Quick answer: ATAR scaling adjusts each subject's results so they can be compared and added. It looks at how the students in a subject performed in all their other subjects. If a subject's students did well everywhere, its results scale up; if they did less well, they scale down. Scaling is recalculated every year and it keeps the order of students within a subject the same.
ATAR scaling key facts (2025)
- Scaling adjusts results between subjects; moderation adjusts school marks within a subject. They are different steps.
- Victoria: at a study score of 30, scaled scores ranged from 20 to 46.
- NSW: an HSC mark of 80 was worth about 28.0 to 42.8 per unit, depending on the course.
- Queensland: a raw 80 scaled from 51.90 to 94.22 across General subjects.
- Scaling never changes your rank within a subject.
Why scaling exists
Imagine two students. One gets 80 in a subject taken mostly by students who are strong across the board. The other gets 80 in a subject taken by a broader mix. Adding those two 80s as if they were equal would be unfair to the first student. Scaling fixes this by asking: how good is an 80 in this subject compared with the rest of the state?
UAC describes the goal as estimating what your marks would be if every course were taken by every student. The idea is that you should be neither helped nor harmed by the subjects you choose.
What scaling is based on
- The strength of the group, not the difficulty of the content. A subject scales up because the students who take it tend to do well in their other subjects too.
- That year's students only. Scaling is recalculated from scratch each year. 2025 numbers describe 2025 students.
- Your position in the subject. Scaling never changes your rank within a subject. The top student in a subject stays the top student after scaling.
Scaling in 2025: real examples
| State and subject | Result | Scaled (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| VIC Specialist Mathematics | Study score 35 | 48 |
| VIC Mathematical Methods | Study score 35 | 41 |
| VIC English | Study score 35 | 33 |
| VIC Business Management | Study score 35 | 32 |
| QLD Chemistry | Raw 85 (50th percentile) | 90.36 |
| QLD Psychology | Raw 80 (75th percentile) | 79.51 |
| NSW Mathematics Extension 2 | Mean scaled mark per unit | 43.4 out of 50 |
| NSW English Standard | Mean scaled mark per unit | 20.4 out of 50 |
Sources: VTAC 2025 Scaling Report, QTAC ATAR Report 2025, UAC 2025 scaling report. Full tables are on the scaling pages for Victoria, NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.
How scaling works in each state
- NSW: UAC scales each course so its mean and spread reflect how its students performed across all their courses. Scaled marks are out of 50 per unit.
- Victoria: VTAC scales study scores using how each study's students performed in their other studies. A small group of languages uses a three-year average adjustment.
- Queensland: QTAC uses an iterative method that compares how the same students perform across subjects until the scaled results settle. Applied subjects are scaled by grade and VET qualifications get a fixed result by level.
- South Australia and NT: SATAC standardises subjects against each other using the students who took both. A grade covers a range of scaled scores.
- Western Australia: SCSA moderates school marks against exam results; then TISC and SCSA standardise and scale combined marks so the average across all courses is 60.
- ACT: course scores are moderated using the ACT Scaling Test before scaling.
Should you choose subjects for scaling?
Usually not. Scaling rewards subjects whose students are strong, so a high-scaling subject only helps if you can compete well in it. In Victoria in 2025, a study score of 25 in Mathematical Methods scaled to 28, while 40 in Business Management scaled to 38. A student who would get 40 in Business Management and 25 in Methods gets more from Business Management.
A better rule: choose subjects you can do well in, need for prerequisites, or enjoy enough to work hard at. If two subjects suit you equally, scaling can be a tie-breaker. For the Methods question specifically, read does Maths Methods scale up.
Scaling myths
- "Being in a smart class lowers my ATAR." No. Scaling and moderation use the whole state. A strong class can help your school assessment rank stay meaningful, and your exam result is compared statewide.
- "Low-scaling subjects cap my ATAR." No. Top results in any subject can contribute to a very high ATAR. The top scaled scores in most Victorian studies reached 50 in 2025.
- "Scaling is going down." Scaling has no long-term direction. It moves with each year's students, so individual subjects rise and fall a little.
The difference between raw and scaled numbers trips up a lot of students: raw vs scaled scores covers it.
How big is scaling in each state?
| State | Same result | Lowest scaled | Highest scaled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Study score 30 | 20 (Foundation Mathematics) | 46 |
| Victoria | Study score 40 | 32 | 53 |
| NSW | HSC mark 80, common courses | about 28.0 per unit (Legal Studies) | about 42.8 per unit (Extension 2, 40/50) |
| Queensland | Raw 80, General subjects | 51.90 | 94.22 (Specialist Mathematics) |
| Western Australia | Median scaled score, larger courses | 51.5 (Health Studies) | 69.4 (Mathematics Specialist) |
The spread is widest in the middle of the range and narrower at the top, where almost every subject rewards an excellent result. Full tables: VCE, HSC, QCE, WACE.
Scaling is not moderation
| Moderation | Scaling | |
|---|---|---|
| What it adjusts | School assessment marks within one subject at one school | Results between different subjects across the state |
| Based on | Your school group's exam results in that subject | How each subject's students perform in all their subjects |
| Changes your rank? | No, your school rank order is kept | No, your rank within the subject is kept |
| Done by | Curriculum bodies such as NESA, the VCAA and SCSA | Admissions centres such as UAC, VTAC, QTAC, SATAC and TISC |
Many students blame scaling for what is really moderation: a high school mark that drops because the school group did less well in the exam. Both steps keep your rank; they change the numbers attached to it.
The same effort, two subject choices
In Victoria in 2025, a student scoring 40 in Business Management, Psychology, Legal Studies and Health and Human Development, with 35 in English, gets an aggregate of 153.70 and an estimate of 89.35. A student scoring 35 in Methods, Chemistry, Physics and Biology, with 35 in English, gets 153.60 and 89.30. Scaling evens out the subjects; your score in each one decides the result.
ATAR scaling FAQ
What does scaling mean in the ATAR?
It means adjusting each subject's results onto a common scale so they can be added fairly, based on how the subject's students performed across all their subjects.
Does ATAR scaling change every year?
Yes. It is recalculated from each year's results, so a subject can scale a little differently from one year to the next.
Can you get a high ATAR with low-scaling subjects?
Yes. High results in any subject can add up to a high ATAR, because top results scale to near the maximum in most subjects.
Do you get a lower ATAR if you are in a really smart class?
No. Scaling is done across the whole state, not your class. Your school marks are moderated against your school's exam results, which protects students in strong groups.
How much does scaling affect your ATAR?
It can shift a single subject by several points either way, which can move an ATAR by a few points overall. Your raw performance still matters most.
How do I read a scaling graph?
Find your raw result on the horizontal axis and read the scaled result on the vertical axis. Lines above the diagonal scale up; lines below scale down. Our tables show the same data as numbers.
Is scaling the same as moderation?
No. Moderation adjusts school assessment marks within a subject using your school's exam results. Scaling adjusts results between subjects using how each subject's students perform overall.
Does scaling favour maths and science?
Advanced maths and the physical sciences often scale up because their students tend to be strong overall, not because the subjects get a bonus. A strong result in any subject still counts more than a weak result in one that scales well.