Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR)
An ATAR ranges from 99.95 to zero, and reports your rank position relative to all other students. It takes into account the number of students who sit the WACE examinations in any year and also the number of people of Year 12 school leaving age in the total population.
If you have an ATAR of 70.00, for example, it indicates that you’ve achieved as well as or better than 70% of the Year 12 school leaver age population in the state.
The ATAR allows the results of any WA student applying for university admission interstate to be directly compared with results in other states. All states (except Queensland) report student rankings as an ATAR.
Your TEA is the sum of your best four scaled scores plus:
- 10% of your best Language Other Than English (LOTE) scaled score (if you have one)
- 10% of your scaled score (if you have one) Mathematics: Methods ATAR
- 10% of your scaled score (if you have one) Mathematics: Specialist ATAR
Your TEA is calculated based on the following rules:
- The best four scaled subject scores in Year 12, without bonuses, would result in a maximum achievement of 400
- There are some unacceptable course combinations such as ATAR English and ATAR Literature
- If you have a scaled score in a Language Other than English (LOTE), 10% of your LOTE scaled score is added to the aggregate of your best four scaled scores. If you have more than one LOTE score, only one (the best) LOTE scaled score will be used as the LOTE bonus. You receive the LOTE bonus even if your LOTE course wasn’t one of your best four.
- If you have a scaled score in Mathematics Methods ATAR and/or Mathematics Specialist ATAR, 10% of your scaled score/s in these subjects will be added to your Tertiary Entrance Aggregate. You will receive this Mathematics bonus even if the course/s aren’t in your best four.
- Therefore, with a maximum of 400 without bonuses and up to an additional 30 in bonuses, the current maximum TEA is 430.
Your TEA once calculated is then converted to an ATAR. The closer to 430, the higher the ATAR.
Please refer to the tables below which show how a hypothetical TEA could be calculated:
Example – Without a LOTE or Methods or Specialist course
| Course | Scaled Score | Course used for TEA? | Result used for TEA |
| English ATAR Year 12 | 70 | Yes | 70 |
| Politics and Law ATAR Year 12 | 70 | Yes | 70 |
| Math Applications ATAR Year 12 | 70 | Yes | 70 |
| Chemistry ATAR Year 12 | 70 | Yes | 70 |
| Religion and Life ATAR Year 12 | 65 | No | 0 |
| 280 | |||
Example – With a LOTE course but no Methods or Specialist course
| Course | Scaled Score | Course used for TEA? | Result used for TEA |
| English ATAR Year 12 | 70 | Yes | 70 |
| Chinese: Second Language ATAR Year 12 | 70 plus 7 | Yes | 77 |
| Math Applications ATAR Year 12 | 70 | Yes | 70 |
| Chemistry ATAR Year 12 | 70 | Yes | 70 |
| Religion and Life ATAR Year 12 | 65 | No | 0 |
| 287 | |||
Example – With a LOTE and Methods course but no Specialist course
| Course | Scaled Score | Course used for TEA? | Result used for TEA |
| English ATAR Year 12 | 70 | Yes | 70 |
| Chinese: Second Language ATAR Year 12 | 70 plus 7 | Yes | 77 |
| Math Methods ATAR Year 12 | 70 plus 7 | Yes | 77 |
| Chemistry ATAR Year 12 | 70 | Yes | 70 |
| Religion and Life ATAR Year 12 | 65 | No | 0 |
| 294 | |||
Example – With a LOTE, Methods and Specialist course
| Course | Scaled Score | Course used for TEA? | Result used for TEA |
| English ATAR Year 12 | 70 | Yes | 70 |
| Chinese: Second Language ATAR Year 12 | 70 plus 7 | Yes | 77 |
| Math Methods ATAR Year 12 | 70 plus 7 | Yes | 77 |
| Math Specialist ATAR Year 12 | 70 plus 7 | Yes | 77 |
| Religion and Life ATAR Year 12 | 65 | No | 0 |
| 301 | |||
Example – With a LOTE, Methods and Specialist course where one of these courses was not in the top 4
| Course | Scaled Score | Course used for TEA? | Result used for TEA |
| English ATAR Year 12 | 70 | Yes | 70 |
| Chinese: Second Language ATAR Year 12 | 70 plus 7 | Yes | 77 |
| Math Methods ATAR Year 12 | 70 plus 7 | Yes | 77 |
| Math Specialist ATAR Year 12 | 60 plus 6 | 10% counts | 6 |
| Religion and Life ATAR Year 12 | 70 | Yes | 70 |
| 300 | |||
The following table gives an indication of the minimum Tertiary Entrance Aggregate (TEA) required to achieve at least a particular Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR).
| ATAR | Minimum TEA for ATAR |
| 30.05 | 129.3 |
| 40.00 | 154.8 |
| 50.00 | 178.2 |
| 55.00 | 188.4 |
| 60.05 | 198.0 |
| 61.00 | 199.9 |
| 62.00 | 201.7 |
| 63.00 | 203.8 |
| 64.05 | 206.0 |
| 65.00 | 207.9 |
| 66.00 | 209.9 |
| 67.00 | 211.8 |
| 68.00 | 213.8 |
| 69.00 | 215.7 |
| 70.00 | 218.0 |
| 71.00 | 220.5 |
| 72.00 | 222.5 |
| 73.00 | 224.7 |
| 74.00 | 226.8 |
| 75.00 | 229.0 |
| 76.00 | 231.4 |
| 77.00 | 234.1 |
| 78.00 | 236.5 |
| 79.00 | 239.1 |
| 80.00 | 241.8 |
| 81.00 | 244.4 |
| 82.00 | 247.3 |
| 83.00 | 250.5 |
| 84.00 | 253.4 |
| 85.00 | 256.9 |
| 86.00 | 260.4 |
| 87.00 | 263.7 |
| 88.00 | 267.9 |
| 89.00 | 271.9 |
| 90.00 | 276.3 |
| 91.00 | 280.8 |
| 92.00 | 285.5 |
| 93.00 | 291.0 |
| 94.00 | 296.7 |
| 95.00 | 303.0 |
| 96.00 | 310.9 |
| 97.00 | 320.5 |
| 98.00 | 331.1 |
| 98.50 | 340.0 |
| 99.00 | 350.3 |
| 99.50 | 365.0 |
| 99.70 | 375.9 |
| 99.90 | 396.5 |
| 99.95 | 407.1 |
The Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) provides an ATAR calculator. To access please click HERE.
Much discussion centres on the importance of scaling in ATAR. Although significant, exam performance is arguably a far more important factor in determining a student’s TEA and thus ATAR.
For information regarding the scaling process please refer to pages 10-17 of the following LINK.