How VCE study scores work, and how to study for them

How a study score is made

Each Unit 3 and 4 study has three graded assessments, which can be School-assessed Coursework (SACs), School-assessed Tasks (SATs) and examinations.^[1] The weighting differs between studies. In English, for example, Unit 3 coursework and Unit 4 coursework each count for a quarter and the end-of-year exam for half.^[2]

The VCAA standardises each graded assessment, weights it, and places the result on a scale with a mean of 30 and a standard deviation of 7. Study scores run from 0 to 50, and most fall between 23 and 37.^[2] A study score shows how you performed compared with every other Victorian student in that study.^[1]

What moderation does to your SACs

SAC marks from different schools are not directly comparable, so the VCAA statistically moderates them. It lines up your school's SAC scores with how your school's students did on the external exam, and the exam is the main reference even where the GAT is also used.^[3]

Statistical moderation does not change the rank order of students set by the school's own SAC scores.^[3] If you are ranked first in your school on SACs, you stay first after moderation. The exam results of your group decide the scale those ranks sit on.

So SACs reward steady work across the whole year, and the exam still matters for everyone. A plan that only lifts in October misses a large share of the marks.

How to study for a year of SACs and one exam

• Map every SAC date for the year in one calendar and work back from each one. How to manage your study time shows a simple weekly block plan.
• Revise earlier units while you learn new ones. Spaced practice beats massed practice for long-term recall,^[6] and the exam covers the whole year.
• Test yourself instead of rereading. Practice testing has some of the strongest evidence of any study method, and rereading and highlighting some of the weakest.^[7][8] Start with active recall.

The VCAA publishes past exams and external assessment reports for each study.^[9] The reports explain where students lost marks, which tells you what the assessors look for.

How study scores become an ATAR

VTAC calculates the ATAR, not the VCAA.^[1] Your study scores are scaled first, which adjusts for the fact that it is harder to get a high study score in some studies than others because of who takes them.^[5]

1. Primary four: your highest scaled score from the English group plus your next three highest scaled scores.^[4]
2. Increments: up to two more, usually 10% of a fifth and sixth scaled study score.^[4]
3. Your aggregate is ranked against everyone else's and converted to an ATAR between 0 and 99.95.^[4]

To get an ATAR you need study scores in at least four permissible Unit 3 and 4 studies, including one from the English group.^[5] The ATAR is a rank, not a score out of 100, which is why no one gets 100.^[4]

What you need to pass the VCE

To earn your VCE you must satisfactorily complete at least 16 units, including at least three units from the English group, plus three sequences of Unit 3 and 4 studies on top of your English sequence.^[1]

The General Achievement Test (GAT) does not count directly towards your results. It is used to check that school-based and external assessments are fair.^[1]