Exam score difference

[TTanner01]

Hi everyone,

I have a question, what is the significant difference with getting different exam scores but still the same grade?

For example, for Further maths 2018 graded distribution (https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/statistics/2018/section3/vce_further_mathematics_ga18.pdf), a borderline B grade for Exam 1 is 48/80 and exam 2 is 77/120, with the highest B grade being 55/80 and 87/120, so what will this do to the study score?

My sister got a 32 study score in further from having all B's for the Graded Assessments, and two other people I saw also got a 32 study score from getting all B's with one person getting a 33 study score for getting all B's except for a B+ for GA3, so does the exam essentially pull up/down GA1?

I know the exam scores don't change at all, where only GA1 does, so if the exams do influence GA1, then wouldn't someone who got 64/100 (which is lowest B score for GA1) and someone who got 73/100 (highest B score) yield the same 32 study score?

Sorry a bit confusing but I don't really have a clue how the VCE system works and i want to get this clear.

[PhoenixxFire]

You're asking two different questions here
1. The effect of exams on GA1 scores which is due to sac moderation which is dependent on ranking & how your cohort does on the exam which is explained here
2. How marks at either end of a grade cutoff affect your study score - the answer to this is that VCAA uses your mark for each GA, not the letter grade, so having the same letter grade as someone else doesn't mean you'll get the same score as them. They just don't tell you what your actual mark is unless you pay for it.

I know the exam scores don't change at all, where only GA1 does, so if the exams do influence GA1, then wouldn't someone who got 64/100 (which is lowest B score for GA1) and someone who got 73/100 (highest B score) yield the same 32 study score?

This isn't about whether their raw GA1 mark are the same letter grade. If both people are rank 1 and both get the same mark for both exams & that mark is the best in each of their cohorts, then their GA1 mark will be moderated to be the same, regardless of them having different raw marks, so they'll both get the same study score.
But someone who is rank 1 and does the best on their exam out of their cohort and therefore has their GA1 mark moderated according to that is not necessarily going to get the same study score as someone who is rank 1 and does second best on their exam (scoring the same mark as the first person) - because their GA1 mark will be moderated according to the best exam score in their cohort, which in this case is higher than their own exam score.

[Sine]

Whilst VCAA give out both the letter grades and final study score when giving results. The letter grades really have no value - the cutoffs are arbitrarily defined so in a certain year they may give out 9% of students an A+ but other years it could be 11%. Between different subjects, these also varies quite a bit. The letter grades are not used to calculate the study score (although can be used to generate a range of possible study scores if you were to look at what past students received).

To generate the study scores the raw mark e.g. 50/80 and 80/120 is used as a means of ranking students who complete the subject and then a standardised z score is generated for each graded assessment. Then each graded assessment is given its weighting to calculate a final standardised score which correlates to a study score that has a mean of 30 and standard deviation fo 7.

[TTanner01]

oh i kind of understand now but not really.

so if i get 80/120 for exam 2, i wouldn't necessarily get a B grade for GA3 right?

[Sine]

oh i kind of understand now but not really.

so if i get 80/120 for exam 2, i wouldn't necessarily get a B grade for GA3 right?

It would really depend on the year and how the grade distribution goes for that year.

Also an 80/120 is not the same between years as all the exams will have different difficulties.

But whether you get a B or not a B has little direct relevence to your actual score because it is arbitrarily defined what gets a B and what doesnt.

[TTanner01]

It would really depend on the year and how the grade distribution goes for that year.

Also an 80/120 is not the same between years as all the exams will have different difficulties.

But whether you get a B or not a B has little direct relevence to your actual score because it is arbitrarily defined what gets a B and what doesnt.

im not sure what you mean by that it's arbitrarily defined.
so just so im clear, what gets you a 32 study score is pretty much your exam score, cohort score and sac moderation based on the two aforementioned factors. so whenever i hear someone say that they got all B's for their Graded Assessments, i should disregard it?

[yesh.weerakkody]

im not sure what you mean by that it's arbitrarily defined.
so just so im clear, what gets you a 32 study score is pretty much your exam score, cohort score and sac moderation based on the two aforementioned factors. so whenever i hear someone say that they got all B's for their Graded Assessments, i should disregard it?

I think what sine is trying to say is that the study score you get depends on multiple factors such as the ones you just mentioned. So I think it’s safe to say that you shouldn’t put too much weight on the letter grades and just try your hardest to get the best result you can possibly get

[Sine]

im not sure what you mean by that it's arbitrarily defined.
so just so im clear, what gets you a 32 study score is pretty much your exam score, cohort score and sac moderation based on the two aforementioned factors. so whenever i hear someone say that they got all B's for their Graded Assessments, i should disregard it?

I think simply I was trying to say is that whilst the letter grades correlated directly to someone's study score (e.g. A+ correlate to scores 40-50 whilst C/C+s correlate to 30 approximately). The letter grade does not determine your study score  - the raw score which dictates the letter grade is what is used to determine the study score.

So whilst letter grades are ok for approximating study score they should not be used to calculate study scores exactly or even compare between students because people can have the same letter grades and have different study scores or someone could have "worse" letter grades but have a higher study score depending on where in the letter grade the person sites and how much that graded assessment is worth. E.g. someone could have B+ A+ A+ and get a 46 whilst someone else may have A+ A+ A+ and get a 38 as the first person's A+ could be extremely high whilst the second person was only at the borderline of an A+ and A.

Hope this helps