how to get good study scores in a weak cohort??? plz help!!

[jean24601]

hi,
i'm in an extremely weak cohort (ranked close to 300 in vic, last year's median ss was 26) and i really need advice. i'm really worried that my cohort will drag down all my study scores. last year for my 3/4 (further) i was rank 2 and behind rank 1 by about 1 mark for sacs. we got very similar exam marks too, but rank 1 got 43 while i only got 39 because my ga1 got dragged down.
i'm told that to avoid getting affected by my cohort i have to be rank 1 but i dont think thats possible, while for all my subjects the strength of the general cohort is super weak there's a few very strong individuals in each of my subjects who will most likely get rank 1. idk what to do?? it's so unfair how vcaa only gets your rankings but not how close or far apart the rankings are.
ok reading over this it sounds more like a frustrated rant but i seriously need advice - i'm aiming for an 85 atar but i dont think i can get that when no matter how well i do on my sacs they'll all get moderated down by vcaa.
plz help? is it possible for me to get good study scores in a weak cohort without being rank 1? any tips??
thanks!!!

[Lear]

Okay so, i’m not sure whether this is how you understood it, but a very a common misconception regarding scaling is that you can get ‘dragged down’ by some of the weaker kids in your cohort. This is not the case.

Essentially what happens is your VCAA calculated SAC scores are determined by the performance of your rank in the exam. For example, if you were ranked 3rd in SACs at school, your internal SAC score will become the 3rd highest exam score on the external assessment.

Therefore, no one is really ‘dragging down’ your study score. This also means that you mostly do end up achieving what you deserve in terms of study score. If there are stronger individuals in your cohort it is likely they also perform well on the exam and hence their scaled internal sac scores will be strong, just like their exams. The lower end students are likely to under perform on the exam and in turn their calculated GA score will be much lower.

I think it’s simply important that you stop worrying about rankings and what not. Just do the very best you can. I think this system is quite fair and provides a reasonably accurate indicator of student achievement.

[BlameTheKulaks]

I can weigh in here from experience (school usually ranked around 300+) and i managed to achieve my scores anyway, whilst some others ranked even 5 or 6 got 40+ scores.

Ultimately, if you focus on improving you put yourself in a better position to actually achieve your goals rather than trying to control something you simply cannot.

[Bri MT]

Hey, I went to a school where we hadn't had a 90+ ATAR in years yet my cohort had 3 people who got a 95+ ATAR. I can assure you that at least 2 of them weren't rank 1 in all of their subjects.

If you do have very strong potential rank 1 students this could pull your scores up. One of the most challenging issues you will face achieving your goal is the mental pressure and unconfidence you're putting yourself through. If you work hard and efficiently I'm sure you can achieve your goal.

Focus on preparing and practicing for the exam and try to not to guess the technical aspects - you may just end up more just if you do. I'd also recommend looking at the subject specific guides and general studying advice here on atarnotes

Good luck