Year 10 Results & VCE

[fionas]

OK, quick recap on the background. DSD came to live with us from the States in Jan this year and long story short she'd had a very turbulent time there, hardly went to school and consequently failed every single subject.

When she first got here, her school report was pretty good.

The latest one has slipped and she's also missed quite a few classes. She's doing only averagely in all subjects and got a D in VCE Biology 1 & 2.

I know I should be asking the school this but it's quicker to do it on BB than find the number for the school coordinator and wait a few days of phone tagging to actually talk to them.

My question is, with those sorts of results in Year 10, how is she likely to do in VCE? I'm concerned that she may think that she can get into a course with a high ENTER score when maybe that's just not very realistic.

I'm not from Aus so the whole VCE/ENTER thing is a bit of a mystery to me. I just know if you were getting average/below average marks (so Cs and Ds) at age 16 in the UK, the chances of going to uni wouldn't be good. I know that the system is different over here and an average is just the learning standard they would expect so 'on track'. Didn't explain that very well.

Don't get me wrong, I don't see uni as the be all and end all - I just don't want HER having unrealistic expectations and she's a bit head in the cloudsy at the moment. She didn't even remember that she'd got a D in Biology when we talked last night - she thought she'd done really well.

[Muppity]

It all depends on what she wants to do I suppose. Does she have any idea about what she wants to do at uni? Is it a course where there will be assumed knowledge right from the start or one where they start off as if everyone knows nothing. For example something like engineering requires a certain level of maths to have been studied beforehand whereas say a history degree doesn't usually require previous knowledge (exept for a level of written english)

My issue would be if she had thought that she went really well and she didn't is there some communication issue there? Or is she kidding herself or did the teacher muck up the marks - which does happen from time to time.

If she has a dream of doing something then there are always alternative methods of entry like doing a year of a "lesser" degree to prove that you can survive at uni - or doing bridging courses that loads of tafes and unis do.


Also, maybe getting bad marks now will be the kick in the bum that she needs to work harder for what she wants - if she knows - being 16 and deciding on your whole future is such a daunting experience - I'm twice that age and I am still trying to work out what I want to do when I grow up

Good luck - it sounds like at the moment you are one of her greatest assest - it is great to hear that she finally has someone in her corner willing to put in some effort - good on you.

[fionas]

Thanks Muppity.

She doesn't have a really good idea of what she wants to do as yet - which is no big deal, she's only 16 afterall. Great if she was specifically aiming for something but a lot of us don't decide until much later.

I guess my question though is - if she's getting average marks now, what is that likely to translate into as an ENTER score?

[HotI]

Thanks Muppity.

I guess my question though is - if she's getting average marks now, what is that likely to translate into as an ENTER score?

The ENTER score depends on the subjects you do as well as how well you do in that subject relative to other students.

[fionas]

OK, I think I found my answer on Wikipedia. Taking the fact that she's doing average in most subjects, it would be fair to presume that she'll get an average ENTER. I realise different courses have different weightings etc. but using 'averageness' as a rule of thumb, then Wikipedia says it's 53(ish). So I guess that's our starting point when she's beginning to look at careers.

And yes, hopefully she wants to do something with a higher ENTER and that will motivate her to pull up her socks a bit.

[berrme]

I teach in QLD so work in a different system, but here year 10 marks don't count for anything as far as uni entrance is concerned. Yr 11 and 12 are the important years. The problem with failing yr 10 is that it will make it more difficult for her to achieve high senior grades without the background knowledge. Not impossible though if she wants it badly enough.
Also, if you don't go straight to uni from high school they class you as a mature age student and entry is not reliant on high school marks anymore.

It is hard being a teenager... work on getting her attitude right. There are always alternative ways to get where you want to go, her future really isn't determined by how well she does at school.

[Bathsheba]

I went through the NSW HSC system. I was also similar to your DD in that I had a fractured school and home life. I did very well at school until my parents divorced... usually in the top 5 students for any subject, except maths, which I struggled with. Now where I'm taking this is here: I was naturally bright but due to disruptive forces beyond my control I didn't do very well in high-school. I basically only kept my head above water. I got a few A's in subjects I didn't have to try with like Art, Agriculture and English.... but otherwise i was just managing to pass most subjects. This was how it was in year 10. But I went on to years 11 and 12. I only just passed my HSC... but I did well in English (in the top 15% of the state) which seemed to account for a lot. I got into Uni based on an interview and my portfolio... studied Visual Arts. Dropped out after 2 years (although I passed everything, the lecturers were creepy). Returned 10 years later as a mature age student, my life all peaceful, and completed a Fine Art degree here at Monash graduating in the top 5% of my course that year.... Distinction grade average in all subjects.

So what I'm trying to say is... I think... assess her wholistically in terms of her intelligence. School grades are not always reflective of ability. My situation also shows how others things like motivation, persistence and other emotional intelligences will get you there in the end in terms of success.

By all means encourage her to do the VCE... but maybe focus on helping her to resolve any issues (as a foundation to success) before wondering how to get her results up. Some kids can get good results no matter what is going on in their lives, but from my experience, that's a rare kid.

It's great she has you on her side. My parents were both oblivious to my school life. My mother washed her hands of me after grade 4 wheh she realised she couldn't drill my times-tables into my head.... and my Dad just had his own life. My best friend made sure I got into uni by pressuring me to apply and go to the interview. Your SD is very lucky

[Rivlas]

It sounds like she is doing a VCE subject in year 10?
Both my DD's did this with one not doing that well. She also didn't have a clue what she wanted to do after she left school and is now at Uni 5 years after finishing VCE.
It is open week at the Uni so it might be helpful to have a look at them to see if there is something she might be interested in. This will also help her do the right subject as some courses need certain subjects to get into. Some sort of English is a must then the others are picked from the areas you think you will need to get into Uni.
It's a very daunting time both for student and parent/carer having to pick subjects to get into Uni a few years down the track.
After talking to her about what she thinks she would like to do talk to the careers person at the school as they are usually more in touch with what is needed for Uni.

These are just some of the things we did so I hope these ramblings help

[HotI]

I found Year 10 to be the hardest year, and then there was a lot of work in VCE, but the work didn't get any harder IYKWIM.

VCE is really important. Not just for a TER score to get you into uni, but heaps of jobs want you to have finished VCE. It shows committment and a willing to keep working at something.