What is an ATAR score and how is it calculated according to VCE scaling?


  1. What is an ATAR score? 

    An ATAR score is a ranking that reflects your academic achievement compared to all other Year 12 students across Australia. It is not a score out of 100, but rather a rank. The ATAR allows tertiary institutions to assess and compare the overall academic performance of Year 12 students nationwide.


  1. How is the ATAR calculated using VCE scaling? 

    In Victoria, the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) handles ATAR calculations upon the completion of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). VTAC utilizes VCE results provided by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) to determine ATAR scores. To have your ATAR calculated, you must have completed at least four VCE studies in an approved combination.

    For each subject, you receive a raw study score between 0–50. This raw score is based on your results from school assessments and exams. Just like the ATAR, the raw score is a ranking, so it reflects how you performed compared to all other students who studied the same subject.

    The raw score is then scaled up or down by VTAC, based on the difficulty of getting a high score in that subject. This doesn’t mean that some subjects are easier or harder, but it ensures you’re not advantaged or disadvantaged based on your subject choice.

 

  1. ATAR Calculation Steps: 

  • VTAC calculates the ATAR based on up to six VCE scaled study scores. These study scores are adjusted by VTAC depending on the performance of students in a given study during a particular year, resulting in score variations annually and making ATAR predictions challenging.
  • The ATAR is derived from an aggregate, which involves summing the following:
    • Your highest scaled study score from one of the English studies (English, English Language, English as an Additional Language (EAL), Literature).
    • The highest scaled study scores from three additional permissible studies.
    • 10% of the scaled study scores from the fifth and sixth permissible studies.
    • Students are then ranked based on their aggregate, and a percentage rank is assigned to evenly distribute students across a 100-point scale.
    • Finally, the percentage rank is converted to an ATAR score. The ATAR provides an estimate of the percentage of the population you have outperformed. For instance, an ATAR of 75 means you performed better than 75% of students that year.


  1. ATAR Range: 

The ATAR typically ranges from 30 to 99.95 in intervals of 0.05. The highest rank is 99.95, followed by 99.90, and so on. The lowest automatically reported rank is 30.00, while ranks below 30.00 are indicated as 'less than 30'.


If you have any further questions, feel free to ask!