Five Subjects
For each subject below: how the marks are made up, and what content each assessment covers.
MAM · Mathematics Methods
Weighting: Tests 40% + Investigation 20% + Examination 40% = 100%
| Assessment | Content covered |
|---|---|
| Topic Tests 1–3 | Three separate tests, each covering what has been taught by then: further differentiation; then integrals and the logarithmic function; then discrete and continuous random variables and interval estimates for proportions |
| Investigation | Plan, research, conduct and communicate findings; in-class validation |
| Final Examination | All Unit 3 and Unit 4 content, including integrals, the logarithmic function, discrete and continuous random variables, the normal distribution, and interval estimates for proportions |
Note that Topic Test 2 alone is worth 20% — more than either Investigation, half of what the final exam is worth, and it falls inside the November examination window. Do not treat it as a routine test: the only clear gap before it is the 5–9 October break, so that is when to start working through the content.
PHY · Physics
Weighting: Tests 40% + Examination 50% + Science Inquiry 10% = 100%
| Assessment | Content covered |
|---|---|
| Topic Test 1 / 2 | Unit content as taught to that point, assessed through problems and calculations |
| Evaluation & Analysis | Extended evaluation and analysis of a physical situation |
| Lab Assessment | Science Inquiry: practical work plus a written component |
| Evaluation Exam / Final Evaluation | Cumulative examination; the final covers all of Units 3 and 4 |
Note that the two Topic Tests total 28%, not much less than the 30% final. Focusing only on the final leaves nearly a third of the marks exposed. The Evaluation Exam at the end of October also runs straight into the mid-November examination weeks.
CSC · Computer Science
Weighting: Project 40% + Examination 40% + Theory test 10% + Practical Test 10% = 100%
| Assessment | Content covered |
|---|---|
| Task 1 (Project) | Object-oriented program for a business client: two-dimensional array, classes, control structures; design and development, evaluation, project validation |
| Task 2 (Practical Test) | A series of programming items of increasing difficulty, completed on a computer |
| Task 4 (Theory Test) | Network communications and cyber security, including network diagrams using CISCO conventions, addressing, subnets, segmentation and security |
| Task 5 (Project) | Integrated database programming solution; relational database design and SQL queries, including referential integrity, insert/delete, inner joins, calculated fields |
| Task 3 / Task 6 (Examination) | Three-hour examinations using the ATAR Year 12 examination design brief |
The two projects total 40%, equal to the two examinations combined, and each runs over several weeks. These most reward starting early.
ELD · English (EALD)
Weighting: Written production 20% + Response 15% + Investigation 15% + Oral 20% + Final examination 30% = 100%
| Assessment | Content covered |
|---|---|
| Task 1 / Task 6 | Written production: essay and persuasive speech, responding to previously unseen questions |
| Task 2A / 2B | Investigation: oral research proposal, then a written research report |
| Task 3 (COAT) | Common Oral Assessment Task set by SCSA and administered by the school |
| Task 4 / Task 5 | Response: listening comprehension, and reading comprehension with synthesis writing |
| Task 7 | Oral production: persuasive speech delivered to peers |
| Task 8 | Final written examination |
9 tasks, the most of any subject. Spoken tasks exceed 20% combined. Recording yourself and listening back helps: most people cannot hear their own pace or filler pauses while speaking.
HBY · Human Biology
Weighting: Tests 25% + Extended Response 15% + Lab Assessment 10% + Examination 50% = 100%
| Assessment | Content covered |
|---|---|
| Topic Test (x2) | August: Chapters 1–3. January: Chapters 10–12. |
| Extended Response (x2) | September: Chapters 4–7. December: Chapters 8–10. |
| Lab Assessment | Practical skills drawn from Chapter 1. |
| Evaluation Exam / Final Exam | November: Chapters 1–8. February: all thirteen chapters. |
Note that the two Extended Responses total 15% and the Lab Assessment is 10% on its own. Neither feels urgent the way a final does, which is exactly why they get neglected.
When revising, start with the content-covered column: it tells you which topics each assessment draws on, which is more efficient than re-reading the whole course.
This page is a personal summary and does not reproduce task descriptions from the school or SCSA outlines; the official documents govern the detail and requirements.