Not getting the marks i want

[Edward Elric]

So Basically I started year 12 with the mindset that im going to do my best and try as hard as possible to get good grades. My current situation is this, although i work my ass off for every assignment, sacs, etc... Like im talking 5-6 hours a day and even more on the weekends, i am still only getting in the high 80s in most of my subjects. My Question is what separates the students who gets those 90s and above to those bordering around the mid 80s to 90s. At this rate I am losing confidence in my abilty to do well at school, and I just want to hear any advice from anyone who managed to push there grades up to an A+ in there subjects or anyone who is or was for the most an A+ student consistantly. (If your a good student and got low marks from the diffulties of your sacs but high compared to other students please give your advice as well)

[nerdmmb]

So Basically I started year 12 with the mindset that im going to do my best and try as hard as possible to get good grades. My current situation is this, although i work my ass off for every assignment, sacs, etc... Like im talking 5-6 hours a day and even more on the weekends, i am still only getting in the high 80s in most of my subjects. My Question is what separates the students who gets those 90s and above to those bordering around the mid 80s to 90s. At this rate I am losing confidence in my abilty to do well at school, and I just want to hear any advice from anyone who managed to push there grades up to an A+ in there subjects or anyone who is or was for the most an A+ student consistantly. (If your a good student and got low marks from the diffulties of your sacs but high compared to other students please give your advice as well)

Students "in the 90s" don't always necessarily score 90+. They fail miserably (depending on their standards, an 80 may be a fail) but try harder the next time

You're not any different to a high-achieving student. The fact that you're lamenting over your current scores (which btw high 80s are also considered an A+) then you've got nothing to worry about. Also, scores in school assessments are not measured by VCAA- rather its your ranking.

Still, if you're keen on scoring an average of 90+ then try to reflect on your past assessments and review not only your incorrect responses but also correct answers.

And remember, its only April. If you're already acing your subjects in the high 80s, imagine the improvement and where you'll stand by November. Just keep practising and don't let your emotions take the better of you.

[Blondie21]

Mmm I am going through the exact same thing

For my first SAC, I understood the material and was the one helping people out in class.. then I got my SAC result and was like 'wtf!?? why did everyone do so much better? '

There is only a small difference between an A and an A+ (only a few marks)

It comes down to the smallest details: READING THE QUESTION PROPERLY and keeping in mind what EVERY mark is allocated for.
Another thing is whenever you're unsure of ANYTHING ask your teacher (or here) ASAP.

Don't lose confidence. Use this as an incentive. You're SO CLOSE to achieving those brilliant scores - you've just got to be more careful in SACs.

I'm not a straight A+ student but I understand exactly where you're coming from :-) Good luck!!!!

[Tasmania Jones]

It's not how much you study, it's how you study... 

[Edward Elric]

Still, if you're keen on scoring an average of 90+ then try to reflect on your past assessments and review not only your incorrect responses but also correct answers.

I think that would be a great idea, thank you.

And remember, its only April. If you're already acing your subjects in the high 80s, imagine the improvement and where you'll stand by November. Just keep practising and don't let your emotions take the better of you.

I have not really thought about it but Im treating everything like sacs and assignments as stepping stones into doing well in the exam, so like if im only getting 80s atm then most likely my exam result will reflect a similar grade, which is not as well  i want. But thanks for you input ill keep it in mind throughout the year.

[Edward Elric]

Mmm I am going through the exact same thing

For my first SAC, I understood the material and was the one helping people out in class.. then I got my SAC result and was like 'wtf!?? why did everyone do so much better? '

There is only a small difference between an A and an A+ (only a few marks)

It comes down to the smallest details: READING THE QUESTION PROPERLY and keeping in mind what EVERY mark is allocated for.
Another thing is whenever you're unsure of ANYTHING ask your teacher (or here) ASAP.

Don't lose confidence. Use this as an incentive. You're SO CLOSE to achieving those brilliant scores - you've just got to be more careful in SACs.

I'm not a straight A+ student but I understand exactly where you're coming from :-) Good luck!!!!

Its so great to know that there are others out there in a similar position as me. And I agree with you that careless mistakes and not reading the question properly could separate the as and a+ students. Very encouraging words and thanks for your advice.

[Edward Elric]

It's not how much you study, it's how you study... 

Could you elaborate on "not how much you study, but how you study" thanks

[walkec]

Could you elaborate on "not how much you study, but how you study" thanks

For me, this is making sure I put more focus into studying the things I don't feel as comfortable with.
Also, spend your time also doing things that will be highly productive. Eg. taking an active approach to revision and making summary posters, teaching someone else, doing practice questions etc instead of just reading over notes from class.

[Tasmania Jones]

Could you elaborate on "not how much you study, but how you study" thanks

Well, it seems like you work hard but you aren't getting the marks you deserve.
Look at where you are losing marks on your SACs-is it because of silly mistakes, or bad wording/explanations, or metal blanks during the SAC, or do you simply not understand the content?
Use study methods that help these areas.
e.g.
If it is silly mistakes/bad explanations, do more practice questions and mark them harshly.
If it is mental blanks, do more questions under time pressure.
If you don't understand the content, ask your teacher for help.

Is your study free of distractions? e.g. checking FB every 5 mins probably won't help you retain information.

[Jono_CP]

You are doing brilliantly!

I too work very hard, but struggle manfully to get A's!

E.g. In Further Maths I am on a D, haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

I like humanities subjects because even if you are an incompetent such as myself, when all comes to worst, you can rote-learn the information.

[Jono_CP]

Could you elaborate on "not how much you study, but how you study" thanks

Not sure if I am the right person to provide advice...

I wrote notes in Unit 3, like months ahead of the class and I failed to remember most of the information during SACs.

This was because I didn't review them regularly.

Now I make notes just before the SAC, and concentrate on understanding the content and completing practice papers.

I still think that studying for a prolonged period of time can reap enormous rewards for those who do it correctly. But I know now, that this does not necessarily work for me. E.g. I might work for the 5-6 hours, but instead of notes doing a variety of questions, reading over, highlighting etc...

[literally lauren]

It's not how much you study, it's how you study... 

^this x ∞

You might be studying for 6 hours a day, that doesn't mean you're studying effectively, and that certainly doesn't mean you're automatically going to score better that someone who's only studied for one hour.

Don't focus on quantitative improvement (ie. I got a 92 last time and an 87 this time, I'm getting worse!) but rather qualitative improvement (ie. I did well in the MC section, so if I give myself more time I can get to the extended responses quicker, or, my expression was dodgy here and that impacted my clarity, but I still understand the content, so I'll work on phrasing my ideas more fluently.)

Know what you're doing wrong beyond the fact that you're scoring in the 80s.

[Limista]

I also just wanted to add, that you might want to try doing the 'harder' questions for practice?

Suppose it's a maths subject. You know that there's going to be at least one question that separates people who've mastered the concept, from people who know it well.

So, get your hands on the trickier practice questions, and do them over and over until you understand them well. These harder questions may be from past exams, or exam writers who publish questions that are reminiscent of VCAA questions. I actually found that certain company exams, like Neap, were more challenging and worthwhile investing time in, when compared to past VCAA exams. Maybe it was because all the questions in these exams were tricky, as opposed to only a few in the VCAA exams being challenging. I also felt that while Neap and TSFX exams went into the 'nitty-gritties' of the course, which the teacher said we didn't really need to know, I still covered those questions. It just made me feel more confident, and helped me to understand the relevant material to a greater depth.

I also think I read that you're doing about 6 hrs of study a day? That's a lot of study time, and I do believe that you are focusing solidly during that time. Maybe just slightly alter what you do in that time, by doing more challenging questions. That should bring you up to the A+ mark. 

[JackSonSmith]

I would say getting up to 90 is up to the amount of work ethic. Those extra % come down to your deeper understanding of the topic/subject. I find that sitting down and deeply thinking about the novel (for English) helps me to write better essays rather than just writing many practice essays.