I am in the first group at my school to go through ATAR in QLD (graduate 2020).

[LivRose]

Hello Everyone!

I just stumbled across ATAR Notes today and i'm so glad I did! Anyway...

I am a current Year 11 Student in QLD and i will be in the first year group to gradate in 2020 with an ATAR score instead of an OP. The whole concept is really new to everyone in QLD and i guess we are struggling to adjust to this new system. (Also, we don't have any set scaling for our subjects yet )

Does anyone have any studying/assignment tips that might make the transition a little easier or just general suggestions that will make ATAR make a little more sense to someone who grew up learning about the OP system?

I've taken Literature, Chemistry, Biology, Drama, Maths Methods and Specialist Maths this year and I have struggled a bit this first term to keep on top of all my study, homework and assignments on top of my co-curricular activities and my job. Is this just the initial transition from Year 10 into Year 11 or should i be prepared for the workload to get worse?

Thanks so much!

[Bri MT]

Hey LivRose!

Welcome to the forums

ATARs are a ranking that compare your performance to the other QLD students in the same year.  The higher your ATAR, the more courses you'll be likely to get into. Only your unit 3&4 studies contribute to your ATAR calculation.

One difference between ATAR and OP is that ATARs are a lot more specific. ATARs go up to 99.95 in 0.5 degree increments (ie you could get 99.95 (highest possible),  99.90, 99.85, 99.80...). I find that the easiest way to think about the ATAR is as the percentage of the state you "beat" (Eg. To get a 70.00 ATAR you scored higher overall than 70% of students and are in the top 30% of Queensland students for that year).

Definitely can't guarantee anything,  but based on preformance patterns in other states you can probably expect most of your subjects to scale up, especially specialist maths.

The workload will get worse but your coping skills & methods of managing this are likely to get better too.  Going into year 11 is a significant step & it makes sense that you'll take some time to adjust.

With the high amount of things taking time your time it's very important that you make sure you have time to take care of your health. Sleep deprivation,  lack of exercise etc. can really contribute to stress and difficulty balancing everything. It might seem counter-intuitive, but there's a point when studying too much and neglecting your health damages your learning.

Of course,  you might be managing having a lot of commitments better than I did and already taking good care of your health - but if you're not it's very helpful to change that.

In terms of studying and assignments, I found practice questions & teaching others to be the most effective ways for me to learn.  Teaching others was other students at my school,  people on atarnotes (making notes to share, answering questions etc) and some other students too.

 Let me know this makes sense and if you have any questions

[Joseph41]

Hello Everyone!

I just stumbled across ATAR Notes today and i'm so glad I did! Anyway...

I am a current Year 11 Student in QLD and i will be in the first year group to gradate in 2020 with an ATAR score instead of an OP. The whole concept is really new to everyone in QLD and i guess we are struggling to adjust to this new system. (Also, we don't have any set scaling for our subjects yet )

Does anyone have any studying/assignment tips that might make the transition a little easier or just general suggestions that will make ATAR make a little more sense to someone who grew up learning about the OP system?

I've taken Literature, Chemistry, Biology, Drama, Maths Methods and Specialist Maths this year and I have struggled a bit this first term to keep on top of all my study, homework and assignments on top of my co-curricular activities and my job. Is this just the initial transition from Year 10 into Year 11 or should i be prepared for the workload to get worse?

Thanks so much!

Hey Liv! Fantastic to have you here. How did you stumble across ATAR Notes?

How are you finding Year 11 so far?

Regarding general studying/assignment tips:
We're actually regularly uploading new QCE articles - I'm not sure if you've come across them yet. Here are some so far:
* 18 Ways to Study For QCE
* How to Make QCE Study Notes
* How to Get 100% on QCE Assessments
* Balancing QCE: Part-Time Work and Study
* QCE Procrastination: Pit-Falls We're All Guilty Of
* QCE Study Preparation: What People Miss About "Study Strategy"
* Surviving QCE: Friends, Family and Relationships
* Should I Study a QCE Folio Subject?
* QCE Lessons: 7 Things I Learnt From High School
* QCE Tests: How to Maximise Your Scores
* QCE Study: A 'How-To' on Studying Effectively
* Improving QCE Vocabulary - A Beginner's Guide
* Apps You Can Use For QCE Success

We'll be regularly uploading these throughout the year, so keep an eye out!

Regarding the ATAR and how it works:
Bri MT has posted some good advice/information above. Otherwise, you may find this quick video helpful:

We have lots of this explanatory videos coming your way, and a heap of QCE subject-specific videos, too! If you have any questions about what the ATAR is, how it works or how it's calculated, I recommend making a post or thread asking in this section of the forums:

Queensland Technical Score Discussion

I know it can be confusing with scaling and stuff - particularly given you have nothing to go off from previous years. You may also be interested in our brand new QCE ATAR Calculator! There, you can play around with how you think each of your subjects will scale, and what that roughly means for you in terms of your ATAR. :)

Regarding your subjects:
For your specific subjects, we also have boards set up where you can ask any questions you have about the content you're learning, or anything you're unsure of. Relevant to you:
* Literature
* Chemistry
* Biology
* Drama
* Maths Methods
* Specialist Maths

If you have any questions at all about anything, please ask! I'm super glad you've found ATAR Notes - looking forward to hearing more from you. ;D