The ATAR in NSW, explained
Which units count, how scaling works, what the bands mean, and what actually moves your rank.
Your ATAR is a rank, not a mark. It runs from 0 to 99.95 and says where you sit against everyone your age in NSW, which is why it's calculated by the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) from your HSC results rather than reported by NESA.
It's built from your best 2 units of English and your best 8 other units, each turned into a scaled mark out of 50, for an aggregate out of 500. Scaling adjusts each course for the strength of the students who take it, so the same raw performance can count differently between courses.
Your HSC mark in each course is separate from all of this: it's the average of your exam mark and your moderated school assessment mark, and it's what your band (Band 1 to 6, or E1 to E4 for extension courses) describes.
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Frequently asked questions
How is the ATAR calculated in NSW?
UAC adds up the scaled marks from your best 2 units of English and your best 8 units from your other courses, for an aggregate out of 500, then converts that aggregate into a rank between 0 and 99.95.
Is the ATAR a mark out of 100?
No. It's a rank that shows your position relative to all students your age in NSW. An ATAR of 80 means you did better than about 80% of that group, not that you scored 80%.
What is scaling?
Scaling adjusts each course's marks for how strong its candidature is, so results can be compared fairly across courses. It's done by UAC for the ATAR, and it doesn't change your HSC mark or band.
What's the difference between an HSC mark and a band?
Your HSC mark is a number out of 100 (out of 50 for 1-unit courses) that averages your exam and moderated assessment marks. Bands group those marks into standards: Band 6 is 90 to 100 in 2-unit courses, and E4 is the top band in extension courses.