Hi Everyone
Say you came 1st or 2nd in at least 2-3 subjects, however you mark wasn't THAT good (say 85 or something) would it still mean you could get a high ATAR (90+) considering NESA doesn't take marks for your school assessments, only ranks?
Not entirely true. Your school marks determine your rank. Your school mark is what is being adjusted to determine your final mark. Your rank plays essentially no role in how your final mark is calculated.
If you are 1st, your HSC assessment mark is equal to the highest HSC exam mark of any student in your school. Your HSC exam mark is what you achieved in the exam. The average of these gives your final HSC mark.
If you are 2nd, then your school mark plays an important role in determining how you actually performed in school. Being 20% from 1st will give a different result to being 2% from 1st, even though you're 2nd in both scenarios. Your HSC assessment mark will be adjusted based on how close or far you are from 1st in terms of school marks. If you're school mark is close to 1st, then your HSC assessment mark will be close to 1st. If your school mark is far from first, and especially if everyone else is far from first, then your HSC assessment mark will be far from first. Being 2nd only means your final HSC assessment mark will be the 2nd highest. Other than that, "2nd" doesn't mean anything to NESA.
Your ATAR is a separate calculation. You need all 10 units to determine your ATAR. Having 2 or 3 subjects doesn't indicate how you will fair in all 10 units. Each subject also scales differently. 85 in one subject may not be equivalent to 85 in another subject. The only thing you can control is doing well in your school assessments and HSC exam. Whatever happens afterwards is beyond your control.
