What is VCE Subject Scaling?

Updated 19th July 2022

VCE subjects that scale up start to look pretty attractive to students (and parents) when it comes to choosing subjects for VCE. After all, if you’re trying to get a high ATAR, it makes sense to give yourself the best possible chance by choosing subjects that give you bonus points, right? To be honest, not always. Let’s take a look at what VCE subject scaling is and why I think it shouldn’t be a factor in your decision making.

What is Scaling?

Your ATAR is calculated based on your study scores for each subject, so it makes sense that if you can get a better study score in one subject than another, you would choose that subject. However, in the VCE there are a wide range of subjects to choose from, and VTAC wants to make sure that no one is disadvantaged by choosing a “more difficult” subject when they could have chosen an “easier” one. They also want to make sure that some of the subjects that are considered more difficult are still chosen by students who enjoy them or need them for further study.

When study scores are initially reported to students, these are the raw study score (ie the study score before any scaling occurs). Each subject is graded on a bell curve, so each student completing the subject across the state will be given an overall ranking based on how well they did in their SACs and exam(s), and then their study score is a score out of 50 based on that ranking. Students with a study score of 30 have achieved a result better than 50% of the students who completed the subject, and students with a score above 40 have achieved a result better than 91% of the cohort.

These study scores are reported to VTAC, who is in charge of calculating ATARs and coordinating tertiary course offers. Before the study scores are used to calculate the ATAR, they will be scaled up or down based on how well each group of students in a particular subject did across their other subjects. The idea behind this is that after scaling, a 30 in one subject is considered the same as achieving a 30 in any other subject.

Which VCE subjects traditionally get scaled up?

The main VCE subjects that get scaled up each year are Specialist Maths and Languages. It’s important to understand that scaling isn’t simply a reward for choosing these subjects. The reason they are scaled up is because generally the students who complete these subjects perform better across their other subjects. So these subjects are scaled up to make a scaled study score of 30 in these subjects equivalent to getting a study score of 30 in a different subject.

One thing that it’s important to know, is that the way the subjects get scaled is not linear. This means that if you get a raw study score of 40 in a subject it might get scaled up to 44, but in the same subject someone who achieves a raw score of 20 might only get scaled up to 21.

On the other hand, in a subject where scores are scaled down, the top raw scores will be scaled down less than those closer to 30.

So should I choose subjects that get scaled up?

The short answer is no. My advice for choosing subjects will always be that you choose them because you enjoy them, or because they are a prerequisite for a course that you want to do when you finish school.

I have two key reasons for encouraging students to ignore scaling when they choose their VCE subjects.

As I mentioned above, if you don’t do particularly well in the subject, then you might not even really benefit from scaling. It’s possible that you could work really hard in a subject you don’t even like all year, and then still get a scaled study score of less than 30 in the subject. If you had chosen something you enjoyed instead, you’re likely to have not struggled so much throughout the year and to have achieved a higher scaled study score anyway, even if your raw score was scaled down slightly.
If you have spent all your time throughout the year focusing on a subject you don’t enjoy and find difficult to try and do as well as you can, then you won’t have been able to spend as much time studying your other subjects. So while you might be able to gain a few points on one subject, you might lose a few points in each of your other subjects.

It’s understandable that students want to get the best ATAR possible to get keep their options open and increase their chances of getting into the most popular tertiary courses at the end of the year, however when you’re choosing your VCE subjects make sure you understand the potential downsides if you’re trying to use too much strategy.

My advice is simple. Choose subjects you enjoy and allow for prerequisites to keep your options open if you’re not sure what courses or careers you want to pursue. Don’t make life harder for yourself than it needs to be!

Do you need help choosing your subjects? In my personalised career counselling program, Your VCE Roadmap, I can help you identify your interests and investigate tertiary courses so that you can choose a VCE pathway that keeps your options open AND allows you to explore the subjects you actually like!

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Kim Whitty, Career Counsellor for High School Students and Parents

Author: Kim Whitty

Ready to create a plan for your future, no matter what ATAR you get? That’s what I’m here for! Grab these digital resources to get clear on what you want and what course and career options you have, or learn more about the personalised career counselling packages I offer. I spent 13 years working in schools as a VCE teacher and qualified careers counsellor before starting Roadmap Education. Learn more about me.