HSC scaling and aligning

Upon entering high school, students are often told that they need to start preparing for the HSC exam right away.  They hear terms that they are not familiar with like HSC scaling and aligning.  This can be confusing but it is really quite simple.

Performance across the various subjects is measure by scaling.  It allows markers to use a fair process to convey marks on a common scale by converting the actual examination mark into a scaled mark.  The reason this is done is because the Raw Exam Marks can be compared but scaled marks can be.  The HSC scaling conversion process is very difficult to understand but it makes it easier to make comparisons in the long run.

Many students worry about whether their marks are scaled down or up but they should not be concerned. This just refers to whether a lower or higher scaled mark is the result of converting the raw examination mark.  Raw marks are not released.  The important thing that students and parents should understand is that every subject has a scaled mean, in other words, the average scaled for a particular subject.  The average scaled mark is always out of 50.  It tells students how high a subject scales.  HSC scaling changes from one year to the other because students’ performances change.  Over the years, the scaled marks have been stable though and they are likely to remain fairly stable in the future.  These scaled marks can give students a better idea of where they might stand. 

In the long run though, student should not put too much weight on HSC scaling.  They should take subjects that they are interested in and that they have done well at in the past.  By concentrating on subjects that they enjoy they will be more likely to do well and get good final marks in the HSC final examinations.