Understanding your HSC results and ATAR (2026)

For the full results-day and offer timeline, see HSC results day, UAC offers and changing preferences. This page is about reading what you get.

Who sends what, and where

Your ATAR does not appear in Students Online; NESA's 2026 rules guide says it comes directly from UAC. To log in to UAC you need your 8-digit NESA student number and your 4-digit UAC PIN, which UAC emailed in April and which is different from your HSC PIN.

What the three marks for each course mean

NESA's results show, for most courses:

• Assessment mark. Your school's assessment mark after NESA moderation. NESA adjusts each school group's marks to the same scale as that group's exam marks, but it keeps the rank order your school submitted.
• Exam mark. Your HSC exam performance, aligned to the course standards. Judges set band cut-offs each year, and raw marks are mapped so the Band 6 cut-off becomes 90, Band 5 becomes 80, and so on down to Band 2 at 50.
• HSC mark. The average of the two, with half-marks rounded up. An exam mark of 92 and assessment mark of 89 average 90.5, which becomes 91.

Your text message shows a short code for each course, for example MathSt2 72 4 means Mathematics Standard 2, HSC mark 72, Band 4.

English Studies and Mathematics Standard 1 work differently: you receive a school-assessed grade from A to E, and if you sat the optional exam your HSC mark and band come from the exam mark only.

What do the bands mean?

Extension courses run from E4 (highest) to E1. NESA says the "average" performance in most 2 unit courses is usually a mark in the mid-70s, and 50 is the minimum standard expected. Bands are standards-based: there's no quota, so how many other students got Band 6 doesn't change yours.

Each course also comes with a course report showing the band descriptions and a graph of the mark distribution for that course. It's the best way to see where your mark sits.

Is my ATAR on my HSC results?

No. The ATAR is calculated by UAC, not NESA, and released separately at 9 am on 16 December 2026. UAC describes it as your position relative to all 16 to 20-year-olds in NSW, not a mark or a percentage. An ATAR of 80.00 means you're in the top 20% of that age group.

What goes into it:

• your best 2 units of English plus your best 8 other units, as scaled marks;
• scaling is done on your raw moderated assessment and exam marks, before NESA's alignment to bands, so there's no one-to-one conversion from HSC mark to scaled mark;
• only Board Developed courses with NESA exams can count.

What doesn't: your school, your bands, and your scaled marks are not reported to you. ATARs of 30.00 or below are shown as "30 or less". If you didn't meet the rules you'll see "not eligible". See how the HSC ATAR is calculated and how HSC subjects are scaled for the detail.

ATAR vs selection rank

Universities admit most students on a selection rank: your ATAR plus any adjustment factors (often called bonus points) that apply to that course. So the number that decides an offer can be higher than the ATAR on your Advice Notice. See adjustment factors, EAS and early offers.

Save your documents

• Download your Record of Achievement, course reports and testamur PDFs. Your Students Online account closes on 30 June 2027.
• Save your ATAR Advice Notice from the UAC site or CredFolio. UAC sells replacements if you lose it.

What next?

• Results look wrong? See HSC results checks, rank appeals and ATAR queries.
• ATAR lower than hoped? See pathways if your ATAR is lower than expected.
• Want to sanity-check your ATAR against your marks? Try the HSC ATAR calculator, and browse degrees with the uni course finder.
• Feeling flat? Read how to handle results day and exam stress and mental health.