Western Australia publishes the two tables a WACE ATAR calculator needs, in two different places: the scaled score statistics for every course, and the TEA/ATAR summary table, both for 2025. What it does not publish is a way to turn a combined mark into a scaled score, so this calculator takes scaled scores, offers the 2025 percentiles of each course as a way to estimate them, builds the TEA with the bonuses, and reads the ATAR from TISC's table.
Download the WACE scaling and ATAR table (PDF) (the 2025 scaled score at four percentiles of every main course, the TEA rule and bonuses with a worked example, the minimum TEA for each ATAR in 2025, the English competence rule, and a planner; two pages, free).
The calculator
ATAR calculator (2025 scaling tables):
How the WA ATAR is built
Combined marks. For each ATAR course the School Curriculum and Standards Authority moderates the school assessment against the exam and combines the two into a combined mark. These are standardised before scaling.
Scaled scores. TISC and the Authority scale the standardised marks of all 81 examined courses (22 of them languages on interstate syllabuses) so that the average scaled score across all courses is 60 and each course's scale reflects how its students did in their other courses. In 2025 the mean scaled score was 69.2 in Mathematics Specialist, 64.6 in Mathematics Methods, 55.3 in Mathematics Applications, 63.2 in Chemistry, 62.7 in Physics, 64.2 in Literature and 57.8 in English. The maximum is 100.
The TEA. The best four scaled scores, plus 10 percent of the best Language Other Than English scaled score (one language only), plus 10 percent of the Mathematics Methods scaled score, plus 10 percent of the Mathematics Specialist scaled score, each bonus counted whether or not the course is in the best four. Scores can be accumulated over five consecutive years. Maximum 430.
The ATAR. TISC converts the TEA with a formula based on the share of the WA school-leaving-age population taking at least four ATAR courses, and publishes the resulting TEA/ATAR summary table each year. The English competence requirement for university is separate: a scaled score of 50 or more in English, Literature or EALD, met in 2025 by 73.8 percent of English students, 86.5 percent in Literature and 62.6 percent in EALD, with other routes for the rest.
2025: scaled score at four percentiles, main courses
| Course | 25th | 50th (median) | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | 49.5 | 58.1 | 66.6 | 74.7 |
| Literature | 55.9 | 64.6 | 73.1 | 81.2 |
| English as an Additional Language or Dialect | 45.1 | 53.7 | 62.4 | 70.7 |
| Mathematics Applications | 47.0 | 55.5 | 63.9 | 72.0 |
| Mathematics Methods | 56.4 | 64.8 | 73.1 | 81.4 |
| Mathematics Specialist | 60.9 | 69.4 | 78.0 | 86.3 |
| Chemistry | 55.0 | 63.4 | 71.9 | 80.1 |
| Physics | 54.2 | 62.9 | 71.4 | 79.8 |
| Human Biology | 50.4 | 58.7 | 67.0 | 75.1 |
| Biology | 48.7 | 57.5 | 66.0 | 74.4 |
| Economics | 50.8 | 59.3 | 67.8 | 76.5 |
| Accounting and Finance | 49.0 | 57.1 | 65.5 | 73.3 |
| Business Management and Enterprise | 47.0 | 55.3 | 63.5 | 72.0 |
| Geography | 47.1 | 55.7 | 64.2 | 71.8 |
| Modern History | 48.2 | 56.9 | 65.7 | 73.9 |
| Politics and Law | 51.9 | 60.3 | 68.6 | 77.1 |
| Psychology | 48.2 | 56.9 | 65.5 | 73.5 |
| Computer Science | 50.2 | 58.9 | 66.5 | 75.3 |
| Physical Education Studies | 48.4 | 56.4 | 64.2 | 72.0 |
| Religion and Life | 52.1 | 59.9 | 67.6 | 75.2 |
| Health Studies | 42.6 | 51.5 | 60.3 | 68.3 |
| Visual Arts | 48.1 | 57.0 | 65.5 | 74.3 |
| Drama | 50.1 | 58.4 | 67.3 | 75.9 |
| Media Production and Analysis | 45.2 | 54.0 | 62.9 | 71.9 |
| French: Second Language | 60.3 | 68.6 | 77.5 | 84.6 |
| Japanese: Second Language | 60.2 | 68.7 | 77.4 | 85.0 |
| Chinese: Second Language | 61.4 | 69.9 | 78.1 | 87.1 |
| Italian: Second Language | 53.8 | 62.4 | 71.1 | 80.1 |
From TISC's 2025 Course Statistics Summary (courses with 50 or more students; international and mature-age students included). All 44 courses with percentile data are in the calculator.
The minimum TEA for each ATAR, 2025 (TISC)
| ATAR | Minimum TEA, 2025 |
|---|---|
| 50 | 178.4 |
| 60 | 197.2 |
| 65 | 206.2 |
| 70.05 | 215.7 |
| 75 | 226.4 |
| 80 | 237.9 |
| 85 | 251.7 |
| 90 | 269.6 |
| 92 | 278.5 |
| 94 | 289.2 |
| 95 | 295.3 |
| 96 | 303.6 |
| 97 | 313.6 |
| 98 | 326.7 |
| 99 | 348.1 |
| 99.5 | 364.1 |
| 99.95 | 405.5 |
The full table runs from 30.00 (TEA 127.4) to 99.95 (405.5); the calculator interpolates between TISC's rows. TISC publishes it for illustration and the 2026 conversion will differ.
What moves a WA ATAR most
- The fourth course. Four scaled scores are added with no weighting, so the fourth-best matters exactly as much as the best.
- The bonuses. Methods and Specialist together at 65 and 70 add 13.5 to the TEA, about three ATAR points near 90; a language at 70 adds 7. These are the only places the TEA rewards a fifth or sixth course.
- A fifth course otherwise adds nothing unless it displaces one of the four; it is insurance against one bad result, not a bonus.
- The English score does not have to be in the four, but a scaled 50 is the university competence line, and English is in the best four of most students because they take four or five courses.
Download the WACE scaling and ATAR table (PDF) (the 2025 scaled score at four percentiles of every main course, the TEA rule and bonuses with a worked example, the minimum TEA for each ATAR in 2025, the English competence rule, and a planner; two pages, free).
Where to get help
A 1-on-1 online class with a tutor who holds a master's in mathematics and teaches Year 11 and 12 maths, physics and chemistry to Australian students at Australian times (7:30 am before school, 4 pm to 6:30 pm after school, and weekend mornings, Sydney time): the estimate above read together in the free 30-minute first class, the subject where five marks buys the most ATAR found, and the term spent on it with every line of working read. The Year 12 Australia page says what the class works on in each state's course.
Questions parents ask
1How is the ATAR calculated in WA?
2What is a good scaled score in WA?
3Do the maths and language bonuses count if the course is not in my best four?
4Does the calculator take raw marks?
See how we teach this, 1-on-1 online →
Shobha
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Teaching maths, science and English to children online since 2018. 500+ students, 20+ tutors, families in nine countries.