Wondering how much ranking affects results (1 Viewer)

[busybee13]

Hi! I'm currently undertaking Year 12 advanced math to complete the hsc in 2026, in the accelerated course. I am not sure what rank I am currently - there is about 50 people in the advanced course, and I have gotten rank 19, 5, & 2 in Year 11 assessments. I was doing really well but recently had our first Year 12 test, and I didn't do great - don't know the rank yet but I suspect it is around 15 or lower. Unfortunately, if I was unhappy with my HSC results in 2026, I can't redo Maths again in 2027 with the rest of my cohort as the syllabus is changing. So I've found myself either having to commit to Maths in 2026 or in 2027.

I don't think I'm going to drop, just wondering if there is any tips on how to improve ranking over the course of year 12, especially some exam technique because I happen to mess up questions that don't explicitly tell you the path to take - e.g. the hardest question on the test that only 4 people in the whole cohort got correct, me included, specified to use the two different gradient formulas to find point P. I find it much easier when I have direction so wondering if anyone has any tips for when there is none.

Also wondering whether Year 11 assessments have the same ranking weight as Year 12, because those could possibly bring me up. Thanks so much!

 

[Study to success]

Year 11 ranks don’t matter for year 12 and they don’t contribute to ur year 12 ranks

 

[f7eeting]

Hi! I'm currently undertaking Year 12 advanced math to complete the hsc in 2026, in the accelerated course. I am not sure what rank I am currently - there is about 50 people in the advanced course, and I have gotten rank 19, 5, & 2 in Year 11 assessments. I was doing really well but recently had our first Year 12 test, and I didn't do great - don't know the rank yet but I suspect it is around 15 or lower. Unfortunately, if I was unhappy with my HSC results in 2026, I can't redo Maths again in 2027 with the rest of my cohort as the syllabus is changing. So I've found myself either having to commit to Maths in 2026 or in 2027.

I don't think I'm going to drop, just wondering if there is any tips on how to improve ranking over the course of year 12, especially some exam technique because I happen to mess up questions that don't explicitly tell you the path to take - e.g. the hardest question on the test that only 4 people in the whole cohort got correct, me included, specified to use the two different gradient formulas to find point P. I find it much easier when I have direction so wondering if anyone has any tips for when there is none.

Also wondering whether Year 11 assessments have the same ranking weight as Year 12, because those could possibly bring me up. Thanks so much!

hi there! i know how you feel, but coming from somebody who's had to do countless amounts of those kinds of problems, id say the best thing to do sometimes is just get a start. maybe you just start recalling any formulas you think might be relevant, a diagram etc, just anything to get your mind moving yk?
and if you still feel like you're confused, if time forbids, go to another question from earlier and just kind of mull over the harder question.
this is also why i always do multiple choice last so when i encounter any questions that are too difficult, i just do multiple choice instead and sometimes that lets me realise something i couldn't before.

weightings vary and for my school it was not consistent throughout year 11 and 12. your ranks from last year reset but that most recent assessment task does count. but, even if you get a poor rank now, trust me, there's lots of room for improvement. i went from the bottom half of my extension 1 cohort this year to top 5 even though i did badly on 2 assessment tasks out of 3. ranking can be very generous at times so dont worry!

 

[busybee13]

thank you so much! That's great advice which I'll use in my next exam.