How the ATAR is calculated

It’s the biggest overhaul of senior schooling in half a century but how does the ATAR system work? We look into how the ATAR will be calculated in Queensland.

QUEENSLAND students will have their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank calculated on the marks they achieve in their five strongest Year 12 subjects.

While the ATAR is a common national rank, the way it is calculated varies from state to state.

In Queensland, unlike in NSW and Victoria, English will not have to count toward the calculation of the ATAR if a student performs better in five other senior courses.

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Most Year 12 students will take six subjects, however to be eligible for an ATAR, students must satisfactorily complete at least one English subject.

The Queensland ATAR will also allow students to include the results they obtain in one VET qualification at Certificate III level or above, providing they have also completed at least four Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority courses.

The Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) will calculate ATARs by using a process of inter-subject scaling, which will compare the performance of students across subjects.

The scaling process will ensure a top mark in a basic mathematics subject scores lower than a top mark in higher-level specialist mathematics. It will also weigh up the relative difficulty of subjects like drama and design against physics and chemistry.

The use of inter-subject scaling, which is employed in most Australian jurisdictions, means Year 12 students will no longer have to sit the Queensland Core Skills Test, which was previously used to scale OP rankings.