The significance of the drag effect

[187]

A few teacher's have mentioned this drag effect in brief, basically that if everyone in your class does well in the exam your mark gets dragged up, is this true? and to what extent can it effect your mark? I attend a very academically orientated school (last years average ENTER was 92) so i expect something similar will occur this year. So here is the main question I pose, let's say I get a C+ in a given exam but the vast majority of my cohort get A or A+, does this open up a scenario where I may obtain a higher study score than someone who achieved a B on the same exam?

[Eriny]

It's only significant if you perform well within your class, otherwise you'll just get whatever score that reflects how you did in the exam. That means, if you do well in your course work, you're much better protected than someone in a bad cohort that does well in their coursework. Still, don't underestimate the impact of your own exam mark on your study score, it's still 50% worth.