Is there any safeguard against irrelevant or pointlessly difficult SACs?

[gonzo]

This year I have faced numerous SACS that not only do not really test a deep knowledge of the curriculum, instead focusing on the teachers' numerous fixations and predilections that aren't directly or otherwise examinable. While I've done alright on most, I just can't help but think that if these sacs were assessed by some process of auditing, they would not be deemed as satisfactory. The problem is twofold: people often do not do as well as they would like due to some of questions, which has an influence on study score; and if the teachers focus is skewed, then the SACS don't prepare students for the final exam. Is there anything that can be done about my concern?

[cara.mel]

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter at all if you all don't do well, as long as you're doing less bad then others then thats whats important So it won't have an influence on your study score if you are still being ranked in an accurate order.

Your other part of the question, I do not know. Possibly ask someone high up in power in your school you trust (or wait for other replies here )

[cara.mel]

Yeah. Do you know how others in your class are going?
I always did cos I'm from a private school and some people took SACs way too seriously, but I don't know about the culture at your school - do you know if your estimate of rankings from sacs is consistent with what the order should be like?

Also, as bad as this sounds: play their game. Learn the useless junk for sacs only to forget it afterwards. If you know your teacher's fixations, learn them.
I know that's not a solution, but its something to do in the mean time.

[Mao]

SACs are audited if the rankings do not reflect exam performance, or if exam performance is highly skewed [too high or low]. VCAA may also choose to audit SACs based on other reasons [a number of them are chosen randomly].

if you think the SACs do not reflect the learning outcomes, you should approach that teacher to discuss that in a mature manner. where that is not possible, voice your concern to your year-level coordinator, sub-school leader or principals.

but do keep in mind that you do not want to create difficult times for your teacher, co-operation is very important.

[Mao]

mmm
it seems a bit contradictory here:

I just can't help but think that if these sacs were assessed by some process of auditing, they would not be deemed as satisfactory.

then

they can argue that the SACS focus on learning outcomes but include additional and related material which assists in the learning process.

so it appears that the SACs are not completely oriented on the learning outcomes, but still fulfils the VCAA criteria?

it might just be a way to try to accurately rank you guys. so long as the performance is not overall skewed, there's no need to worry too much.

[Collin Li]

Sort of off-topic, but:

Melbourne High sets their Specialist Maths "project" SAC on an extra-curricular topic every year. In my year they did hyperbolic functions. This year, they're doing first-order linear differential equations.

Personally, I found that it helped you deal with the extended response questions, where you are given something you haven't seen before, and you have to work your way through it.

[Mao]

so you are saying that the problem-solving component, where a person has to deal with new materials, is weighted too heavily, and people who are not comfortable with new materials are disadvantaged?

I believe that is simply a way to accurately rank the cohort.

I can understand that for some, it will be a disadvantage, and VCE on the main part is about achieving in predictable settings. However, I do agree with your specialist teacher's focus on academic enrichment. Specialist maths is very close to university mathematics, and problem solving skills is very important. It would have been different for the case of Methods [as the name suggests].

[Mao]

Firstly it occurs in more than one subject so framing it only in terms of Specialist is almost besides the point, but (I'd rather be vague) every single SAC this entire year has been impossibly difficult and contained little of what features in the text book or what was learned in class, instead focusing on exceptions and using Spesh as a starting point for stuff taught at Uni. Although marks themselves don't really matter, people who got high forties (raw) in methods last year should not be consistently getting 35-50% on every Specialist SAC, as everyone is getting. As much as one can opine that problem-solving is good and it allows you to deal with new material and all that, tutors who have viewed these SACS and teach or have taught Specialist regard them as so difficult that it's almost funny. The teacher deems it more important to prepare us for Uni maths (which no one is interested in) than for the final exam. Anyway...

aha! so SAC results are skewed, which is bad.
"academic enrichment" should be encouraged only in a strong group, where average-difficulty assessment would give skewed results. In this case, however, it is clearly overdone. I do suggest you explain the importance of ranking in terms of statistical moderation of SACs to your teacher, so that he can tone it down and try to reflect accurately the ability of your cohort (rather than squeezing the cohort into an unecessarily small range).

I take back the previous statement.

at the end of the day, however, the best way to go about this is to either have a discussion with him or relevant authorities [but try not to involve VCAA, that'll be too much of a headache], or put up with it for another 9 weeks [not long to go!]

[brendan]

thus altering the rankings unfairly.

How so?

[excal]

The talented ones at maths will still be on top and vice versa?

You should talk to your teachers, failing that, go up the food chain. It is the only solution. Blaming it on a 'sticky situation' and on a VCE forum will not help.

The audit process will be too late for you.