VCE scaling explained, with 2025 data
7 min read ยท updated 2026-10-02
VTAC scales VCE study scores so that results in different studies can be combined into an ATAR. A study score of 30 can be worth anything from 20 to 46 once scaled, depending on the study. These are the 2025 figures.
How scaling works
VCAA gives VTAC each student's study scores, which show relative position within a study. VTAC then scales them according to how strong each study's students are across all their studies. The 2025 scaling population is students with at least one VCAA study score that year, at least four in total and at least one in an English study.
What a study score of 30 became in 2025
Scaled score for a raw 30, from VTAC's 2025 Scaling Report (scaled means in brackets):
- โ Latin: 46 (mean 45.0)
- โ Specialist Mathematics: 43 (mean 41.5)
- โ Chinese Second Language: 41 (mean 40.2)
- โ Mathematical Methods: 35 (mean 34.4)
- โ Chemistry: 34 (mean 33.6)
- โ English Language: 33 (mean 32.6)
- โ Physics: 32 (mean 31.7)
- โ Literature: 31 (mean 31.0)
- โ Biology: 31 (mean 30.5)
- โ English: 28 (mean 28.2)
- โ General Mathematics: 28 (mean 27.8)
- โ Psychology: 28 (mean 28.4)
- โ Business Management: 27 (mean 27.2)
- โ Foundation Mathematics: 20 (mean 21.6)
How to use this
Scaling rewards strong performance in studies taken by strong cohorts, but only if the student does well in them. A 40 in Mathematical Methods scaled to 46 in 2025; a 25 scaled to 28. Choose studies your child can score well in, and treat scaling as a tie-breaker rather than the main reason for a choice.
FAQs
Which VCE subjects scale up the most?๏ผ
In 2025, Latin, Specialist Mathematics and some language studies scaled up the most. A study score of 30 in Specialist Maths scaled to 43.
Does English scale down?๏ผ
In 2025 English scaled slightly down: a 30 became 28. English Language scaled up, to 33.
Is scaling the same every year?๏ผ
No. It is recalculated every year from that year's results, though the pattern is usually similar.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these official sources on 2026-10-02.
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