That ‘SCALED’ me..
“I want to do hospitality but I heard that the scaling is so crap that even if you get 80, it gets scaled down to 60…” and “ I heard that unless you’re confident in doing really well, you shouldn’t do it because it might end up scaling you down…” Sound familiar? I’m sure that many would agree with me if I said that subject selection as a fresh senior, preparing for the final years of high school life is one of the most hardest but crucial decisions any high school student makes. ‘What subject is my forte?’, ‘what do I enjoy?’, ‘what do I need to boost my ATAR?’ or ‘that subject is interesting but the scaling…’ are undoubtedly some of the many questions students can’t help but consider and ask themselves during this time.
The HSC is one of the most important stages of a teenagers/students life as many dedicate two full years of intense studies and individual development. This is where scaling plays a significant role. For many students, scaling is the biggest factor that leads them to make the decision to either take-up a subject or sacrifice a subject. Let’s be honest. Many students no longer choose a subject because they are attracted to the content they will learn but rather the harder the subject, the higher the scaling.
Students have changed their attitude and standards towards subject selection as they pick up subjects based on how well their results will be as long as they make an effort. It is sad to see that many students today would take up a subject and push themselves to study something they can barely tolerate. Just for the scaling.
It seems that students think that the only way that they can achieve an average ATAR of 95+ is by choosing high scaling subjects like, extension English, extension maths, physics , chemistry and many others. It’s the pressure that they must do well, especially with high scaled subjects because that is what determines your ATAR and what you’ve been working to achieve up until then. Students stress themselves out as they try and avoid subjects that might ‘scale them down’ despite their desire to really study it.
This problem of scaling constantly leaving students in a perplexed state has been recognised by many schools. Therefore, in order to encourage students not to solely base their decisions on the concept of scaling, many schools have taken action by inviting parents to help their children to make decisions and inform them about the countless subject selections. Presbyterian Ladies College is an example of this as they aim to help students who struggle to make the right decision for themselves. They have information nights for students and parents as they give detailed explanations on the subjects to ensure the students have a better understanding of them.
It seems that students need to be educated on how the subject scaling system works because they must understand that “ it is not to reward people clever enough to choose the right subjects; its purpose is to ensure fairness in the competitive stakes of university entry”. (Parent Council NSW) In the end, it means that students should do the subjects they enjoy and feel comfortable doing rather than doing something they believe would boost their ATAR marks.
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