Scaled results: This term refers to the subject result generated via the inter-subject scaling pro- cess. Scaled results are expressed on a 100-point scale, up to 2 decimal places. TEA: The
Scaling is really just a rank of a subject's difficulty and competition. This rank isn't how “hard” the subject is. Rather, it's the level of competition to achieve a high mark in that subject, as well the overall performance of the subject's students.
In order for your study scores to be added together to make up your ATAR, your raw study scores need to be scaled up or down by VTAC.
It is reported with a range from 99.95 for the highest ranked students down to 30.00. For example, a student with an ATAR of 85.00 indicates a performance better than 85% of the population eligible to be in Year 12 or in the top 15% in relation to all the students who started school at the same time.
Your rank is based on how you went compared to other Year 12 students. So even if your test scores are lower than you'd hoped, if you're still ranked in the top 20% of students, then you'll receive an ATAR of 80. As long as you try your best with what you have, chances are, you'll do better than you expect.
The average ATAR usually sits at around 70.00. Why is this? Although an ATAR of 70 places a student in the top 70% of year 12 students overall, it only places them in the top 50% of students who get an ATAR (since certain students will not finish their year 12 studies).
Scaling is important because students with different abilities study many different combinations of subjects. It is scaling that enables fair comparisons between the different subjects for the purpose of tertiary selection.
If a course has a low scaled mean it tells us that the ability of the students in that course ranges from high to low. (It doesn't mean that you can't get a high ATAR if you study that course.)
An ATAR of 75 is hard to get when you consider that only one in four people manage to do it. You can interpret this score as saying that 75 percent of people in the age cohort either didn't get an ATAR or scored lower. Only 25 percent, or one-quarter, of people did better.
In NSW, your ATAR is based on an aggregate of scaled marks in 10 units of HSC courses comprising your: best 2 units of English. best 8 units from your remaining units, which can include no more than 2 units of Category B courses.
3. What is the average ATAR score? The average ATAR is usually around 70.00.
This isn't a percentage; the number of correct answers necessary to obtain a scaled score of 75 will always vary. For example, each discipline has a different number of questions on its exams. On some exam versions, you might need to correctly answer 131 of 200 questions to receive a scaled score of 75.
Scaled scores indicate the same level of performance, regardless of which form a candidate has received. For NCCT certification exams, the converted raw passing score is 70 on a scale of 0 to 100. This is NOT a percentage.
Chemistry: This is the highest-scaling science subject. It is also a prerequisite for some courses in particular medicine and so a lot of high-achieving students tend to take it. This means that it can be slightly more difficult to get a high raw score which is the reason Chemistry scales pretty highly.
The highest ATAR anyone can achieve! For HSC Advanced Maths, the highest ATAR achieved for a student taking the subject has always been 99.95. Historically, however, a 99.95 ATAR hasn't always been achieved in every subject! For example, the highest average ATAR for people who take Standard Maths is 99.48.
Step 5: Your ATAR is a ranking
Your top 4 scaled study scores (including English, EAL, Literature or English Language) are added together, along with 10% of your 5th and 6th study scores (if you did 5 or 6 subjects). Your ATAR reflects where your aggregate score ranks against every other student in the state.
Prepare for every subject
Your ATAR is calculated from the results of 10 course units and at least four subjects, so even if you excel in one, two or even three subjects, you won't receive your best ATAR unless you work equally hard in each of your courses. This applies to subjects within the course, too.
In calculating the ATAR, VTAC scales study scores. This ensures fair comparison of students' achievements over all their studies, regardless of what they have studied.
Biology tends to be unaffected by scaling. A 30 score will usually remain around a 30, although some higher scores were scaled up by 1.
Your school's ranking does not affect your ATAR - your ATAR is based on a combination of your scaled marks in your best 10 units.
What is the lowest ATAR score? While ATARs are all between 0 and 99.95, the lowest rank that actually gets reported is 30.
In NSW in 2020, the minimum aggregate required to score an ATAR of 90 or above was approximately 370, corresponding to an average scaled score of 37 per unit across 10 units.
In Australia, the lowest minimum ATAR required by a medical program is an ATAR of 90 (Monash University) or adjusted ATAR of 90 (University of Adelaide). If you're a rural student, you could also apply to La Trobe's medical program, which has a minimum unadjusted ATAR requirement of 80.