ATAR HSC and State Assessment Systems 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the Victorian VCE, what is a 'study score' and what is its maximum value?
- A score out of 50 that ranks a student's performance relative to all other students in that subject statewide (Correct answer)
- A score out of 100 representing the percentage correct on an exam
- A GPA out of 4.0 awarded at the end of Year 12
- A score out of 50 representing raw marks only
Correct answer: A score out of 50 that ranks a student's performance relative to all other students in that subject statewide
VCE study scores are norm-referenced scores out of 50 showing where a student ranks among all Victorian students who sat that subject.
Question 2: What is the Western Australian equivalent of the HSC, used to calculate the ATAR in that state?
- QCE
- WACE (Western Australian Certificate of Education) (Correct answer)
- SACE
- TCE
Correct answer: WACE (Western Australian Certificate of Education)
The WACE is WA's senior secondary credential; ATAR in WA is derived from WACE results as processed by TISC.
Question 3: In the NSW HSC system, what is the 'examination mark' component?
- The mark a student receives from the external HSC written exam set and marked by NESA (Correct answer)
- The average of all internal school tasks
- The final ATAR converted to a mark out of 100
- The preliminary (Year 11) exam result
Correct answer: The mark a student receives from the external HSC written exam set and marked by NESA
The examination mark is awarded for performance in the external HSC exams set centrally by NESA, contributing 50% of the final HSC mark.
Question 4: Which of the following correctly describes the Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE)?
- The senior secondary credential in Tasmania whose results are processed by UTAS admissions to produce an ATAR (Correct answer)
- A federal government certificate replacing state credentials
- An international qualification equivalent to the IB Diploma
- A vocational-only certificate with no ATAR component
Correct answer: The senior secondary credential in Tasmania whose results are processed by UTAS admissions to produce an ATAR
The TCE is Tasmania's Year 11–12 credential; TASC processes results to calculate an ATAR used by Tasmanian (and interstate) universities.
Question 5: What is the minimum number of HSC units (or equivalent) typically required for an ATAR to be calculated in NSW?
- 6 units from at least 2 courses
- 8 units from at least 2 courses, with at least 2 units of English (Correct answer)
- 10 units across any subjects
- 12 units including at least one science
Correct answer: 8 units from at least 2 courses, with at least 2 units of English
In NSW, students must complete at least 8 units including at least 2 units of English for an ATAR to be calculated.
Question 6: In Victoria's VCE, the 'scaled study score' (previously called 'increment') adjusts a student's study score based on:
- The difficulty and average academic profile of students who chose that subject (Correct answer)
- The number of students enrolled in the subject nationally
- The student's attendance record
- The cost of textbooks for that subject
Correct answer: The difficulty and average academic profile of students who chose that subject
VTAC scales VCE study scores upward or downward based on the average ability of students taking each subject, rewarding students for choosing traditionally harder subjects.
ATAR HSC and State Assessment Systems 2
In the Victorian VCE, what is a 'study score' and what is its maximum value?