Study Score Calculator (VCE)

Estimate your VCE study score from your SAC and exam percentages. Enter your three Graded Assessment results — Unit 3 SACs, Unit 4 SACs and the exam — and see the weighted result and the estimated study score, with the full working shown.

Study Score Calculator

Enter percentages (0–100) for one subject at a time. Repeat for each subject, then use the VCE ATAR Calculator to turn your study scores into an ATAR estimate.

How a VCE study score works

A VCE study score runs from 0 to 50. It is worked out from your three Graded Assessments (GAs): GA1 is your Unit 3 school-assessed coursework (SACs), GA2 is your Unit 4 SACs, and GA3 is the end-of-year exam. Each GA has a weighting that depends on the study — for many Maths and Science studies the exam counts for 60%, while for English the exam counts for 50%. The weighted result is then compared with every other student who took that study, which is how the study score is set.

Worked example

Unit 3 SACs 78%, Unit 4 SACs 78%, exam 82%, with Maths-style weightings (20% + 20% + 60%): weighted result = 78 × 20% + 78 × 20% + 82 × 60% = 80.4%, which estimates to a study score of about 38.2 (planning range about 35–41).

SAC scores vs exam scores

SACs are the assessments you do at school during the year; the exam is the single end-of-year assessment. Because SAC marks are moderated by VCAA using exam performance, your SAC percentage on its own does not fix your study score — the exam matters most in most studies, which is why this calculator asks for both.

From study score to ATAR

Once you have an estimated study score for each subject, enter your scaled study scores in the VCE ATAR Calculator. Note that scaling is applied after study scores are set — see the Subject Scaling Calculator for how scaling works.

Last updated: November 2026.

This tool is also known as a VCE study score calculator. It works from raw scores — a raw score calculator — using your SAC and exam marks, so you can estimate an English study score calculator result, or a study score calculator sac exam result from your SAC and exam marks.

Common mistakes

  • Entering a SAC percentage as a study score. A SAC mark of 85% is not a study score of 42.5. Study scores come from the whole year’s assessment — SACs, school-assessed tasks and exams — after statistical moderation and scaling by VCAA.
  • Ignoring the exam weighting. In most VCE studies the end-of-year exam carries a large share of the study score. A strong SAC average alone does not guarantee a strong study score if the exam goes badly.
  • Assuming the same weighting for every study. SAC and exam weightings differ from study to study. VCAA publishes the weighting for each study — check the study design for yours instead of guessing.
  • Comparing raw scores across subjects. A raw score of 38 in one subject and 38 in another are not the same achievement, because scaling adjusts for the strength of each cohort. Compare scaled scores, not raw scores.

How SACs and exams combine

A VCE study score is built from every graded assessment in the study: school-assessed coursework (SACs), school-assessed tasks where they apply, and the end-of-year examination. VCAA moderates the school-based scores against the exam, then scales the result so scores can be compared across studies. The exact weighting of each component is published in the study design for that subject, and it changes from study to study — there is no single split that fits all subjects.

Related calculators

VCE ATAR Calculator • HSC ATAR Calculator • QCE ATAR Calculator • WACE ATAR Calculator • SACE ATAR Calculator • Subject Scaling Calculator • Main ATAR Calculator

FAQ

Study score questions

Take your three Graded Assessment results — Unit 3 SACs, Unit 4 SACs and the exam — weight them using your study’s GA weightings, then compare the weighted result with the rest of the state’s cohort. That comparison sets the study score from 0 to 50.

A study score of 30 is about average for the students who took that study. A score of 40 puts you in roughly the top 9% of that study’s cohort, and 45 is roughly the top 2%.

It depends on the study’s GA weightings. In many studies the exam counts for 50–60% of the study score, so the exam usually matters more — but SACs still count, and they are moderated using exam performance.