Just thought i'd give my two cents.
First of all, at my school they send in marks to the nearest whole number, as many have suggested. I think this is common practice.
Secondly, I'd warn you to be
very careful in calculating your raw assessment marks. Here's why:
At my school, they use a program called 'Motorised Markbook' for dealing with assessment marks. It's the program recommended by and endorsed by the Board of Studies. After the trials for English, I calculated the raw assessment marks of the top 5 based on the results of each individual on each assessment task and the weighting of each task. The result i derived was myself in 2nd by 1.3 (out of a possible 100).
However, when i received my assessment rank from the teacher, it was third! Naturally, I was not happy, and enquired about the situation, as it didn't seem fair.
What happened lies in how motorised markbook calculates the final cumulative assessment rank. In the process, using a feature called "add weighted tests", the standard deviation is set to 1 and the mean is set to 0. This supposedly to keep it "statistically fair and accurate". However, this has the fortunate/unfortunate effect of "effectively" altering the value of each task. What this means in plain english is this: 17/20 in one task worth 15% can be worth more than 17/20 in another task worth 15%, depending on how the rest of the class performs in that particular assessment.
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/markbook/manual.pdf
In my case, the situation sorted itself out due to an aforementioned factor - the rounding to the nearest whole number. Ultimately, the girl and i were both ranked equal 2nd. While I have no gripes about this because the other student has worked hard and deserves a good rank, the problem i have still lies in the process. In this case, it has turned out a win-win (as far as i'm concerned). But the fact that this could happen in other situations and not have such a favourable outcome is concerning.
While i'm not statistical maths genius, common logic suggests that if a task is worth 15%, it should account for that percentage of the final mark. If you get 10/20, you should receive 7.5% because that is the mark you earnt. The problem with doing it statistically correct is that it means that you, essentially, at the mercy of the rest of the class (which some could argue is how the real HSC generally works anyway). Yet the fact remains that if you earn a 19/20 in a particular task, you have still earnt that mark, regardless of how the rest of the class performed. At the very least, school's should be open about this from the get go - tell people that the raw marks may be adjusted by the statistical software.
I guess what i'm trying to say is talk to your teachers about how the rankings and marks were calculated, and that to keep an open mind. I can understand your annoyance - you worked for that first and there's no doubt you deserve it (whether or not its equal first is another matter altogether).
But remember to keep in mind that there is always the possability of a clerical recheck post-final HSC exam and also appeals processes to the board of studies.
Best of luck
Phil
