For 2026 planning, the latest available QTAC scaling data is 2025. In that dataset, Specialist Mathematics, French and German scaled the highest of all QCE subjects, while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies scaled the lowest. Here are the top and bottom 10 of all QCE subjects, with a link to each subject’s full scaling table. We will re-stamp the rankings when QTAC publishes the next dataset.
Highest-scaling QCE subjects
| # | Subject | Median scaled /100 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Specialist Mathematics | 95.27 |
| 2 | French | 94.98 |
| 3 | German | 91.49 |
| 4 | French Extension | 90.68 |
| 5 | English and Literature Extension | 90.57 |
| 6 | Chemistry | 90.36 |
| 7 | Physics | 89.79 |
| 8 | Mathematical Methods | 89.64 |
| 9 | Italian | 88.85 |
| 10 | Economics | 88.08 |
Lowest-scaling QCE subjects
| Subject | Median scaled /100 |
|---|---|
| Visual Art | 61.94 |
| Physical Education | 61.57 |
| Marine Science | 61.41 |
| Health | 59.87 |
| General Mathematics | 59.54 |
| Food and Nutrition | 58.12 |
| Agricultural Science | 57.75 |
| Dance | 56.35 |
| Film Television and New Media | 56.15 |
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies | 32.49 |
Should you pick a subject because it scales?
The pattern is consistent year to year: the most demanding subjects scale up because they attract academically strong cohorts. But that doesn’t mean you should choose a subject just because it sits near the top of this list.
Scaling rewards how well you perform relative to everyone else in that subject. A strong result in a subject you’re genuinely good at will usually beat a weak result in a higher-scaling subject you find brutal. Pick subjects you can excel in and enjoy - scaling follows performance, not the other way around.
Curious about a specific subject? Open its page from the full QCE scaling list, or read how the QCE ATAR is calculated.
Frequently asked questions
Ranked by median scaled /100, from the QTAC ATAR Report 2025 (Table 6). Indicative percentile anchors from QTAC’s Table 6. QTAC’s inter-subject scaling is recalculated every year and its coefficients are not published, so these figures show how the subject scaled in 2025 and cannot reproduce an exact ATAR.
