WTF should I do?? (1 Viewer)

[Epeec]

Alright so we had a bio practical exam, and only 6 people passed. I didn't. The exam was, believe it or not, very easy. The way they marked us was absolutely ridiculous! I lost one of the marks because I didn't put a border around my results table!! I also got marked on numerous things I wasn't taught and lost many marks for question which I should only miss out on 1-2 marks max (not 4-5 when the question is out of 5). I had physics practical exam before as well, let me just say that I lost 2/3 marks because I wrote "m" instead of "gradient" for the slope. I tried to speak to the teachers that the way they assess or knowledge is absurd and the fact that we lose 60-70% of the marks is because of our presentation and not our knowledge makes the subject and the school look sad. I understand that it is very important, but it should not be the majority of your exam. I agree I could be prepared better, but even if I had the 100% knowledge of the topic, I would only get 50-60%, which is REALLY low for me, not to mention my current score (honestly suicidal hehe jks). Since I have another chemistry practical upcoming in term 3, my question is; How do you prepare for the exam, except the obvious, which is to study the pracs which you have done. Thank you for the replies ppl. Really upset at the moment since I generally get As and Bs. I really want a high mark for biology when I do my HSC, but I am afraid that things like that will drag me down a lot. Honestly makes me more and more paranoid every time I write an exam.

 

[weaknuclearforce]

Apparently you should draw pretty lines around your tables. But is def not an important aspect of 'scientific understanding'.
m is certainly a useful algebraic symbol for a gradient, although others are used; I certainly would try to emphasize your actual understanding to your teachers (& if this leads to despair then maybe ask for a further chat about it - its ALWAYS better to be polite about misunderstandings). If this doesnt work out, don't let it put you off science. m is a fine symbol - according to Feynman you can make up your own if you wish to... (not advisable to re-invent the wheel though)

 

[Lumenoria]

Holy crap, I dont do any of the sciences but that sounds absurd. Have you tried bringing up with your head teacher? Just reiterate what youve said here.


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[Wet_Lettuce]

Your tables in science must be enclosed! You will lose marks in the HSC if your tables are not enclosed.

 

[Epeec]

That would be totally fine and fair if it was ever mentioned in any of my classes for the past 11 years. Not one class ever told me that or even suggested that that is the case. Thankfully this is not HSC and Ive learned my lesson, but I don't think it is fair to mark down for things which haven't been taught. Not to mention the fact that we have two classes and one of the teacher's wrote the test (not my teacher as she is new to the school). The other teacher's class clearly got an advantage since the 6 people who passed are in his class and the average marks is really different (his is around 55-60%, while ours is 30-40%). The thing that upsets me is the amount of time I put into studying the content and get disgusting marks in most of my subjects (except for english and maths) because of stuff like that.

 

[Wet_Lettuce]

That would be totally fine and fair if it was ever mentioned in any of my classes for the past 11 years. Not one class ever told me that or even suggested that that is the case. Thankfully this is not HSC and Ive learned my lesson, but I don't think it is fair to mark down for things which haven't been taught. Not to mention the fact that we have two classes and one of the teacher's wrote the test (not my teacher as she is new to the school). The other teacher's class clearly got an advantage since the 6 people who passed are in his class and the average marks is really different (his is around 55-60%, while ours is 30-40%). The thing that upsets me is the amount of time I put into studying the content and get disgusting marks in most of my subjects (except for english and maths) because of stuff like that.

As a teacher once told me "you will never make the same mistake again" and to this day I still believe he is correct.

 

[doggossigh]

Yeah, enclosed tables are a pain. Honestly, though I can relate because in my chem, bio and phys prac tests/ depth study tests so far I've done fairly well but lost a LOT of marks from drawing tables/ graphs. It's super annoying because it's literally things like not ruling the axis lines on graphs, forgetting to draw gradient marks, bad titles for tables etc. The best advice is to check your school moodle for your standards/guidelines for scientific diagrams and graphs. If not, I would probably go off the official NESA ones.

 

[Atrium]

Unfortunately with any new syllabus the rules and criteria can be taken a little to literally. Coming from someone who has lectured in Universities for almost a decade, it's surprisingly frustrating to see graphs and tables that are drawn non-chalantly, but to take significant marks off a test is probably a little over-zealous. I believe NESA may want to correct this early as skills development is a major motivator for the syllabus overhaul.

I agree with everyone else here, it is unfortunate that you really have no choice but follow your school's approach. However, it is probably a good idea to have a meaningful and calm discussion with your teacher to gain an understanding of the marking criteria that was used. That way it not only helps you make sense of the approach they've taken, it also shows the teacher/school that you take a keen interest in 'improving'.