The short answer
For a written Year 12 ATAR course in WA, your combined mark is the average of your exam mark and your moderated school mark. TISC then builds your ATAR from your best four scaled scores, plus 10% bonuses for a language and for Mathematics Methods and Specialist. So the school year and the exam carry equal weight.
How your school mark and exam mark combine
You receive a school mark from 0 to 100 for each Year 12 course you complete.[1] School marks for the same course at different schools are not directly comparable, so they are statistically moderated: moderation puts your school's marks on the same scale as your school's ATAR course exam marks for that course.[1]
For the written component, your combined mark is the average of your ATAR course written exam mark and your moderated school mark.[1] Courses with a practical exam combine the practical component the same way, then weight the written and practical parts together.[1]
TISC then calculates scaled scores in each ATAR course to use in your ATAR.[1]
What this means for how you study
- Your school mark and your exam mark weigh the same, so the year's assessments matter as much as the exam.[1]
- Your school's exam results set the scale for its school marks,[1] so the whole class's exam performance shapes everyone's moderated mark.
- Keep earlier units alive with spaced review instead of relearning them all before the exam.[4] Spaced repetition shows how.
Test yourself instead of rereading.[5][6] Active recall is the simplest way to start.
SCSA publishes past ATAR course exams with their marking keys. The English page, for example, also has a summary examination report for candidates each year.[2] Mark your practice papers against the marking key, not your notes.
What you need for a WACE
To achieve a WACE in 2026 you need:[1]
- at least 20 units, including at least ten Year 12 units, four units from an English course after Year 10, and a pair of Year 12 units from each of List A (arts, languages, social sciences) and List B (mathematics, science, technology),[1]
- at least 14 C grades or higher in Year 11 and Year 12 units, including at least six in Year 12 units,[1]
- at least four Year 12 ATAR courses, or five Year 12 General courses (or a mix), or a Certificate II or higher VET qualification with other courses,[1] and
- the minimum standard of literacy and numeracy.[1]
How TISC calculates the WA ATAR
- Your Tertiary Entrance Aggregate (TEA) starts as the sum of your best four scaled scores. You need at least four for an ATAR.[3]
- Add 10% of your best language (LOTE) scaled score, even if it is not in your best four.[3]
- Add 10% of your Mathematics Methods and 10% of your Mathematics Specialist scaled scores, if you took them, even if they are not in your best four.[3]
- Your TEA, out of a maximum of 430, is converted to an ATAR from 99.95 down to zero.[3]
Scores can come from up to five consecutive years, but each course counts once, at its best result.[3]
Sources
- [1]School Curriculum and Standards Authority. Year 12 Information Handbook 2026, Part I (WACE requirements p. 10; school marks, moderation and combined marks pp. 23–25). www.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/1241246/Year-12-Handbook-Part-1-2026-v2.pdf
- [2]School Curriculum and Standards Authority. English: past ATAR course exams (an example of a course page with exams and marking keys). senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/further-resources/past-atar-course-exams/english-past-atar-course-exams
- [3]Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC). About the ATAR. www.tisc.edu.au/static/guide/atar-about.tisc
- [4]Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354–380. doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354
- [5]Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58. doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266
- [6]Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x