TARA Scoring Explained: What Is a Good TARA Score?

How official TARA scoring works, what the 1.0 to 9.0 scale means, what counts as a good TARA score and how universities receive results.

Published 16 May 20264 min read

Quick answer

Candidates receive separate Critical Thinking and Problem Solving scores from 1.0 to 9.0, reported to one decimal place. The Writing Task is not scored by UAT-UK; the response is sent to universities for courses that require the TARA.

There is no combined TARA score and no universal pass mark.

From correct answers to a scaled score

As outlined in the TARA test format, each multiple-choice module contains 22 questions. The starting evidence is the candidate's pattern of correct and incorrect answers, but the reported result is not a simple percentage or fixed raw-mark boundary.

UAT-UK analyses response data using the Rasch item response theory model. This places questions on a common difficulty scale and candidates on a common ability scale. Because multiple forms of a test can differ slightly in difficulty, UAT-UK uses equating to make scores comparable across forms.

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are equated and scaled separately, which is why candidates receive two results.

What does the 1.0 to 9.0 scale mean?

The underlying ability scale is converted into a more readable 1.0 to 9.0 result. For a given admissions year, UAT-UK fixes the median of the October candidate distribution at 4.5 and the 90th percentile at 7.0. January results are mapped to the same scale.

This means a score should be interpreted relative to that admissions cohort, not as a percentage of questions answered correctly. Low scores are capped at 1.0 and high scores at 9.0.

What is a good TARA score?

There is no official threshold, because UAT-UK publishes no pass mark and each university decides how to use the result. The two published anchors are the most reliable reference points:

4.5 is the median of the October cohort, so a score above it is an above-average result for that admissions year.
7.0 is the 90th percentile, so a score at or above it places a candidate in roughly the top 10% of that cohort.

Because those anchors are set the same way each admissions year, a given scaled score keeps broadly the same percentile meaning from one cycle to the next. What a university does with that score can still differ by course and by year.

Treat the two module results separately. A candidate can sit well above the median in Critical Thinking and close to it in Problem Solving, and that gap is far more useful for planning revision than any single headline figure.

Is there a pass mark?

No. UAT-UK does not publish a pass mark or university grade boundaries. Each university decides how to use the result for each course, usually alongside other application information.

A score that is competitive for one course or cycle is not guaranteed to have the same meaning elsewhere.

Are incorrect answers penalised?

No. Candidates do not lose marks for incorrect answers, so every multiple-choice question should be attempted.

What happens to the Writing Task?

UAT-UK does not mark it. The response is made available to participating universities where the candidate has applied for a course requiring TARA. Universities decide how to use it, and some courses may state that they do not use it in selection. The complete TARA Writing Task guide explains the task and how candidates should approach it.

When are results released?

Results are released through the candidate's UAT-UK account. For 2027 entry, the scheduled dates are 16 November 2026 for the October sitting and 8 February 2027 for the January sitting. The TARA dates and registration guide contains the full booking and results timetable.

Results are also sent automatically to participating institutions on a course-by-course basis. Candidates do not choose which relevant institutions can see them.

How to interpret a practice result

A mock raw mark is useful for tracking accuracy, but it is not an official scaled score because the live raw-mark conversion and question difficulties are not public. TaraPrep labels its converter as an Estimated TARA-style score and publishes the assumptions alongside the TaraPrep mock score estimator.

Use an estimate to guide preparation: review the question types missed, whether time ran out and whether errors came from reading, method or arithmetic. The TARA preparation study plan shows how to turn that diagnosis into targeted practice.

Official sources

Last reviewed against official sources 30 July 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is 9.0 the highest score?

Yes. Reported scores are capped at 9.0.

Is 4.5 a pass mark?

No. It is the median anchor on the reported scale, not a pass threshold.

Should candidates guess if time is running out?

Yes. Incorrect answers are not penalised, so leaving a multiple-choice question blank cannot improve the score.