June 2012 UAC Sessions

7/28/2019 June 2012 UAC Sessions

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Calculation of the ATAR

and using the scaling reportUAC Information Session

6, 8, 12 and 14 June 2012


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Understanding the Scaling Report

Overview of the Scaling Report

2011 HSC and ATAR

What is the ATAR?

What is scaling?

FAQs

Using the tables from the Scaling Report


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Overview of the 2011 HSC and ATAR

71 159 students completed at least one HSC course

1 850 did not complete any ATAR course (BDC with exam)

93.3% of the remaining pool (69 309) received an HSC

79.2% received an ATAR96.0% of those receiving an ATAR only included 2011 courses

Slightly more females (53.4%) than males in the ATAR group

45.2% completed only 10 units

18 525 students enrolled in at least one VET course

13 812 students (74.6%) enrolled in at least one VET examination course


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The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank -

a numerical measureof a students overall

academic achievement in the HSC in relation tothat of other students. Its about POSITION.

a number between 0.00 and 99.95

(only ATARs above 30 are reported)

intended for use by universities to rank and selectschool leavers for admission to university

WHAT is the ATAR?


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ATAR eligibility

To be eligible for an ATAR a student must have

satisfactorily completed at least 10 units of ATAR

courses, including at least: eight units ofCategory A courses

two units ofEnglish

three courses of two units or greater

four subjects


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ATAR calculation

The ATAR is based on an aggregate ofscaled marks in

10 units of ATAR courses comprising:

the best two units of English

the best eight of the remaining units, which can

include up to two units of Category B courses

Marks can be accumulated over a five-year period, but if

a course is repeated, only the last satisfactory attempt is

used in the ATAR calculation.

A scaled mark is calculated the year the course is

completed.


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Board of Studies road mapThe Board of Studies provides a profile ofhow each

student has performed in each course attempted.

Examination

mark

School

assessmentmark

HSC

marksPerformance

bands

HSC

examination

marks

+

HSC

assessmentmarks

Moderated

schoolassessments


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ATAR road map

- a five stage processSTAGE 5

Truncate to

nearest .05

STAGE 1

controlling for

competition

STAGE 4

Year 7

percentiles

STAGE 2

determiningthe aggregate

STAGE 3

Year 12

percentiles


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Stage 1controlling for competition

For each course, examination marks and moderated assessments areaveraged to produce a raw mark, which is changed into a scaled mark.

Scaled marks are marks students would receive if all the course

candidatures were the same.

The scaling algorithm starts from the premise that a students position in a

course depends on

- how good he/she is in that course, and

- the strength of the competition.

Scaling controls for the strength of competition

Exam mark

Moderated

assessment mark

Raw mark Scaled mark


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Stage 2 determining the aggregate

For each student an aggregate mark is formed by adding

together the scaled marks of

- the best two units of English

- the best eight units from the students remaining courses,(no more than two units from Category B courses can be included)

Aggregate

1 unit

(English)1 unit

(English)1 unit 1 unit 1 unit 1 unit 1 unit 1 unit 1 unit 1 unit


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Stage 3ATAR-eligible percentiles

150 200 250 300 350 400 450

All Year 12 students who are eligible for an ATAR are ranked

on the basis of their aggregates. ATAR-eligible percentiles,

which show the position of students relative to their ATAR

cohort, are then determined for these aggregates.

ATAR

-eligible

percentile

Aggregate

98.8

90.8

77.0

59.8

42.1

26.3

13.1

(76.9% of the 2011 ATAR cohort received an aggregate mark of 350 or less)


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In 2011, 54 897 students received

an ATAR out of approximately

80,000 students who started Year 7

with them.

To make NSW ATARs comparableto ATARs calculated in other states,

students positions relative to the

TOTAL cohort, including those who

left before Year 10 and those Year

12 students who were not eligible

for an ATAR, are calculated. 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 20 40 60 80 100

Year 12 percentile

Year7percen

tile

Stage 4 Year 7 percentiles


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Stage 5 determining the ATARS

When the position of each student relative to the full Year

7 cohort has been determined, the final step is to truncate

these percentiles to the nearest 0.05, starting at 99.95.

Here are some examples from the 2011 calculations. (Table A9)

ATAR Range of percentiles Lowest aggregate

99.95 99.951-99.999 476.5

99.50 99.501-99.549 456.299.00 99.001-99.049 445.6

98.00 98.001-98.049 432.2


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Frequently asked questions

Can my school, my classmates or my choice of subjects

affect my ATAR?

Moderation and scaling processes aim to remove differencesbetween schools and courses.

Students can achieve high HSC marks and high ATARS

regardless of courses attempted or school attended.

Reference: Report on the Scaling of the 2010 NSW HSC Table A1


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FAQs

If the ATAR indicates position, why isnt the middle ATAR 50?

Because the ATAR indicates position against the entire age group,

not just those who complete Year 12.

The cohort of students who complete Year 12 and who are eligible for

an ATAR are, on average, better students than those who leave early

or who complete Year 12 but are not eligible for an ATAR.

Only about 57% of students who start Year 7 complete Year 12 and

are eligible for an ATAR.

The middle student in the Year 12 ATAR cohort is better than 70% of

the initial cohort, so the middle ATAR is about 70.


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FAQsWhy is one course counted towards my ATAR when another

course where I received a higher HSC mark does not count?

Whether a course counts depends on your position in the course and

the scaled mean of the course.

If the scaled means are the same, the course in which you have thebetter position is more likely to be included.

If your positions are similar, the course with the higher scaled mean is

likely to be included.

There are occasions when a better position will compensate for a lowerscaled mean.

(Reference: Report on the Scaling of the 2010 NSW HSC, pp24-25)


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FAQsWhy is my ATAR low in comparison to my HSC marks?

Because ATAR is about position, and even high HSCmarks dont necessarily mean a high position.

The Fred and Laura example shows the large difference in

ATARs arising from much smaller differences in HSC

marks.

(see p 23 of 2011 Scaling Report)


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FAQsHow do bonus points work?

They are added to the selection rank for a particular course

Example - Course A has 6 applicants for 3 places

1. 89 (ATAR of 89)2. 88 (ATAR of 83 plus 5 bonus points)3. 87 (ATAR of 85 plus 2 bonus points)

----------------------------------------------------------4. 86 (ATAR of 86)5. 85 (ATAR of 76 plus 9 bonus points)6. 84 (ATAR of 84)

XX = selection rank(Course cut-off = 87)

Bonus points DO NOT change the ATAR


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FAQsAre certain courses always scaled up or scaled down? NODo I get a better ATAR if I study hard courses, or courses

that are scaled up? NOT NECESSARILY

Can I get a high ATAR if I study a VET course? YES

Can I get a better ATAR if I study General Maths rather than

Mathematics? NOT NECESSARILY

Not many students get Band 6 in Standard English. Does that

mean I cant get a high ATAR if I study Standard English? NO

Your ATAR doesnt depend on the particular courses you

study, but on how w ell you do in yo ur courses.


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ATAR quiz


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Using the tables from the Scaling

Report

Appendix (p28)


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Overview of the tables

Table A1 Gender, ATAR eligibility andmaximum ATAR by course*

Table A2 Distributions of HSC marks bycourse*

Table A3 Descriptive statistics andselected percentiles** for HSC marks and

scaled marks by course**excludes courses with


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Table A4 Distributions of HSC marks by

course: 2010-2011(excl


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Table A7 ATAR distribution

Table A8 ATAR and percentiles: 2009-

2011 Table A9 Relationship between ATAR

and aggregates: 2009-2011


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Exercises


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In summary, the Scaling Report

Can be used for Should NOT be used for

statistics; course enrolments;

male/female study patterns;

estimating ATARs

trends - changing distribution

of marks across courses

choosing HSC courses

explaining a students ATAR

and why certain courses

have/have not been included

advising students about

patterns of study


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Where to go for more informationAll about your ATAR

Report on the Scaling of the 2010 NSW Higher School Certificate

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank in New South Wales:A technical report

Frequently asked questions about the ATAR

University entrance requirements for 2014

(for Year 10 students in 2011)http://www.uac.edu.au/publications/undergraduate/index.shtml


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Thank you.

June 2012 UAC Sessions

Documents

Transcript of June 2012 UAC Sessions