGLE EXAM ..... etc etc
tl:dr i was happy with my score and didnt complain

This is still besides the point. Good on you for getting your score, but the system clearly isn't fair if it doesnt cater for people like you and your friend.
Good on your friend too, that's really modest of both of you. but if your friend is as smart as you say he is and got and 88 with only 4 subjects, had vce catered for him properly, he may have got a score well into the 90s and been offered a scholarship?
what a waste, and how unfair.

sooo genuinely surprised at the reaction this is receiving.
when VCAA screwed up the Accounting templates, everyone i know from the previous year, including people who got from 45-50 complained about that, and they were 100% in there right to and it has nothing to do with being greedy or having some stereotypical asian mentality.


i'm finding it so hard to not add a 'screw all of you' at the end of this, but i think this final sentence will do.

im so much more passionate about shit when i have actual work to do..

[Truck]

I'm so surprised at how much hate she is getting.. She hasn't done anything wrong at all.
If a student felt there disabilities were inadequately catered for then just because they did really well doesn't mean they can't complain..
She obviously has nothing to gain from this, i mean shes in uni studying medicine already.. So why else would she do it unless she felt the HSC board were truly in the wrong?
Personally i think she's somewhat of a hero, the bizarre scenario just shines light into a flawed education system that fails to cater for those with disabilities.

And also it's not like she knew she was gonna get a perfect score. That would have caused so much stress and frustration in the exam.
Look at all of you getting on your high horses judging her and stereotyping her parents, wtf?

If she wins, she shouldn't be able to do certain things as a doctor. After all, "malfunctioning of the wrist" during a vaccination could result in serious injures in the patient, even moreso in surgery.
If she wants to claim on bullshit (let's be honest, this is bullshit), then she should get called up on it everywhere.
EDIT: Oh, and I don't think driving is safe if your wrist is at risk of malfunctioning - she could cause the car to swerve and crash into somebody else. Goodbye drivers license.

common dude, i've driven before, it's no where near as tedious as writing in an exam, were you are under pressure like that. i mean i've driven 1 hour and 30 minutes straight, and i've only got 25 hours on my L's and i managed that fine.
I doubt delivering a vaccination is that stressful on the hand. Perhaps she'd be limited to performing surgery though, since you need extreme precision and steady hands.. but so be it.
i dont see how you can claim on that being bullshit.

I have writing problems; I have a ganglion on my wrist that flares up when I write, so I cannot write fast at all. As a result, I did not finish A SINGLE EXAM ..... etc etc
tl:dr i was happy with my score and didnt complain

This is still besides the point. Good on you for getting your score, but the system clearly isn't fair if it doesnt cater for people like you and your friend.
Good on your friend too, that's really modest of both of you. but if your friend is as smart as you say he is and got and 88 with only 4 subjects, had vce catered for him properly, he may have got a score well into the 90s and been offered a scholarship?
what a waste, and how unfair.

sooo genuinely surprised at the reaction this is receiving.
when VCAA screwed up the Accounting templates, everyone i know from the previous year, including people who got from 45-50 complained about that, and they were 100% in there right to and it has nothing to do with being greedy or having some stereotypical asian mentality.


i'm finding it so hard to not add a 'screw all of you' at the end of this, but i think this final sentence will do.

im so much more passionate about shit when i have actual work to do..

She's getting 'so much hate' because in today's society just about anything and everything can be portrayed as a disability, and it often provides a direct disadvantage to those who aren't claiming having a *sore hand* as a disability. If her disability wasn't catered for, then do you think it would have been possible to obtain a 99.95? She would've had to get a 48-50 in English (most likely 50, 48 assuming she got scaling from Spec or a language) to get that high a score. Would someone with a crippling disability be able to finish an essay in that time?

In the case of JarrydIsBored, I think there's absolutely no reason why people in HIS situation with legitimate afflictions that prevent them from finishing exams, shouldn't be granted computers / extra time. In fact, you'll find there are provisions in SEAS which allow people to use computers in English exams - my friend is one of those people, and they have perfectly legitimate reasons for doing so. Your assertion that we have a "flawed education system that fails to cater for those with disabilities" is plainly untrue - have a look at the stats for the amount of people who get into UoM with SEAS, I don't remember the exact figure but it was on here earlier and it was something very high, approximately 42%.

People like her set a worrying precedent in our society because it blurs the line between people who genuinely deserve assistance and people simply taking advantage of the system. To say that the HSC didn't cater properly for a student who received 99.95 is absurd... especially one that is due to "hand cramps" - which I must reiterate - occurs to EVERYONE.

[pi]

She's getting 'so much hate' because in today's society just about anything and everything can be portrayed as a disability, and it often provides a direct disadvantage to those who aren't claiming having a *sore hand* as a disability. If her disability wasn't catered for, then do you think it would have been possible to obtain a 99.95? She would've had to get a 48-50 in English (most likely 50, 48 assuming she got scaling from Spec or a language) to get that high a score. Would someone with a crippling disability be able to finish an essay in that time?

Just recall that she was doing the HSC (UAI system where 100 is the highest UAI and not 99.95) and all subjects are out of 100 and not 50.

I'm not going to comment much on her disability and it's possible severity as we aren't given many details about it, however, I think her complaint is a lot less valid 4 years on from her graduation (my main issue with it). Had this have come up in 2008, I'd be a lot more supportive of it. I disagree completely about the mum complaining about her school assessment scores not being high enough - tough luck there.

[1ne]

-.- What difference does it make if she could have gotten 100? She got into her desired course (which is what the whole VCE ATAR game is for anyway), there's no point complaining 4 years onwards. Her complaint is actually a joke considering how worse off some people are. There are people faced with even tougher circumstances and in there case they don't get into there desired course, she clearly did.. some people just don't know how fortunate they are.. she should humble herself and move on because 99.95 ATAR is an amazing achievement, some people would kill for that score.

[nacho]

Okay.
aren't you already agreeing with me that our education system is flawed?  jarryd and his friend are already two examples of people that were not catered for.

Don't tell me our education system isn't flawed, because it isnt perfect, and it can definitely be improved, especially in aspects for catering for people with disabilities.
UoM's stats mean shit all because im talking about VCAA and HSC.
but, furthermore
'disadvantaged school' was one of the SEAS categories my school fell under, and ill be honest, we faced no shortage in facilities and my school, and had some awesome teachers. My ATAR score wasn't even that brilliant, so i can safely say i speak on behalf of the entire school (even those too stubborn to admit that their short comings were due to their lack of preparation and not the school's). i can honestly say it should NOT have been put on UoM's SEAS list, and i'm positive there would have been people out there who deserved a place in melb

The fact that this woman was approved of breaks during her exam should be enough for you all to stop patronising her of having 'some handcramps which everyone gets'.
she had a disability which was identified, and an attempt was made to cater for it, which did not happen.
hand cramps do occur to everyone, which is why it's not a disability because it's a norm. she obviously had more than hand cramps though.

we can go on and on about the intricate details of the facts behind her disabilities and judge her and her mother's character and motives, although thats hardly fair.

the system is clearly flawed and the fact that she got 99.95 doesn't mean she wasnt disabled and faced no ordeals.
last i remember there was a blind person that got an atar of like 97.
people learn to cope with their disabilties and this girl is undoubtedly smart, that doesn't mean that things can't be fairer

[thushan]

just remembered...a paraplegic (i think he was paraplegic) who was at my school opted to write his exams without a scribe, and it was excruciatingly painful for him to write, and he struggled so badly trying to write - least he got extra time. he ended up getting 99,95.

[Truck]

Okay.
aren't you already agreeing with me that our education system is flawed?  jarryd and his friend are already two examples of people that were not catered for.

Don't tell me our education system isn't flawed, because it isnt perfect, and it can definitely be improved, especially in aspects for catering for people with disabilities.
UoM's stats mean shit all because im talking about VCAA and HSC.
but, furthermore
'disadvantaged school' was one of the SEAS categories my school fell under, and ill be honest, we faced no shortage in facilities and my school, and had some awesome teachers. My ATAR score wasn't even that brilliant, so i can safely say i speak on behalf of the entire school (even those too stubborn to admit that their short comings were due to their lack of preparation and not the school's). i can honestly say it should NOT have been put on UoM's SEAS list, and i'm positive there would have been people out there who deserved a place in melb

The fact that this woman was approved of breaks during her exam should be enough for you all to stop patronising her of having 'some handcramps which everyone gets'.
she had a disability which was identified, and an attempt was made to cater for it, which did not happen.
hand cramps do occur to everyone, which is why it's not a disability because it's a norm. she obviously had more than hand cramps though.

we can go on and on about the intricate details of the facts behind her disabilities and judge her and her mother's character and motives, although thats hardly fair.

the system is clearly flawed and the fact that she got 99.95 doesn't mean she wasnt disabled and faced no ordeals.
last i remember there was a blind person that got an atar of like 97.
people learn to cope with their disabilties and this girl is undoubtedly smart, that doesn't mean that things can't be fairer

Jarryd and his friend were people that made a conscious decision not to use the provisions SEAS offers. There are provisions available which would allow them to get extra time/use a computer in an exam, but it seems from their posts, both made a conscious decision not to use them. I'm not saying this is either right or wrong - only that if they so desired, they could have used those provisions - so imo the system does cater to people with conditions such as theirs.

Our education system isn't "perfect", but neither is it "a flawed education system that fails to cater for those with disabilities". It does in fact cater for people with disabilities, and whilst of course it can always be improved, I reject your statement that it is so horrible when people with such a wide variety of disabilities are catered for in numerous ways.

Your point about your school not deserving to be on SEAS only supports my point? I was arguing that people are asking for benefits they don't deserve, and as you illustrate, that is the case with your school being considered disadvantaged (your words, not mine).

Perhaps it was those rest breaks that allowed her grades to jump from a B to an A+? Perhaps giving her anything else would've been too much and thus unfair to other students? We don't know the details of her specific case and thus can't make judgement on it, we can only make judgement based on what we know - her results. Once again, how you can say "she had a disability which was identified, and an attempt was made to cater for it, which did not happen" confounds me, when she obtained such high results and was given rest breaks during the exam.

A disability is defined as "A disadvantage or handicap, esp. one imposed or recognized by the law". The question we need to ask is if this disability provides a disadvantage large enough to warrant any extra benefits, on top of the ones she's already been given. As the article states her disability is 'malfunctioning of the wrist', and there is no medical information I could find via. the internet on a disability named as such, one can only assume that it refers to hand cramps - which as you said, is a norm.

It is not obvious in any part of the article that she has 'more than hand cramps'. It is insulting and degrading to people with genuine disabilities who have to fight real adversity to achieve their scores, when people obtain as close to perfect a mark as possible (0.05 off...) and still purport a claim that their disability was not catered for... when that disability is described as 'malfunctioning of the wrist', a disability which is seemingly illegitimate. 

@Thushan: Just to add, that person is obviously incredibly strong and intelligent to achieve a score like that with their disadvantage. But the fact that they were offered a scribe imo makes all the difference. He chose his path, through pain, and still managed to achieve excellence - but the system did cater for him by providing that choice. That is what matters.

[nacho]

my apolgies,i think i may have gotten a bit carried away here when i attacked our education system
my main premise lies in the fact that no one here has any right to attack this girl, which is what you have all done.

furthermore as nothing has been settled yet, in regards to this case i cannot establish whether or not our education system has failed her, or whether she is trying to take advantage of it.
this is a matter of opinion.

However yet;
in saying that 'perhaps it were those rest breaks that allowed her grades to jump from a B to an A+' then you'd be agreeing with the fact that there is a chance that she had a disability which prevented her from performing at her peak? and if so then i dont understand how her disability is just being dismissed as just some 'hand cramps' that everyone gets.. and shes just some stubborn little girl with no life and a lust for academic marks who's trying to juke the system.
Obviously there's no definite answer, but i'm glad you came through with the realisation that maybe there is a possibility that her disability is genuine.
Going off the article perhaps wouldn't be the best thing to judge a person and their motives by, it's the media... seriously.

my school example does indeed support your point, and i dont disagree with much of what your saying, i know people take unfair advantage of the system.

just to get back on track, i dont see why she is getting all this judgement and attack on her character, based off an article.

the question we need to ask ourselves is not whether her disability provides a disadvantage large enough ..., because we don't know anything about her disability.
which is why you just cant go on attacking her.