Psychology — QLD QCE scaling 2024

QTAC's verbatim 2024 scaling for Psychology (QCAA code 0079). Raw median 79/100 mapped to scaled 69.92; top-decile raw 92 mapped to scaled 86.29.

Raw → scaled distribution (2024)

Percentile	Raw mark (/ 100)	Scaled mark (/ 100)	Adjustment
P99	97	90.23	-6.8
P90	92	86.29	-5.7
P75	87	81.1	-5.9
P50 (median)	79	69.92	-9.1
P25	71	55.73	-15.3

How Psychology scaled in 2024

This subject scales up. The candidature performs slightly above the cohort median across all subjects, so raw marks are adjusted upward in the scaling process. A typical raw mark scales to a slightly higher scaled mark.

For Psychology specifically: a median student in the cohort had a raw mark of 79/100 and ended up with a scaled mark of 69.92/100 — an adjustment of -9.1 from raw to scaled. A top-decile student (P90) had a raw mark of 92 mapping to scaled 86.29 — adjustment of -5.7.

QCE General subjects are scored 0–100 raw. QTAC's inter-subject scaling runs a 40-iteration calibration algorithm that maps each subject's raw distribution to a scaled distribution based on how that subject's students performed across all their other subjects. The scaled mark is what counts for the ATAR aggregate; the raw mark is what your QCE certificate reports.

3-year scaling trend for Psychology ↓

Year	Scaled mean (/ 100)
2022	70.92
2023	—
2024	69.92

Scaling has fallen by 1.0 points over 2 years (2022: 70.92 → 2024: 69.92). This typically reflects a weakening candidature — the average student in this subject is performing relatively less well in their other courses than they used to.

3-year trend data sourced from the QTAC annual scaling reports 2022–2024. See all scaling trends.

Tutor rate context for Psychology

Subject complexity classification: medium. Based on our subject-complexity model, this subject typically carries a +4% adjustment to the base AU tutor rate band — partly because of the qualified-tutor pool size, partly because of subject-specific marking and exam complexity.

Tutor tier	Typical rate for Psychology
University-student tutor	$60/hr
Experienced graduate	$85/hr
Registered teacher	$115/hr
Subject specialist	$145/hr

Estimates from the AU rate synthesis at /rates/. Use the rate estimator to add city and delivery format.

What this means for ATAR planning

Three reads of this scaling distribution matter for QCE students:

1. The median (P50) shows the typical adjustment for an average performance in Psychology. Negative — average performances are scaled down because the candidature underperforms in other subjects on average.
2. The P90 row shows where strong students land. Even in subjects with a low median scaled position, strong individual students typically score well in scaled terms — look at the P90 column before deciding a subject is "bad".
3. The spread P25→P90 (55.73 → 86.29, a 30.6-point spread) shows the room for movement within this subject. Bigger spreads mean tutoring leverage is higher.

Caveats

• This is 2024 data. QTAC recomputes scaling each year.
• QTAC publishes only subjects with 50+ students. Small-candidature subjects are excluded from the percentile tables.
• Applied subjects (e.g., Essential English, Sport & Recreation) use a different scaling scheme (3-band C/B/A) — see the QLD QCE overview for the Applied subject scaling table.
• To be ATAR-eligible in QLD, students need at least a C in English, EAL, Literature, English & Literature Extension, or Essential English. Only 50.1% of the 2024 cohort (28,845 of 57,594) was ATAR-eligible.

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