Latin what a joke of a mark up...!

[eeps]

I agree with shinny; The whole point of scaling is to make things equal though, because from what I've heard from others, to get a 30 in Latin is just as hard as it is to get a 40 in any other subject. I wouldn't be so quick to judge before you've actually done the subject yourself.

To get 30 raw in Latin is as hard as to get 40+ raw in any other subject - there are many tenses in Latin and the grammar is also very tricky. It is impossible for any student to get 50 in Latin, due to the fact that not enough students in the state do Latin - only about 170 students or something - which isn't enough to make the "bell-curve", thus 47 is the highest score you can get in Latin. I'm currently doing Latin - Units 1/2.

The mark-up of Latin isn't necessarily is reflected in how hard the subject is, rather the students doing it - according to my teacher, on average the students doing Latin are smart, hence harder to do well in. I wouldn't say Latin is the hardest subject to do, though it does involve a lot of time and effort - to learn all the tables (i.e. verbs, irregular verbs, declensions, tenses). If you got 30 raw, going by last year (2009) that would scale up to 46.

I heard that no one has ever gotten a 50 in Latin because you require perfect scores on assessments for it.

If that's the case, then it is definitely difficult and thus is deserving of it's high scaling

That is true, yes.

It's not only private schools that take Latin as a subject, many other public schools have Latin as a subject. My school offers Latin as a subject and although it is private, it's not the only school.

The incentive for a subject like Latin is obviously the scaling, but in saying that; you'd be better off doing a subject which is easier and can guarantee a high SS. In my school, last year, we only had one student in the school get 40 raw for Latin. It's rare to find students ever getting 40+ raw for Latin, due to the sheer difficulty of the subject and the amount of students who do it.

EDIT: Doing Latin doesn't guarantee a score of 40+, it involves hard work and effort, as with any other subject. I wouldn't say doing Latin gets a guaranteed 40+ - don't rely on the scale-up of the subject.

[binders]

and anyway, doing latin for the scaling is probably the worst reason. It's good for learning grammar, enhancing your appreciation of english, getting some kind of window into classical thinking and learning to be analytic about language. my mates thought i took it to 'pick up latin chicks'. i'm not sure they know what latin is 

[eeps]

my mates thought i took it to 'pick up latin chicks'. i'm not sure they know what latin is 

LOL - "pick up latin chicks"? :\

and anyway, doing latin for the scaling is probably the worst reason. It's good for learning grammar, enhancing your appreciation of english, getting some kind of window into classical thinking and learning to be analytic about language.

Agreed.

[monicapham93]

yeah look my latin exam is tommorow
and fml.

[werdna]

Well think of it this way.. if you can get a 25 study score.. it'll go to 42 or thereabouts.

[monicapham93]

any bets 25 is hard to manage ... id take that if i could!!!

[Ghost!]

I thought the lead singer of the Melbourne band Little Red got a 50 in Latin several years ago?

[Russ]

It's not only private schools that take Latin as a subject, many other public schools have Latin as a subject. My school offers Latin as a subject and although it is private, it's not the only school.

Whilst this is true, consider the schools getting the top scores. In this manner it's like other "private school" subjects, like Classics or Renaissance History...so melbourne grammar, xavier, trinity etc.

[eeps]

Whilst this is true, consider the schools getting the top scores. In this manner it's like other "private school" subjects, like Classics or Renaissance History...so melbourne grammar, xavier, trinity etc.

Point taken.

[IntoTheNewWorld]

I don't think Latin should get the same +5 boost as the other (non dead) languages though...

[Ghost!]

I don't think Latin should get the same +5 boost as the other (non dead) languages though...

I agree, but why don't you think so?

[IntoTheNewWorld]

I don't think Latin should get the same +5 boost as the other (non dead) languages though...

I agree, but why don't you think so?

IMO I just don't think it fits the reasoning behind the boost, which I believe is something like to make more Australians billingual/multilingual? I wouldn't count someone knowing Latin as billingual in any sense.

[binders]

if the point of the boost is to promote 'linguistic and cultural capital', then i think it's valid for latin. 
you could argue that having people who can understand latin texts is part of what contributes to cultural capital.

as for the private schools getting top scores in latin, don't they do well more or less across the board?

[Ghost!]

IMO I just don't think it fits the reasoning behind the boost, which I believe is something like to make more Australians billingual/multilingual? I wouldn't count someone knowing Latin as billingual in any sense.

Yeah, my sentiments exactly.

[vexx]

Latin is far to high..
Considering you don't even have to know how to write anything in Latin for the exam, nor speak it for that matter.
It's simply comprehension which can be easily trained if one does not rely on their school - far more effective to self-teach to a level that would enable high marks on anything reading related, though the essay could still be problem for some..