ATAR - Australian Tertiary Admission Rank ATAR Calculation Fundamentals Questions and Answers

Question 1

What is the primary purpose of the scaling process in the calculation of the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR)?

Accepted Answer

To ensure that a student's ATAR is not unfairly influenced by their choice of subjects.

Answer

To increase the raw marks of students who perform well in difficult subjects.

Answer

To rank students based on their raw examination scores before any adjustments.

Answer

To convert the final ATAR into a percentage score out of 100.

Question 2

A student in NSW receives their Higher School Certificate (HSC) results. Which combination of scaled marks will be used by the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) to calculate their ATAR aggregate?

Accepted Answer

The best 2 units of English, plus the next best 8 units from remaining courses.

Answer

The best 10 units regardless of the subject.

Answer

The best 8 units, plus the two compulsory Mathematics units.

Answer

All units studied, with each unit weighted equally.

Question 3

An ATAR of 85.00 signifies that a student has:

Accepted Answer

Achieved a rank in the top 15% of their student age group population.

Answer

Achieved an average score of 85% across all their subjects.

Answer

Performed better than 85% of their Year 12 cohort.

Answer

Scored in the top 85% of all students in their age group.

Question 4

Which of the following statements about the Tertiary Entrance Aggregate (TEA) in Western Australia is correct?

Accepted Answer

It can include bonuses, such as 10% of the scaled score for a Language Other Than English (LOTE).

Answer

It is the average of a student's best four scaled scores.

Answer

It is calculated solely from a student's final examination marks, excluding school assessments.

Answer

It is the direct equivalent of the ATAR, just with a different name.

Question 5

A student is concerned that choosing a subject with a historically lower-scaling average will disadvantage them. What is the underlying principle of ATAR calculation that addresses this concern?

Accepted Answer

The scaling process, which aims to neutralize the advantage or disadvantage of subject choice.

Answer

Subject ranking, where only the student's rank within the school matters.

Answer

The aggregate system, which focuses only on the top-performing subjects.

Answer

Moderation of school-based assessments, which aligns all school marks to a common standard.

Question 6

What is the relationship between a student's raw HSC marks and the scaled marks used for the ATAR calculation?

Accepted Answer

Raw marks are converted to scaled marks to allow for fair comparison across different subjects.

Answer

They are identical; raw marks are used directly to calculate the ATAR.

Answer

Scaled marks are always higher than the raw HSC marks.

Answer

Only the top raw mark from any subject is scaled for the ATAR.