Questions about methods/spesh

[snowisawesome]

Few questions about methods/spesh
1. Is it true that year 11's who do methods 3/4 and then do spesh 3/4 in year 12 lose a bit of potential on their study score?
(as in, a year 11 doing methods 3/4 who gets 43 raw could get 48 raw if they did it in year 12 alongside spesh?
2. The content of spesh is harder than methods, but the application of methods is harder then the application of spesh
Any more thoughts?

Mod edit: Split from Methods Q&A, question applies to both spesh and methods.

[Sine]

Few questions about methods/spesh
1. Is it true that year 11's who do methods 3/4 and then do spesh 3/4 in year 12 lose a bit of potential on their study score?
(as in, a year 11 doing methods 3/4 who gets 43 raw could get 48 raw if they did it in year 12 alongside spesh?
2. The content of spesh is harder than methods, but the application of methods is harder then the application of spesh
Any more thoughts?

Mod edit: Split from Methods Q&A, question applies to both spesh and methods.

1. nope, plenty of people 50 both in different years. Even 2 years apart sometimes (year 10/12)
2. The content difficulty is more or less the same difficulty if you are decent at maths (which generally is the case if people do meth + spec). Difficulty is always personal but generally most people think methods application is harder. However imo spec is harder to full mark/98%+ due to the time constraints. I think at a lower level e.g. 25-35 raw a lot of people (although probably not the majority) find spec easier since you only need to know the mechanics.

EDIT: also adressing point 1 I've noticed that heaps of people kill their year 11 3/4 subjects getting 47+ raw but don't do as well in year 12 e.g. only low 40's this might be due to complacency or that they just can't handle the workload.

[Willba99]

I think, especially this year, the methods exam was much more about application of knowledge i.e. looking at a problem and deducing which techniques had to be applied. The actual application was reasonably easy. In contrast, the spesh exam was "simpler", as it was much more an exhibition of the study design, so this might have appealed more to those who struggle to think outside the box.

[snowisawesome]

Is 35 raw in methods as hard as everyone, including teachers, say it is?
Thanks for the above responses btw

[zhen]

Is 35 raw in methods as hard as everyone, including teachers, say it is?
Thanks for the above responses btw

I think this differs from person to person. Some may think that a 35 raw in methods isn’t too difficult, while others may think that it’s very difficult. It depends on the individual, as everyone has different strengths and weaknesses.

[snowisawesome]

I think this differs from person to person. Some may think that a 35 raw in methods isn’t too difficult, while others may think that it’s very difficult. It depends on the individual, as everyone has different strengths and weaknesses.

Thanks Zhen
The reason i asked was because i asked my teacher the difficulty of getting 35 for methods and she said that to get 35 raw you have to basically aim for 45 raw due to how hard it is. But i suppose it does depend on the individual person.

[Unbreakable]

1. I'd say that it has less to do with an improvement in mathematical ability, than it does exam experience, maturity and composure. The way I see it for Methods, is that the content isn't actually too bad. Everyone can learn to do the basic formulas, familiarise themselves with the material and 'understand' everything about the course per se, but those who push for the higher scores are those who can perform in an exam and have their knowledge remain firm against VCAA's inevitable "unseen" questions.
2. imo spesh is a bit more plain in terms of its imagination. The maths itself is definitely harder, however I do agree that it requires you to think less outside the box and establishes its difficulty based on the math alone - not some scenario trickery as is often seen in methods. To put it in other words, methods I would look at a question and be able to visualise every single step and operation I would need to complete to reach a certain answer, but in spesh I would often look at a question and have to put pen to paper, crunch numbers and run some calculations before the answer would appear.

[snowisawesome]

Do people ever repeat methods in year 12 after doing it in year 11? And what study score generally makes people repeat methods?
(raw scores)

[cookiedream]

Do people ever repeat methods in year 12 after doing it in year 11? And what study score generally makes people repeat methods?
(raw scores)

Yes, I know quite a few people (maybe 3 or 4?) who did Methods with me in Year 11 but repeated it in Year 12. Most of them got in the 30s in their first try, but one of them got 41 raw (they got 42 raw when they repeated) - this person was quite confident with their ability, so they expected a much higher score.

[Quantum44]

Do people ever repeat methods in year 12 after doing it in year 11? And what study score generally makes people repeat methods?
(raw scores)

A few people at my school who did methods in year 11 decided to repeat it as they got high 30s/low 40s and wanted high 40s. IMO it’s generally not worth it but I know someone who went from 41 —> 48.

[Sine]

not worth it due to how well methods scales. Although most would repeat it for pride and not the aggregate value.
40--->45
45 -->49
50--->50.XX

[snowisawesome]

How many study score do people generally improve by and what would be the highest study score someone would get before choosing to repeat it?

[OchreOrca]

How many study score do people generally improve by and what would be the highest study score someone would get before choosing to repeat it?

It depends on the person who is wanting to do it again. How hard they try and how much effort they put in. If you try hard, you are likely to get a higher score than if you don't try as hard.
And for your second question, it is personal choice. You can choose to repeat it if you are unsatisfied with your score. Different people have different opinions and expectations.

[snowisawesome]

Thanks guys

[exit]

I know two people who got 42 in Methods and decided to repeat it. One got 41 the following year and the other 48. (both these people ended up with the same atar!) Once you are well in the 40s, luck plays a huge factor in determining your study score. Also, Methods can get  pretty tiring after studying it for the long time