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Unsure about something? Don't worry! We have prepared some of the most commonly asked questions. Please reach us at office@3e-learning.com.au if you cannot find an answer to your question..
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy is a series of tests focused on basic skills that are administered to Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
It’s a measure to see whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning, and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community.
Yes, all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are required to participate in NAPLAN. Every effort is made to ensure it is an equitable experience, regardless of a student’s language background, school location or disability.
Yes and no at the same time. NAPLAN helps governments, education authorities and schools to see whether young Australians are reaching important literacy and numeracy goals. It provides information about how education programs are working, areas for improvement, and which schools need support in the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy.
On the other hand, NAPLAN is different from GATE and WACE. The NAPLAN result would not affect students' future studies. In other words, doing badly in NAPLAN once would not prevent students from going to a good high school. However, a bad NAPLAN result might imply that students need more support in learning literacy and numeracy.
NAPLAN tests the important skills that are essential for every student to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. The content of each test is informed by the Australian Curriculum. The literacy tests are based on content in the English learning area, and the numeracy tests draw content from the Mathematics learning area.
NAPLAN is not a pass-fail test. Individual student performance is shown on a national assessment scale for each test. Each test scale has 10 bands and all year levels are reported on the same scale. Six bands are reported for each year level for each test.
GATE stands for The Gifted and Talented Exam more recently known as the Academic Selective Entrance Test (ASET) occurs in March each year. This Exam is used as a pathway into a Gifted and Talented Program in Year 7 at a Selective High School in Western Australia.
No, GATE is not compulsory for all students. However, Perth Modern School and some other Gifted and Talented Education Programs require a sufficiently high GATE score for admission.
There are four sections covered in regular GATE tests:
1. Reading Comprehension
In this section, students are required to complete 35 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes. They will be asked to read or review a variety of media,such as articles, narrative extracts, poetry and maybe even cartoons and then answer questions regarding the relative reading materials.
2. Communicating Ideas In Writing
In this section, students are required to write an essay in 25 minutes.
Proper grammar and spelling are not enough to get a high score in this section. Students must compose a piece in response to the prompt or question provided. The structure and content are important.
3. Quantitative Reasoning
In this section, students are required to complete 35 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes.
This test is about application and problem-solving using mathematics and numbers.
4. Abstract Reasoning
In this section, students are required to complete 35 multiple-choice questions in 20 minutes.
This section tests students' ability to solve problems and they will basically be given questions about images and shapes.
The GATE exam for 2023 is closed now.
Students who are in Year 6 in 2023 can apply for the GATE exam in 2024.
The Application Date:
AIMO stands for the Australian Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad.
This is an open exam designed to stretch talented students. It is for years 7–10 and is particularly suited for those who:
The AIMO is a four-hour competition that must be sat under exam conditions. It is comprised of 10 questions:
WAJO stands for the Western Australian Junior mathematics Olympiad.
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The AMC is an engaging 30-problem competition that demonstrates the importance and relevance of mathematics in students’ everyday lives; it is open to students in years 3–12。
Competing in math competitions is one of many ways to demonstrate a student's intellectual capacity and commitment to the field. AMC provides different levels of awards and certifications. Through practice and preparation, students will further strengthen their math skills, which will enhance their grades, exams, and standardized test scores.
Criteria: Perfect score
Irrespective of the awards below, any student who achieves a perfect score is awarded this certificate, which was named in honour of the foundation Executive Director of the Australian Maths Trust.
Prior to 2007, this certificate was named in honour of the foundation Professor of Mathematics in the research School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the Australian National University.
Criteria: outstanding within a state or country
Each year the AMF Committee awards a number of medals to students at secondary levels. The number allocated is equivalent to at least a standard achieved by 1 in 10,000 Australian students. These are awarded on the judgement of the committee to students who are outstanding within their Australian state or country and within their year group. This is generally interpreted as meaning that no more than three such students can be deemed to be outstanding. If it is necessary to distinguish ties, including perfect scores, a second round of the competition shall be held, generally within six weeks of the main round. A prize (see below), whose value will depend on such issues as sponsorship, is normally awarded to a medallist.
Criteria: highest score by a female student in each year level (secondary only)
Best female students in Australia, one each in years 7–12.
All students will receive one of the awards listed below according to the criteria stated.
In the first instance, each student is given a score based on different weightings for different questions. The method for calculating this score can be found here. This is different than counting the number of correct responses out of 30.
It should also be noted that awards up to the level of prizes are decided by comparison only within the region and year level of the student. For example, a student in a certain year in an Australian state or another country will only be compared for the purpose of a certificate or prize with other students in the same group. This results in different cut-offs for awards between Australian states and various countries. These cut-offs are not published because they may be prone to misleading interpretations.
Best in State
Awarded to the students with the highest AMC score in each state, one each in years 3-12
AMC High Achiever
Awarded to the top 3 male and top 3 female students with the highest AMC scores in each state, in each years 3-12.
First offered in 2015, this award recognises the student with the highest AMC score in a school (after statistical calibration), based on the minimum achievement of a Distinction award, and minimum AMC entries of 50 (secondary) or 30 (primary). (There can be more than one winner if the statistically adjusted scores are equal.)
All students receive exactly one award listed below:
Criteria:1 awarded per 300 students in year/region cohort
A prize is awarded generally to no more than 1 student for every 300 students within their region and year group, the value of a prize depending on issues such as the sponsorship available.
Criteria: no higher award and in top 3% / 5% in year/region cohort
A High Distinction certificate is awarded to a student who has not received a higher award but is in the top 3% of their year and region (top 5% for Senior).
Criteria: no higher award and in top 20% / 25% in year/region cohort
A Distinction certificate is awarded to a student who has not received a higher award but is in the top 20% (25% for Senior) of their year and region.
Criteria: no higher award and in top 55% / 60% in year/region cohort
A Credit certificate is awarded to a student who has not received a higher award but is in the top 55% (60% for Senior) of their year and region.
Criteria: no higher award and score of 32 or greater
This Certificate is awarded to a student who has not received a Credit (or higher) certificate, but who has nonetheless received a satisfactory score indicating satisfactory competence at mathematics and problem solving with mathematics. Students who score 32 points are guaranteed at least this certificate, but this might be lower if the exam has been deemed to be more difficult in their year level. The score as determined in Australia becomes the benchmark score for awarding this certificate in other countries, and is typically a recognition that they have reached a satisfactory level of mathematical and problem solving skills by Australian standards. This certificate was awarded for the first time in 2008.
Criteria: no higher award and participated in the AMC
A Participation certificate is awarded to a student who has not received a higher award but has participated in the AMC.
Every year, winners of the following awards will be invited to a state-level AMC Award Ceremony where they will have their awards and trophies (where appropriate) presented:
Note: due to COVID, AMC ceremonies did not proceed in 2020 and 2021.
After the release of AMC Results, your school should advise you whether you qualify an invitation to the ceremony.
When: Wednesday 2 to Friday 4 August 2023
Cost per student: A$8.00 (Australia and New Zealand)
Entry closing dates: Paper: 14 July / Online: 1 August 2023
The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is a measure used by Australian universities that measures a student’s competitiveness for university entry. An ATAR of 80 means you are as competitive, or more competitive than 80% of the school-leaving population of your year. It is important to note that even though by definition, the median ATAR should be 50, but because not all students follow an ATAR pathway, the median ATAR of the students who receive an ATAR, is significantly higher than 50 (usually around 81-83 in WA).
Because there are more applicants than the number of spaces available at universities, especially for competitive courses, universities use ATAR to competitively rank applicants. While every Australian state/territory calculates ATAR independently, a student’s ATAR can be directly compared to any ATAR calculated in any state/territory.
Depending on your goals, this standard varies significantly. For example: To be competitive for significant scholarships you normally need at least a 99.90 ATAR (UWA Lawrence Scholarship, University of Melbourne Chancellor's Scholarship). A minimum ATAR of 99.00 is typically required to study medicine or dentistry at a Group of Eight University. Most other elite university courses (such as Law, advanced sciences, etc.) require an ATAR of around 95.00, although it varies depending on the course. Normally, for admission to Group of Eight Universities in Australia, the bare minimum ATAR you need is 80.00.
Your scaled scores from your top four subjects, along with a 10% bonus from each of Mathematics Methods, Mathematics Specialist and one Language other than English (if applicable) are added up (the maximum is 430). This is called the Tertiary Entrance Aggregate (TEA). Based on your TEA, the Tertiary Institution Service Centre produce a ranked list of all students and issue an ATAR to every student.
16 students obtained the highest ranking of 99.95 in 2022.
No. Things like standardisation and scaling are absolutely out of your control. Your focus should be how to maximise your subject mark. By doing the best you can in your subjects, you prepare yourself better for the challenges in universities, as well as increasing your odds of getting a better ATAR.
A scaled score of 50 from ATAR English, ATAR Literature or ATAR English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EALD) satisfies the requirement for all universities. Alternatively the English Competency requirement is also satisfied if:
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Many universities consider methods/specialist as prerequisite or desirable subjects. While bridging courses in universities are viable options, there are disadvantages. Firstly, they are expensive. Moreover, these bridging units cover two-years-worth of content in a 12-week semester, so the amount of mathematical preparation you gain for your future studies is far less than systematically covering the content over two years. In addition, university lecturers are very busy, which means you will receive far less individual help and attention from your instructors at university compared to high school.
First, go through past examination questions. Try to do as many past examination papers and exam-style questions as you can. Do these questions under timed conditions and mark it according to the official marking key. Do not be too generous to yourself. Also, do not only do the questions you can do—the whole point of the preparation process should be for you finding your weaknesses.
At 3E learning, our examination preparation sessions are entirely focused on examination style questions and mock tests, so that you will have extensive practice on problem-solving before your school/WACE examinations.
In the lead up to your examinations, school or final, prepare two pages of notes. This is important because writing notes help you to organise course material. For methods in particular, try to connect different parts of the course and consider how they can be linked together.
Be strategic on how you write your notes! You only have 100 minutes in your exams and if you simply write everything and anything you can possibly imagine on the notes, chances are, you will spend too much time just searching for stuff. A far better approach is to write down key words, key concepts, and reminders instead of huge blocks of texts.
While I encourage students to bring in notes into the final exam for the calculator allowed section, I do not recommend students to depend on these notes. The best thing to do is, both when you are preparing and sitting the exam, do the exam as if the notes are not there.
Here are some things you should NOT do: Memorise your entire textbook in the way you memorise your English essays instead of doing practice problems; doing only easy questions and think you understand everything; writing everything you can possibly imagine on your notes; not asking your teacher about things you don’t understand because you think that’s embarrassing; not doing past exams.
Starting from 2023, students are allowed to take both subjects together.
The idea is: do not stay in a subject that you are not passing, since it gives you little benefit in your ATAR. However, I recommend honest and open conversations with your school teachers and your tutors when making subject changes.
As a guide only, I usually recommend a student to have at least a high C grade in year 11 to progress into year 12. However, as mentioned before, this is only a guide.
The importance of doing practice exams cannot be overstated! It is normally found that the number of past exams done (in preparation of exams) strongly correlates with a student's assessment results. Further, the habit of memorising textbooks instead of doing practice questions is commonly found that among students who perform poorly in ATAR mathematics.
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The biggest advantage of mathematics methods is to give you a strong foundation in calculus and statistics, which have important applications in the real world. For many science-oriented University courses, Methods is considered a prerequisite. Moreover, due to the 10% to a student’s Tertiary Entrance Aggregate and the high rigor of the course, there is a disproportionally high number of students with 99+ ATAR that study Mathematics Methods, compared to the general population.
I usually recommend incoming year 11 methods students to have at least an A grade from year 10 mathematics. However, this benchmark is somewhat flexible. As long as you take challenging year 10 mathematics courses, B grades are usually okay too.
The core of year 11 methods is algebraic function—more specifically, linear, quadratic, cubic, exponential, trigonometric functions, as well as introduction to derivative and integral functions. There are also some supplementary topics, such as combinatorics, probability, and sequences. These provide important foundation for year 12.
It is very intensive, at the very least. Year 11 methods course is taught at a very high pace, particularly in semester 1. It is commonly found that students who do not have first-hand exposure to advanced level coursework in year 10 see a significant drop in marks from year 10 to year 11.
Absolutely, you are not alone! Even for students who end up doing very well in year 12 (I mean 90%+), many of them struggled in year 11, particularly in semester 1. Things like that are usually much more a reflection of the difficulty of their year 10 course, rather than an indication of their chance of success in year 12.
Fortunately, for methods, it is commonly found that hard work does pay off. Things like giftedness and IQ do not, usually, play an important role in your assessment/exam results. I believe everyone can achieve the success they want in methods, provided they put in the hard work, and work efficiently.
Even though the course average for Methods is around 65% for any given year, we see hundreds of students with 90%+ every year due the high standard deviation of the distribution. Therefore, with the right support and hard work, there is every possibility for you to be one of these highly talented 90%+ students.
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I usually recommend incoming year 11 methods students to have at least an A grade from year 10 mathematics. However, this benchmark is somewhat flexible. As long as you take challenging year 10 mathematics courses, B grades are usually okay too.
The course structure is slightly different. In both year 11 and 12, methods seem to be more like “one course”, where the Specialist course consists of individual, discrete topics. The exam preparation strategies are also different. While memorising worked example questions and formulas usually works for Methods, it is far less effective to do so in Specialist. The exam preparation strategy for specialist involves more insightful work – students need to see concepts can be manipulated to make something new, instead of just memorising what past exams have used.
The average mark for Specialist is around 60% for any given year. Therefore, if your marks are at or above 60%, you are already doing well. However, it is important to recognise that this average is produced by a highly selected cohort. Therefore, even if you are below average in Mathematics Specialist, it does not mean you have a lower-than-average ability. This is simply a reflection of the fact that you are competing with an exceptionally high achieving cohort. While you might be a talented and high-achieving student in lower school, most of your fellow students are. Therefore, it is absolutely normal, and very common, in fact, to see a significant drop in marks from lower school to year 11 specialist. In Specialist, hard-work or intelligence alone does not make any student stand out – It is perhaps examination preparation strategies, as well as effective study habits, that distinguish a high achieving and a mediocre student.
Even though the vast majority of Mathematics Specialist students are clearly outstanding students in year 10, the harsh reality is that by definition, only half of them can be above average. Don’t stress about this too much -- the best way to improve your marks is to revise your concepts, instead of overly stress where you rank against your peers.
This depends on your ability level and your goals. It is certainly true that hard work pays off, but the requirement is higher for specialist. Remember, you are competing with mostly highly intelligent people who are also hardworking, so it makes sense that more hard work is required to achieve a similar improvement, compared to methods.
Please reach us at office@3e-learning.com.au if you cannot find an answer to your question.
The international Competition Assessment for Schools (ICAS) are challenging competitions
conducted annually in Australia and in over 20 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, Pacific countries, and America. Competition questions are set in modern, real-world scenarios where students are assessed on their ability to apply classroom learning to new contexts, using higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills. The subjects span literacy (English, Writing and Spelling Bee) and STEM (Mathematics, Science and Digital Technologies).
The following subjects are available: English, Mathematics, Science, Digital Technology, Writing and Spelling Bee.
Most students sit ICAS at their schools, with some sitting the ICAS at other authorised testing centres.
All entries in the ICAS competitions receive an award or certificate, online access to their results/profile, and a results paper. The top 1 percent of each competition earn a "High Distinction". "Distinction" is awarded for the next 10 percent.
All students who enter ICAS receive a Certificate and Student Report letter. A certificate is awarded on the following basis for each subject assessed:
High distinction Certificates
Distinction Certificate
Credit Certificate
Merit Certificate
Participation Certificate
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