Study Score Prediction Question Thread

[DJA]

last year's bio was easy...

[Yacoubb]

Isnt that what I said? Methods will probably stay about the same level as last year

Why do you reckon so? Wasn't last year's exam hard? I mean I want it to be the same level of difficulty; however, I believe that it may be slightly easier than last year's exam.

[~V]

Overall many of the 2013 vcaa exams were "easy" based on what i hear from people. Last time i went on facebook which was a while ago, someone said on VCE discussion space that bio, legal and chem, vcaa will take the difficulty up a notch. The post didn't seem like a troll as well

[Yacoubb]

Overall many of the 2013 vcaa exams were "easy" based on what i hear from people. Last time i went on facebook which was a while ago, someone said on VCE discussion space that bio, legal and chem, vcaa will take the difficulty up a notch. The post didn't seem like a troll as well

Definitely agree for Bio and Chem (don't know about Legal).

[AngelWings]

Isnt that what I said? Methods will probably stay about the same level as last year

Why do you reckon so? Wasn't last year's exam hard? I mean I want it to be the same level of difficulty; however, I believe that it may be slightly easier than last year's exam.

Psyxwar, I apologise. They say it similarly, it's just worded differently (and me being my daft self, probably just skimmed it and forgot). Note that this was being rather general and not really specific.

Methods was harder than usual last year, so my prediction (please take this with a grain of salt) is that it will be easier than last year, so what Yacoubb said, but still have some difficult aspects to it, as per usual.

I believe that because we're the second year with both units of work in the one/two exams, depending on subject, this leeway will be near zilch, if anything... because VCAA loves us, don't they?

Overall many of the 2013 vcaa exams were "easy" based on what i hear from people. Last time i went on facebook which was a while ago, someone said on VCE discussion space that bio, legal and chem, vcaa will take the difficulty up a notch. The post didn't seem like a troll as well

Oh, oops. Sorry if I sound like one. 
It was completely unintentional.

[Zealous]

Why do you reckon so? Wasn't last year's exam hard? I mean I want it to be the same level of difficulty; however, I believe that it may be slightly easier than last year's exam.

Well, looking at A+ Methods cutoffs over the past few years (procrastinating a little...):

Year: Exam 1, Exam 2
2006: 37.5/40, 73.5/80
2007: 34.5/40, 62.5/80
2008: 37.5/40, 63.5/80
2009: 37.5/40, 69.5/80
2010: 36.5/40, 66/80
2011: 34/40, 64/80
2012: 36.5/80, 61.5/80
2013: 36/40, 61.5/80

So the cutoffs for A+ have been generally decreasing over the last few years, indicating harder exams. I think this years methods will be either similar or slightly easier (a tiny bit) - like if VCAA had made 4c from last years exam 2 a "Show that" question, that would be the sort of "slightly easier" exam and make it much more accessible to students.

Personally, I'm hoping for a much harder set of specialist exams, the cutoffs have been so scary the past few years.

[Vermilliona]

How come the English A+ cutoff always stays at 47/60, even with a hard language analysis in 2011? Is it just because there's so much variability in prompt difficulty for the different texts/contexts that it all balances out to be essentially the same?

[EspoirTron]

Isnt that what I said? Methods will probably stay about the same level as last year

I am going to have to agree here. I sat the Methods paper in 2013. Here's the thing, holistically speaking, the exam not insane or like quantum mechanics(when you compared it to papers like NEAP, TSFX and Kilbaha), but yeah, it was the most difficult VCAA paper I had done. The exam was relatively straight-forward for the most part, i.e. the multiple-choice was what I was expecting, as was the most of the extended answer. BUT, the reason why most people say it was difficult is due to that very last question. Personally speaking, I couldn't understand what the question wanted me to do. I think last year was at a similar difficulty to the other years (slightly greater), but the issue was, the question was phrased in a really perplexing way that confused so many students, including myself. The thing is everything after 4c was a blur. The most unforgiving part was that if you didn't get 4c it would be really difficult to get the rest (you needed to think of something really good if you were looking for consequential marks). So bam, 8 marks gone for so many students already.


In my opinion the exam will probably be of a similar difficulty, but I imagine that they'll probably phrase things a lot better and not make it so that you lose 8
marks if you can't get the first point of the question. And if you've done enough practise exams, know your stuff and they've phrased it well, you'll be set.

[~V]

Psyxwar, I apologise. They say it similarly, it's just worded differently (and me being my daft self, probably just skimmed it and forgot). Note that this was being rather general and not really specific.

Methods was harder than usual last year, so my prediction (please take this with a grain of salt) is that it will be easier than last year, so what Yacoubb said, but still have some difficult aspects to it, as per usual.

I believe that because we're the second year with both units of work in the one/two exams, depending on subject, this leeway will be near zilch, if anything... because VCAA loves us, don't they?

Oh, oops. Sorry if I sound like one. 
It was completely unintentional.

I wasn't referring to you! I was referring to the person on VCE discussion space on facebook saying how for a number of subejcts, the difficulty will be increased. On that group, there's heaps of trolls but i thought that post was genuine.

[dankfrank420]

last year's bio was easy...

Hey mate don't fret about it. Infact, it will probably be better for you anyway.

Examiners need ways to separate students. So when exams are easier, obviously there are more students who understand more concepts. To make up for this, VCAA markers will be stringent on responses so many students will lose marks for simple things like expression, which in many subjects like bio is as important as understanding the underlying concept.

If the exams are harder, VCAA markers don't need to be as stringent on responses and hence are less likely to ping you for making slight errors in expression. This is better for the smart students, as it allows them to better separate themselves from those who don't really understand the concepts.

[psyxwar]

last year's bio was easy...

Mate with your level of prep thats a good thing. Easy exams are horrible cuz dumb mistakes have more of an impact

[psyxwar]

Psyxwar, I apologise. They say it similarly, it's just worded differently (and me being my daft self, probably just skimmed it and forgot). Note that this was being rather general and not really specific.

Methods was harder than usual last year, so my prediction (please take this with a grain of salt) is that it will be easier than last year, so what Yacoubb said, but still have some difficult aspects to it, as per usual.

I believe that because we're the second year with both units of work in the one/two exams, depending on subject, this leeway will be near zilch, if anything... because VCAA loves us, don't they?

Oh, oops. Sorry if I sound like one. 
It was completely unintentional.

No need to apologise lol, was just confused if you were agreeing with me or saying something else.

My tutor who's pretty knowledgable about these things said that its unlikely that methods will get much easier. It could fluctuate a bit, sure, but the general trend has been harder exams. So I'd say expect a hard exam, not that thats a bad thing because hard=/= inaccessible. It just means the top end is separated better

[LiquidPaperz]

further

sacs 98/100 rank 3
exam 1: 37/40
exam 2: 58/60

[AngelWings]

further

sacs 98/100 rank 3
exam 1: 37/40
exam 2: 58/60

Depending on your cohort, my guess is about 44-48, give or take a few.
(I'm not good with this, so don't just play with these numbers on the ATAR calculator.)
What sort of cohort is this, or is it unknown?
(We can make a better estimation if you know.)

[LiquidPaperz]

strong cohort at top end, really strong