Best-scaling subjects by state

“Best-scaling” doesn’t mean easiest — it usually means the subject attracts a cohort that also performs strongly everywhere else, which pulls its scaled scores up. A few patterns show up consistently across the published data:

• SACE: Specialist Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics scale strongly at the top end — see the exact grade-by-grade numbers on the SACE Scaling Data page.
• VCE: Specialist Mathematics is consistently the highest-scaling study, with Mathematical Methods close behind and several languages (Latin, Hebrew, French) scaling unusually well too — full detail on the VCE Scaling Data page.
• HSC: Mathematics Extension 2, Extension 1 and Latin Continuers sit at the top of the real percentile-anchored data on the HSC Scaling Data page.
• QCE and WACE: Specialist Mathematics, Mathematical Methods, Chemistry and Physics tend to scale up in both states, though neither publishes a full scaling table the way SACE and VCE do — try the QCE ATAR calculator or WACE ATAR calculator to see how your own subjects compare.

Scaling should break ties between subjects you’re equally capable in — it’s rarely worth taking a subject you’ll do poorly in just because it scales well on paper.