I got over 90 in my trial... am I in a good position? (english standard) (1 Viewer)

[rawrridk]

Hey everyone, I got 94% in my CSSA trial.
For paper 1 I got 88% (35/40)
For paper 2 I got 98% (59/60)

I really want to do well in English, however I don't really know how hard the CSSA is in comparison to the HSC and if it's a good measure. Like don't want to instill fake confidence you know.

PS. I am aiming to state rank

 

[laterz laterz]

i am not 100% sure but i am pretty sure that CSSA exams are decently hard. looking at your results, you probably have a really good rank aswell. i think you should be fine. I am not sure about the state rank, someone else would have to confirm that.

 

[rawrridk]

i am not 100% sure but i am pretty sure that CSSA exams are decently hard. looking at your results, you probably have a really good rank aswell. i think you should be fine. I am not sure about the state rank, someone else would have to confirm that.

Thank you! I am ranked second by about 0.5%

 

[laterz laterz]

CSSA is about the same difficulty as the HSC.

View attachment 31916

of the difficulty scale

 

[laterz laterz]

Thank you! I am ranked second by about 0.5%

ayooo that's fire, wish i was good at english lol, its probably gonna bring my ATAR down by like 2 or 3

 

[rawrridk]

ayooo that's fire, wish i was good at english lol, its probably gonna bring my ATAR down by like 2 or 3

lol. I'm quite average in my other subjects though, I just really enjoy English

 

[jimmysmith560]

Congratulations on your marks!

From my experience sitting the 2019 English Standard CSSA paper, I can suggest that it can be considered a more difficult exam than the HSC English Standard exam. I remember scoring a mark in the high band 4 region in my trial exam. However, I was able to perform quite better in the HSC exam, achieving 85 as my Examination Mark.

Keep in mind that it is your English Standard rank that matters in terms of your internal performance. Being ranked second with such marks can be a good indicator, particularly in terms of your final rank for English Standard, which, if high enough, can put you in a favourable position as you approach your HSC exam. This is where you will need to ensure you perform to the best of your abilities in order to achieve an Examination Mark that is as high as possible, hopefully allowing you to maximise your final mark for this subject. As far as I know, in terms of specific marks required to achieve state ranks, state ranks for English Standard start at a final mark of 95 and above.

I hope this helps!

 

[jimmysmith560]

The CSSA is not harder than the HSC at all for biology. In fact it was easier compared to HSC and the PEM exam

I think it is because you happen to be highly capable in Biology that you don't find CSSA papers difficult. This perspective may not be necessarily shared by the majority of students. I will also mention other subjects where I personally felt the CSSA papers were more difficult than HSC papers:

• Information Processes and Technology (IPT) - I got 87 in my trial exam, but 91 as my Examination Mark and final mark.
• Mathematics (old syllabus) - I got 65 in my trial exam, but 79 as my Examination Mark.

 

[jimmysmith560]

How about we look at this quantitatively.
This is the bands for the first 20 questions of the CSSA
View attachment 31922

This is the NESA sample questions View attachment 31923

They both seem to have 2-3 bands 5-6 questions. With NESA having more bans 4+ questions.
Just going off the top of my head, they appear to be of similar difficulty.



But then again, these numbers could be a poor representation of the difficulty of the exams.
From your experience they appear to be harder, and if multiple others also have similar experiences then CSSA would probably be harder.

And I’ve also only done CSSA for bio chem and maths, so my judgment on the topic would be limited only to those subjects.

And upon thinking about it more, your probably correct on my abilities in a subject influencing the exam difficulty. I remember finding the CSSA for maths (a subject that I’m not as good in as biology) to be difficult in certain questions. Where as I’m better in bio, so it could make it harder for me to distinguish between which exam is harder.

This is a very good observation with some interesting data.

I think it is also important to remember that exam difficulty (both CSSA and HSC) can vary each year, so this is also something to consider.

CSSA papers are generally considered more difficult than HSC papers (you will likely hear this from several people), with the possibility of exceptions relating to differing exams each year and students being highly capable in particular subjects (such as your case). This, of course, is not a recent suggestion, as CSSA papers have been said to be more difficult than HSC papers for quite some time now.

 

[Hiheyhello]

Hey everyone, I got 94% in my CSSA trial.
For paper 1 I got 88% (35/40)
For paper 2 I got 98% (59/60)

I really want to do well in English, however I don't really know how hard the CSSA is in comparison to the HSC and if it's a good measure. Like don't want to instill fake confidence you know.

PS. I am aiming to state rank

WOAH GREAT JOB, YOU SMASHED PAPER 2!

pls i need tips, paper 2 gave me legitimate trauma

 

[rawrridk]

WOAH GREAT JOB, YOU SMASHED PAPER 2!

pls i need tips, paper 2 gave me legitimate trauma

thanks honestly just practice, what texts do you do?

 

[nourished.]

Hey everyone, I got 94% in my CSSA trial.
For paper 1 I got 88% (35/40)
For paper 2 I got 98% (59/60)

I really want to do well in English, however I don't really know how hard the CSSA is in comparison to the HSC and if it's a good measure. Like don't want to instill fake confidence you know.

PS. I am aiming to state rank

Wow, well done!

Like the others have said, CSSA is generally harder than the HSC. But, like you said, don't get complacent. So, even if you did really well in the CSSA paper (which you did), celebrate the small win and move on. Keep doing practice papers and keep reciting your essays. Can't wait to see that state rank of yours.