Does My Cohort Effect My ATAR??

Anonymous2007

hey guys,

something that’s been bothering me lately is the fact that i go to a school where most people don’t really care or put in much effort. of course, there are some students who try, but overall, my school has a reputation for getting low ATARs. a lot of people say it’s unrealistic or even impossible to do well here—and honestly, it’s been stressing me out.

i keep hearing that your cohort can affect your marks, and i’m just confused about how that actually works. like, does the fact that most people at my school aren’t doing well mean my scores will get dragged down too? i just want some clarity around how the ATAR is calculated, how SAC marks are moderated, and whether other people’s results can affect mine.

i know it’s kind of pointless to stress over things that are out of my control, but still... i just want to know if the performance of people around me can actually impact my final results.

calebark

Hey Anonymous,

Yes, your classmates can affect your SAC score contribution. This is to accomodate for the fact that different schools have different in-school test difficulties.

Have a read of this article under the SAC Moderation section — it should explain everything. If you’re rank 1 in your class then you’ll be unaffected by any possible negative SAC scaling.

I understand it’s a bit extra stressful going to an underperforming school (I went to one too), so I wish you the best of luck, and keep in mind you can still do well. 🐢

Anonymous2007

calebark

Alright, I’ll have a read of that article — thank youuu!
Also, just to clarify: do you mean I need to be ranked first in every subject to avoid being affected by my cohort? What if I consistently rank in the top 3 — would that still impact me or i MUST get ranked first not to be affected?
And hypothetically, if most people perform poorly on the exam but I do somewhat well, would that still affect my results or not?

James385

Unfortunately, it will. As every school has different SAC difficulty. So VCAA uses how the cohort performs as a way to scale these SACs accordingly. I've seen students at schools simply being placed in the top 10% to have their SACs scaled to full. And other students in less competitive schools get their SAC scores tanked.

That being said, if you are SAC rank one at your school, your SAC will be scored how your exam does. That means that your destiny is in your hands.

Good luck! Focus on what you can control 💪🏼

VCE 2021: 99.90 ATAR
Monash Medical School Class of 2026
RAW 50 MM & SM Exam Prep Resources

Anonymous2007

James385 thank youuu

marshmallow

Anonymous2007
bro the panic is real lmao

calebark

Anonymous2007

Hey mate, yes you'll still be impacted by your cohort being in rank 2 or rank 3, however the higher you are then the less it can negatively impact you. If you're rank 1 and everyone in your class somehow gets a 0% then you'd be completely unaffected.

Anonymous2007

marshmallow no fr it isss 😭 im literally counting down how many days we have left till we finish skl lmao

BG!

yes it will affect you

..

Do u think a top 50 school in Victoria will scale up or down?

calebark

Top 50 school would have a median raw study score of 34+, so probably up unless the specific subject cohort is a bit below the rest of the school.

It may seem difficult, but try not to focus too much on your school's cohort. It's not something you can control -- you can only control your rank. Besides, if you're putting in lots of effort and you're not rank 1, that might even be a good thing because it means there are other people in your class performing well too (that is, think of people above you as performing well rather than you performing worse). It's better for you if your class does well anywho. 🐢

..

calebark oh ok. Thank you!