subject scaling (1 Viewer)

fush

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do marks get scaled in uni? like is ur raw mark in a test the mark you actually end up getting...or do they boost marks according to the bell curve thingy?

and whats the difference in scaling between normal and advanced subjects?
 

withoutaface

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You're scaled to a bell curve in most subjects afaik, and the difference between normal and advanced is that the latter's bell curve has more distinctions and high distinctions.
 

stazi

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Well ecop1001, work1001 i know don't get bell-curved
 

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but.... if normal can prove (as a whole) that they are better than the advanced students, your marks get scaled REALLY high.

but usually average mark is a credit. Even if the whole year failed an exam, they have to scale you up, because it would look appauling on their records "60% of students failed math1001" is not exactly a selling point
 

stazi

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llamalope said:
but.... if normal can prove (as a whole) that they are better than the advanced students, your marks get scaled REALLY high.

but usually average mark is a credit. Even if the whole year failed an exam, they have to scale you up, because it would look appauling on their records "60% of students failed math1001" is not exactly a selling point
thats stupid. how can a normal class go better than an advanced class as a whole.
 

llamalope

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if the people that chose to do advanced struggled with the work, whereas a lot of really smart people chose to do normal because they couldn't be bothered doing advanced...

my chem lecturer says that it is rare, but possible
 

withoutaface

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So far as I'm concerned if you decide to be lazy and do the 100x level subject over the 190x subject when you're perfectly capable of doing the latter you don't deserve the HD's.
 

Generator

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If you fail, you fail. Even though for most units there is a curve that results are aligned with, that curve does not include the fail grade. If 60% of the course deserves to fail following an exam, then that is what happens (then again, given recent reports, that may not be the case).
 

stazi

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Generator said:
If you fail, you fail. Even though for most units there is a curve that results are aligned with, that curve does not include the fail grade. If 60% of the course deserves to fail following an exam, then that is what happens (then again, given recent reports, that may not be the case).
no this isn't what happens. If 60% of the year students fail the exam, whilst in the previous year 10% fail: obviously something is amiss. They would compare assessment marks between years as well, and if they are similar, then chances are that they made the exam too bloody difficult.
 

Generator

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The second sentence wasn't as clear as I had hoped. By following an exam I meant after the exam and other assessment results have been compiled (if the exam isn't a 'must pass this or fail' exam, that is). It isn't so much a case of the material being hard, but one of meeting the required standard and level of understanding. However hard a particular exam/assessment may be, if you can demonstrate that you can grasp (understand and apply) the material then I doubt that you would be failed. However, if you cannot grasp the material, then you deserve to fail (be it a particular exam/assessment or the unit).
 

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SpoRTsGaL said:
BIOL1101 was bloody hard today. I don't think many people were happy with it i.e. many might have failed. I might be one of those. Oh, and this is the first time the uni is doing this subject.
really? i didn't know that...

yes it was bloody hard *cries*

hope we pass *crosses fingers*
 

SmokedSalmon

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What happens when they can't compare to previous years? Because chemistry 2nd year is an entire new syllabus. Will they scale us more fairly since we are the guinea pigs? Everyone who did the exam (well i've spoken to 8 people so far, all conscientious hard working students) believe they have failed, a few friends told me they wanted to walk out and cry cause they thought they were gonna fail... Hmmm me thinks alot of scaling is gonna occur *fingers crossed*
 

jessum

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i did biol1101 too! it was so hard. the short answers were just so blergh
i sure hope i dont fail
 
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adamsaclown

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Our software lecturer/unit coordinator said that there's a university-wide scaling policy where they limit the percentage of students who can get certain grades, e.g. only 3% can get HDs... and for advanced/normal units, they pool together the advanced and normal students and do some crazy stuff so the 3% includes both advanced and normal students.... so obviously, most of them will be advanced students. If the unit coordinators feel more should be able to get a certain grade, for e.g. if there happened to be a higher number of people whos performance deserved that grade, then they can put the case to whoevers administering it, say to push it up to 5% for that unit, but apparently its not very easy to do so.

However I remember someone asked about scaling in one of the Eco & Business faculty's welcome day things, and the person said that from this year on there will be no scaling at all in the Eco & Business faculty.... so maybe it depends on the individual subjects you're doing as to whether there's scaling
 
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stazi

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it is based on individual subjects.
ecmt1010 gets scaled
mktg1001 gets scaled (e.g. they gave everyone 1.5 extra marks for the mid-sems)
work1001 doesn't get scaled.
ecop1001 doesn't get scaled
 

sarevok

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adamsaclown said:
However I remember someone asked about scaling in one of the Eco & Business faculty's welcome day things, and the person said that from this year on there will be no scaling at all in the Eco & Business faculty....
Yes, I think it must depend on the specific subject, Nicolas De Roos said that Introductory Microeconomics will be scaled.
 

Sarah168

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Dennis gave us a talk about scaling so I assume there wil be some type of scaling for econ1001
 
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adamsaclown

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what was that carole comerton forde going on about then?! o_O
 

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