ATAR score changes

WA to change the way ATAR is calculated 

THE score bonuses given to West Australian students studying some of the more difficult ATAR subjects will no longer be applied from the 2026 school year, in an effort to increase fairness for all year 12s hoping to gain entry to university.

The Tertiary Entrance Aggregate score is used to calculate a students’ ATAR results, and an automatic bonus of 10 per cent is applied to mathematics methods, mathematics specialist, and a student’s highest-scoring language other than English, or LOTE.

Currently, students who study these ATAR courses can receive a maximum aggregate score of 430 which is made up of 100 points for each of their four top subjects, plus up to three bonuses just for choosing the course.

Students who don’t study those subjects have a maximum possible score of only 400. This is particularly problematic for students at schools which may not even offer these subjects.

Tertiary Institutions Service Centre chief executive Andrew Crevald said WA was the only Australian state that granted a bonus of this type for an ATAR course.