QCAA subject scaling adjusts your scores to reflect the difficulty of the subjects you take and how your cohort performs. Every year, QTAC determines how scaling will work based on these factors, ensuring a fair comparison across students.
Note - This information is only made public once the ATAR results are released and scaling details for subjects with fewer than 50 students are not disclosed.
How Does QCAA Subject Scaling Work?
Subject scaling ensures you're treated fairly, no matter if you choose subjects considered 'harder' or 'easier.'
QCAA subject scaling is a mathematical process that takes your raw marks and adjusts them by considering the difficulty of each subject, the strength of your competition and overall student performance in your cohort in other subjects.
Why Is Scaling Used?
Scaling levels the playing field. Some subjects naturally attract high-achievers, while others have a broader mix of abilities. It ensures you're assessed fairly, no matter your subject choices.
This means you can still achieve a high ATAR regardless of your subject choices.
Factors Influencing QCAA Scaling
Several factors impact QCAA scaling:
Subject Difficulty: Harder subjects may be scaled up to reflect their challenging nature, ensuring students aren’t disadvantaged for choosing them.
Cohort Competition: Subjects with many high-performing students are likely to be scaled up due to increased competition.
Student Performance: If students perform well across their other subjects, a particular subject might receive a positive scaling adjustment.
How Queensland's Scaling Is Different
Queensland’s scaling process works a bit differently from other states. Unlike others that weight some subjects more, QCAA initially treats all subjects equally. Here’s how it works:
Initial Scaled Scores: Your raw score in a subject is used to rank you against everyone else who took the same subject, even those not eligible for an ATAR.
Polyranks: Your polyrank is the average of your top five QCE subjects based on their scaled scores. English must be included, and your sixth subject doesn’t count towards your ATAR.
Individual Raw Scores: Your raw score in one of your top five subjects is compared to all other ATAR students who achieved the same score. The polyranks of this pool of students are averaged, and this becomes the scaled score for that subject. This step is repeated for every top-five subject.
Iterations & Adjustments: These scaled scores cause polyranks to adjust. The process repeats until the scaled scores stabilise, ensuring minimal changes with each iteration.
In Queensland, a polyrank is the average of a student's top five QCE subjects based on their scaled scores. This means that your sixth subject doesn’t count towards your ATAR, but English must be included.
Scaling Trends from 2023
Let’s take a look at what happened in 2023.
Based on the QTAC ATAR 2023, subjects like Specialist Mathematics and Chemistry were scaled up, reflecting their difficulty and the strong performance of students taking these subjects. On the other hand, subjects like General Mathematics were scaled down, likely due to less competition and popularity.
Here’s a summary of common subjects and their 2023 scaling results:
Subject | 2023 Scaling Adjustment |
Specialist Mathematics | Scaled Up |
Chemistry | Scaled Up |
General English | Scaled Down |
Essential Mathematics | Scaled Down |
Choosing the Right Subjects for Year 11 & 12
As you can see, the subjects you choose for your senior years can have a big impact on your ATAR. It's not just about picking what feels easy — it's about knowing how scaling works and how well you can perform. We recommend choosing subjects that play to your strengths while thinking about how they'll affect your ATAR.
Looking for a senior tutor to help you maximise your ATAR? Find an ATAR tutor today.
Due to subject scaling, some senior students think it is better to choose 'harder' QCAA subjects. Interestingly, scoring a B or C in these subjects can sometimes maximise your ATAR more effectively than achieving an A in an ‘easier’ subject.
Other helpful guides:
Frequently Asked Questions
How does subject scaling work?
Scaling adjusts your scores based on subject difficulty and cohort performance, ensuring fair contributions to your ATAR.
How does scaling work in exams?
Scaling affects the final contribution of each subject to your ATAR, not your actual exam marks.
What subjects get scaled up and down in ATAR?
Subjects like Specialist Mathematics and Chemistry tend to be scaled up, while subjects like General English might be scaled down.
How many students get 99.95 ATAR in QLD?
Only a small number of students in Queensland achieve a 99.95 ATAR each year, typically excelling in high-scaling subjects.
Why do subjects get scaled down?
Subjects may be scaled down if they are less challenging or if students perform poorly in their other subjects.