Philosophy — VIC VCE scaling 2024

VTAC's verbatim 2024 scaling for Philosophy (Humanities category). Scaled mean 29.6, scaled SD 7.4. Raw study score 30 mapped to scaled 30; raw 40 to scaled 40; raw 50 to scaled 50.

Raw study score → scaled score (2024)

Raw study score	Scaled study score	Adjustment
20	19	-1
25	24	-1
30	30	+0
35	35	+0
40	40	+0
45	45	+0
50	50	+0

Summary statistics

Scaled mean	29.6 / 50
Scaled SD	7.4
VCE code	PL
Category	Humanities

How Philosophy scaled in 2024

This subject scales close to neutral. The candidature performs around the senior-secondary cohort median, so raw marks and scaled marks track each other closely. Scaling is not a major factor either way for this subject.

The most useful reference points in VCE scaling are study scores 30 (cohort mean position) and 40 (top 9% of the cohort). For Philosophy in 2024:

• Raw study score 30 mapped to scaled 30 (+0 adjustment).
• Raw study score 40 mapped to scaled 40 (+0 adjustment).
• Raw study score 45 mapped to scaled 45 (+0 adjustment).

The adjustment becomes more or less extreme at the top of the distribution depending on the candidature. Weaker-candidature subjects tend to compress at the bottom and reward consistency at the top. Use the scaling calculator to test specific score combinations across your VCE study program.

3-year scaling trend for Philosophy ↓

Year	Scaled mean (/ 50)
2022	30.0
2023	30.1
2024	29.6

Scaling has fallen by 0.4 points over 2 years (2022: 30.0 → 2024: 29.6). 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 VTAC annual scaling reports 2022–2024. See all scaling trends.

Tutor rate context for Philosophy

Subject complexity classification: medium. Based on our subject-complexity model, this subject typically carries a no uplift 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 Philosophy
University-student tutor	$60/hr
Experienced graduate	$80/hr
Registered teacher	$110/hr
Subject specialist	$140/hr

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

What this subject means for ATAR planning

VCE scaling is recalculated annually. The 2024 pattern shown above is a guide, not a prediction. For ATAR planning purposes, three reads of this table matter:

1. The raw-30 row — what a "cohort-average" performance is worth. This is the swing point for most VCE students.
2. The raw-40 row — what a strong-but-not-elite performance is worth. The realistic top end for most students.
3. The raw-50 row — the maximum scaled score. Useful only for top-decile candidates who could realistically hit 50.

Read these in conjunction with our VIC VCE state overview for cross-subject comparison, and the VCE curriculum guide for the actual syllabus content.

Caveats

• This is 2024 data. VTAC recomputes scaling each year — small candidature shifts move the numbers.
• The calculator we provide uses these anchor points with linear interpolation between them; actual VTAC scaling is slightly smoother but the differences are typically less than 0.5 scaled points.
• For small-LOTE languages, VTAC applies a separate language adjustment (the "All small LOTEs" entry in the official report); this page covers only languages with full standalone scaling.

Related resources