When is aligning determined? (1 Viewer)

[Survivor39]

Is the cut-off for each bands determined before the HSC marking? Or after the HSC marking with everyone's marks available?

 

[Lazarus]

The cut-offs are generally determined after the marking has been completed.

 

[Survivor39]

OH!!! That means they can lower the "cut-offs" to make more people in band 6!!! Is this true?

 

[Lazarus]

It is possible.

The HSC Consultative Committee 'revised' a number of raw band cut-offs for the 2001 HSC (at least for maths) after the judges initially made their recommendations.

 

[Survivor39]

Question 1. So It is possible that the 'cut-offs" will increase as well?

Question 2. Why are they revising the cut-offs (e.g. maths)?

Question 3. Why are they determining the 'cut-offs' after the HSC exam has been marked?

 

[Lazarus]

1. The cut-offs will always be different from year to year. It is possible that the Consultative Committee will either increase or decrease them for any particular course. I don't believe they would do this purely to moderate the number of students achieving in the top band.

2. The sorts of deliberations that would be involved during the revision process are never divulged.

3. So that student responses at each of the cut-off marks can be re-examined to see whether or not they should truly be at the cut-off point.

 

[Ragerunner]

Read to this document.

http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc/hsc_update_2002_06.html

I'm pretty sure they are revised after the marking process to ensure everything has been properly addressed, but I think the majority of the decisions made are before the exam by experienced judges.

Judges review and discuss samples of student examination scripts awarded marks equal to or near each cut-off mark the judges are proposing.

The judges read and discuss these scripts with a view to determining whether or not these works are typical of what they would expect of students at that level. In essence, they need to satisfy themselves that the scripts scoring the cut-off marks can be said to match the standards demonstrated by those student works in the standards packages.

During this process each judge has the opportunity to further refine their band cut-off marks.

At the completion of this process, judges recommend to the HSC Consultative Committee a set of examination marks corresponding to the cut-offs between bands.

 

[Survivor39]

Thanks Laz and Ragerunner.

 

[ilovemrchips]

one of my teachers have suggested that it's all a conspiracy theory to make sure that it appears to the public that adequate numbers of candidates are receiving band 6 (advertising for the new hsc)

highly cynical, but i think there may be a grain of truth in there somewhere too =}