WACE ATAR Maths: Methods, Specialist and How to Lift Your Scaled Score

In Western Australia, Year 12 students taking ATAR courses are assessed by their school during the year and by an SCSA exam at the end. In maths, both parts count, and how you rank in your school's cohort matters a lot.

How your result is made

• Your school mark comes from tests, investigations and exams set by your school.
• School marks are moderated and adjusted against the ATAR exam results of your school's cohort.
• The adjusted school mark and the exam mark are combined into a course score, which is then scaled.
• TISC calculates your ATAR from your best four scaled scores.

Which maths course?

• Mathematics Applications: statistics, finance, networks and sequences.
• Mathematics Methods: calculus, functions and probability. A prerequisite for many university courses.
• Mathematics Specialist: taken with Methods. Adds vectors, complex numbers, proof and further calculus.

The two exam sections

• Section One is calculator-free: algebra, calculus and exact values by hand.
• Section Two is calculator-assumed: longer problems where you still need to show the method clearly.

Where students lose marks

1. 1Calculator-free algebra and exact values.
2. 2Explaining method in Section Two instead of only writing calculator output.
3. 3Rates of change and optimisation setup in Methods.
4. 4Proof and vectors in Specialist.
5. 5Investigations: rushed write-ups in tasks that count towards the school mark.

A plan for Year 12

• Treat every school assessment as part of the final score, because your rank carries through moderation.
• Do calculator-free practice every week.
• From Term 3, work through full SCSA past ATAR exams under timed conditions.

How we help

Our WACE tutors teach one-to-one online on Perth time. Lessons follow the SCSA course outlines and your school's assessment schedule, with calculator-free and calculator-assumed practice.