Class of 2014! :D

[M_BONG]

Can someone explain how St Kevin's got seven 50s in English? How did they get so many perfect scores? Are the students immensely talented, or are the teachers/resources fantastic? Or is a combination of both?

That is something that has always interested me, because my school hasn't had a 50 in english in a few years now, so it is hard to ascertain what is required to achieve such a score. Why is it that some schools seem to excel in English, year after year?

It's a little bit about how SACs are marked and the sort of expectations your teachers give you.

In MHS, all our SACs are crossmarked. Teachers take six days off (so one for each SAC) each year to moderate and readjust scores so you aren't being over or underinflated in terms of your expectations and you actually know what a "9" standard is. Some teachers give out 10s too easily at other schools and students don't strive to work harder!

Teachers aren't remarkably good, although there are one or two amazing ones. Resources? Meh, same as my old school.

[nikegod]

It's a little bit about how SACs are marked and the sort of expectations your teachers give you.

In MHS, all our SACs are crossmarked. Teachers take six days off (so one for each SAC) each year to moderate and readjust scores so you aren't being over or underinflated in terms of your expectations and you actually know what a "9" standard is. Some teachers give out 10s too easily at other schools and students don't strive to work harder!

Teachers aren't remarkably good, although there are one or two amazing ones. Resources? Meh, same as my old school.

Do you feel the students who achieved 50s at MHS were much better than you? The difference between 48 and 50 isn't very large (~.5%), so were you aiming for, or rather, expecting, a 50? (To the extent that any person can 'expect' a 50 in a subject that is inherently subjective)

[spectroscopy]

Can someone explain how St Kevin's got seven 50s in English? How did they get so many perfect scores? Are the students immensely talented, or are the teachers/resources fantastic? Or is a combination of both?

That is something that has always interested me, because my school hasn't had a 50 in english in a few years now, so it is hard to ascertain what is required to achieve such a score. Why is it that some schools seem to excel in English, year after year?

st kevins DOES have nuts resources and one of their english teachers lectures tsfx and is really a top bloke (Y)
not only that but they do poach a few kids with their academic scholarships and when you mix talent + resources and a supportive environment you get 50s

of course it depends on the year too, some years, some schools, do a certain book and the way the teachers taught them meant that they were very well prepared for a certain prompt in section A and a certain type of article in section C and that sort of thing

resources arent the be all and end all though, a girl got 99.95 from braybrook college this year and believe me when i say that school does not have much in terms of resources. but a common argument that ive heard from friends at poorer schools, is that the really bright students get alot of attention of the teachers outside of class hours, and the teachers are happy to help someone who can do really well. by the time you get to year 12 alot of the poorer students drop out, go to vcal or VET, and many dont have particularly high ambitions. if you chuck a freak in there who chose not to go to a select entry or get a scholarship to a private school, you have a kid who could rank 1 every subject and the only thing holding back their SS is their exam score.
And some people would raise the issue of the learning environment in such schools, which is definitely a problem especially in lower years, but a few of my friends who have gone to poorer schools(with small vce cohorots) like braybrook and deer park actually almost revere the top kids, and often hold back saying "you know what sir, im just going to self study this, you go mark such and suchs practice sac", and from what i hear, the teachers enjoy having a passionate student or two in their classes

[fareseru]

Come on guys, it's over now. We're all finished and our scores are definite, there's no point dwelling on it. Try living in Mildura and going to a crap public school, then you'll understand the term 'shitty resources'. It's time to live life.

[M_BONG]

Do you feel the students who achieved 50s at MHS were much better than you? The difference between 48 and 50 isn't very large (~.5%), so were you aiming for, or rather, expecting, a 50? (To the extent that any person can 'expect' a 50 in a subject that is inherently subjective)

Yes, I was hoping for a 48+ but I don't really care tbh since it's over.

Difference between a 48 and 50 is probably 2 marks on the exam, to be honest. I think you can aim for a 50 - trying to constantly get 10s.

I never got many 10s (probably one or two) from my teacher, so my score is probably accurate. To the extent that is true, a 9 and 10 really depends (I think, anyway) how the examiner is feeling , the quality of essays they have previously read etc. An examiner who has read a crap load of shitty essays may feel amazed at a decent essay; an examiner who has read a crap load of amazing essays may not be inclined to give 10s. It's all determined by the whims of luck, to a large extent.

St Kevin's (sorry I mean Xavier,nvm) has this tutor called Chris - he calls himself VCE Super tutor on his site or somewhere like that - he charges $120/hr, my friend still only got a 41 and he paid $50 for an essay to be corrected each time as well. #notworth

[M_BONG]

Come on guys, it's over now. We're all finished and our scores are definite, there's no point dwelling on it. Try living in Mildura and going to a crap public school, then you'll understand the term 'shitty resources'. It's time to live life.

No one is dwelling here. It's good to reminiscence over what is generally a good year - and a subject that is by most accounts, good.

[nikegod]

Yes, I was hoping for a 48+ but I don't really care tbh since it's over.

Difference between a 48 and 50 is probably 2 marks on the exam, to be honest. I think you can aim for a 50 - trying to constantly get 10s.

I never got many 10s (probably one or two) from my teacher, so my score is probably accurate. To the extent that is true, a 9 and 10 really depends (I think, anyway) how the examiner is feeling , the quality of essays they have previously read etc. An examiner who has read a crap load of shitty essays may feel amazed at a decent essay; an examiner who has read a crap load of amazing essays may not be inclined to give 10s. It's all determined by the whims of luck, to a large extent.

Interesting, cheers.

St Kevin's has this tutor called Chris - he calls himself VCE Super tutor on his site or somewhere like that - he charges $120/hr, my friend still only got a 41 and he paid $50 for an essay to be corrected each time as well. #notworth

Hahahah holy shit, short of actually sitting the exam for you, how could that possibly ever be worth it? Never knew tutoring could be so lucrative!

Come on guys, it's over now. We're all finished and our scores are definite, there's no point dwelling on it. Try living in Mildura and going to a crap public school, then you'll understand the term 'shitty resources'. It's time to live life.

I think it's ok to look back on the year and reflect on what went well, what didn't, where you met your expectations, and where you might have fallen short. VCE is a pretty long process, so I don't think it is unwarranted to still retain some interest in the whole workings of it, at least when we're not even a week out of it. For sure, it's time to live life, but it seems like at the moment it's more a form of limbo than anything else. I didn't mean to give off the impression that I was unhappy with how my school prepared me for the exam, or that the quality of the resources was sub-standard, it's just interesting to consider what makes the top-schools, 'top'.

To be fair, Melb Uni does counteract the negative effects of attending a weaker school through their access melbourne scheme, which you have taken advantage of, right?

[nikegod]

st kevins DOES have nuts resources and one of their english teachers lectures tsfx and is really a top bloke (Y)
not only that but they do poach a few kids with their academic scholarships and when you mix talent + resources and a supportive environment you get 50s

of course it depends on the year too, some years, some schools, do a certain book and the way the teachers taught them meant that they were very well prepared for a certain prompt in section A and a certain type of article in section C and that sort of thing

resources arent the be all and end all though, a girl got 99.95 from braybrook college this year and believe me when i say that school does not have much in terms of resources. but a common argument that ive heard from friends at poorer schools, is that the really bright students get alot of attention of the teachers outside of class hours, and the teachers are happy to help someone who can do really well. by the time you get to year 12 alot of the poorer students drop out, go to vcal or VET, and many dont have particularly high ambitions. if you chuck a freak in there who chose not to go to a select entry or get a scholarship to a private school, you have a kid who could rank 1 every subject and the only thing holding back their SS is their exam score.
And some people would raise the issue of the learning environment in such schools, which is definitely a problem especially in lower years, but a few of my friends who have gone to poorer schools(with small vce cohorots) like braybrook and deer park actually almost revere the top kids, and often hold back saying "you know what sir, im just going to self study this, you go mark such and suchs practice sac", and from what i hear, the teachers enjoy having a passionate student or two in their classes

Can't say I had ever considered the extra support talented students receive at lower-ranked schools. Neither had I ever really thought about St Kevin's being on the same level of academic success as MGS, Scotch etc.

Again, interesting, thanks

[sjayne]

I feel like there is a big difference between getting say a 95 at a private/catholic school compared to getting a 95 at a non selective  public school but that's just the way things are. And that's why things like SEAS exist.

[fareseru]

I think it's ok to look back on the year and reflect on what went well, what didn't, where you met your expectations, and where you might have fallen short. VCE is a pretty long process, so I don't think it is unwarranted to still retain some interest in the whole workings of it, at least when we're not even a week out of it. For sure, it's time to live life, but it seems like at the moment it's more a form of limbo than anything else. I didn't mean to give off the impression that I was unhappy with how my school prepared me for the exam, or that the quality of the resources was sub-standard, it's just interesting to consider what makes the top-schools, 'top'.

To be fair, Melb Uni does counteract the negative effects of attending a weaker school through their access melbourne scheme, which you have taken advantage of, right?

Yeah it's interesting, sorry if I came across as angry haha, I guess I'm just over the moon with what I got and don't understand why people are suddenly questioning the system again. The same patterns have existed for years.... it's basically just the combination of lots of money for resources/teachers + parents who are brainy enough to get high-paying jobs that can pay for their kids to go to expensive private schools (I know that there are rich idiots but still). The difference between a 45 and a 50 comes down to a few marks on the exam and the performance of the cohort.

Yeah I mean not 'weaker schools', just schools that are severely disadvantaged due to location. The average is so poor mainly because there are only a few schools that offer VCE in the region. Plus they get minimal cash for teachers. Try getting to revision lectures etc in Melb when you live six hours away, that's being disadvantaged. I'd definitely say that being stuck here and not in Melb accounted for a few ATAR points (as opposed to blaming it on the actual school itself). Thankfully SEAS etc exist (and I'm taking advantage of them).

Anyway I don't want to argue. Bringing back bad memories of a shitty year under an incredibly unfair system. Glad it's over 

[Rod]

st kevins DOES have nuts resources and one of their english teachers lectures tsfx and is really a top bloke (Y)
not only that but they do poach a few kids with their academic scholarships and when you mix talent + resources and a supportive environment you get 50s

OMG this! I remember going to a lecture in year 11, and got this guy named Anthony or something that taught at Saint Kevins, HE WAS A BEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASST!! Remember him telling that most people in his class got 40+ haha. He was sooo gooood!!!! Had him for 3 hours and fell in love with his teaching hahaa. So funny, and knew his stuff SO WELL.

[DJA]

I literally haven't had a single moment of spare time these holidays :/ Seems like I'm always doing things hahaha

[mikehepro]

I feel like there is a big difference between getting say a 95 at a private/catholic school compared to getting a 95 at a non selective  public school but that's just the way things are. And that's why things like SEAS exist.

Hey my school is private and only 2 ppl got over 95 hahah
Some public school is actually good tho, like balwyn, Glen....

[Bluegirl]

There were 6 people at my public school who got over 90. Dux got 95.


The guy at my tourism course recommended me to a cafe owner so now I have to go on Monday morning and take my resume.
In the next few days I need to get my head around how to make all the different types of coffee ah.

[Zealous]

My public school ranked around 350-360 had 3 people over 95 but I'm not sure how many over 90. We were slightly stronger this year with 25 scores over 40 compared to 22 scores over 40 last year.

But yeah, Glen Waverly and Balwyn get crazy results - they do well every year and I think it's crazy that house prices rise in that area as a result.