Chinese: Second Language — WA WACE scaling 2024

TISC's verbatim 2024 scaled-score statistics for Chinese: Second Language. Scaled mean 70.0/100, SD 13.6, 73 students. Range observed: 39.9 to 100.0.

Summary statistics

Scaled mean	70.0 / 100
Standard deviation	13.6
Minimum scaled score	39.9
Maximum scaled score	100.0
Students (2024)	73

Scaled scores by percentile

Percentile	Scaled score
P90 (top 10%)	87.9
P75 (top 25%)	78.7
P50 (median)	69.5
P25 (bottom 25%)	60.0

The P25-to-P90 spread for Chinese: Second Language was 27.9 scaled points in 2024.

How Chinese: Second Language 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.

The scaled-score scale in WA is 0–100, with the cohort-wide mean across all subjects sitting around 60 by construction. A subject with a scaled mean above 60 had a candidature performing above the WACE-wide average; below 60 means the average student in this subject performed below the WACE-wide average. Note that this is the scaled mean across the course's candidature, not a measure of conceptual difficulty.

3-year scaling trend for Chinese: Second Language →

Year	Scaled mean (/ 100)
2023	69.9
2024	70.0

Very stable across 2 years — Chinese: Second Language has scaled within 0.1 points of its 2023 value, suggesting its candidature composition is consistent.

3-year trend data sourced from the TISC annual scaling reports 2023–2024. See all scaling trends.

Tutor rate context for Chinese: Second Language

Subject complexity classification: moderate — accredited-tutor premium. Based on our subject-complexity model, this subject typically carries a +8% 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 Chinese: Second Language
University-student tutor	$65/hr
Experienced graduate	$85/hr
Registered teacher	$120/hr
Subject specialist	$150/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

In WA, the Tertiary Entrance Aggregate (TEA) is formed from your best 4 scaled scores, with a 10% bonus added to scaled scores in Mathematics Methods, Mathematics Specialist, and LOTE subjects (highest LOTE only). The maximum aggregate in 2024 was 430.

• Chinese: Second Language scaled to a mean of 70.0 — among the upper tier of WACE subjects.
• If you scored at the P90 of this subject (87.9) and it was one of your best 4, you contributed 87.9 scaled points to your aggregate (or 96.7 with the LOTE/Maths bonus where applicable).
• Strong individual results in subjects with lower scaled means can still produce strong scaled scores — look at the P90 row, not just the mean, before deciding a subject is "weak" for ATAR.

Caveats specific to Chinese: Second Language

• This is 2024 data. TISC recalculates scaling each year.
• WACE scaled scores are NOT directly comparable across states. NSW and VIC use a 0-50 scale; QLD and WA use 0-100. Cross-state comparisons need to be normalised by scale.
• The WACE Maths Methods / Specialist / LOTE 10% bonus applies after scaling, only when the bonused subject is one of your top 4.

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