How is the TSA constructed and how is it scored?
If you’ve read our previous articles on the TSA, or checked the official website, you will be aware that the TSA is comprised of two sections, both testing your rational thinking skills and analysis.
Section 1 is multiple choice and can be broadly broken down into two categories of questions, which are Critical Thinking and Problem Solving.
- Critical Thinking: Verbal reasoning, understanding arguments, and cases.
- Problem Solving: Spatial reasoning, Numerical processing.
Section 2 is an essay-based task which has you writing a 30-minute essay on an unfamiliar topic to test your communication skills and abilities to be concise and persuasive.
The essay is passed on to the relevant college tutors for review. As such, the grading and criteria is not readily available and thus this article instead focuses on Section 1. For further guidance on the essay section of the test, read the article we’ve provided on TSA Section 2.
Analysis of the TSA Results
In a manner not unlike UMS grading, the TSA papers are scaled yearly to ensure a fair distribution of marks that factors in the difficulty of the paper. Unlike UMS, it is hence possible for candidates to score more than 100!
TSA Problem Solving Section
TSA Problem Solving Section
| Year | Average | Median | Interquartile Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 56.4 | 55.6 | 51.7 - 63.1 |
| 2016 | 61.9 | 61.9 | 56.1 - 65.9 |
| 2017 | 58.4 | 59.7 | 54 - 65.7 |
TSA Critical Thinking Section
TSA Critical Thinking Section
| Year | Average | Median | Interquartile Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 62 | 63.5 | 58.1 - 67.5 |
| 2016 | 62.2 | 62.4 | 58.4 - 69.8 |
| 2017 | 60.1 | 61.2 | 57.3 - 70.3 |
Using the publicly available score conversion charts and TSA results, we can estimate the number of marks involved. Doing so, we find that the average marks are approximately 31/50, 30/50 and 27/50 for 2017, 2016 and 2015 respectively.
Results per Subject
The TSA results of successful candidates can vary significantly per subject, however, indicating different levels of weighting; in Chemistry for example, the recent introduction of the TSA means that it is not currently being used to exclude candidates who score poorly and is only used to highlight candidates who would otherwise be missed out.
It is also potentially indicative of the competitiveness of a subject; in 2017 the mean score for a PPE offer holder was 71.3 (40/50) whilst that of a successful experimental psychology student was 64.3 (35/50).
| Application Year | Subject | Average Score/Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | PPE | 71.3 |
| 2017 | Experiment Psychology | 64.3 |
| 2017 | Chemistry | 64.7 |
Conclusions
The TSA is an important part of the selection process for many subjects at the most competitive universities. By looking back on TSA results we can see how different scores are reflected for each subject and the scores you need to aim for. It is also good to see these past results to remember that you don’t have to have a perfect score to pass. It’s okay to get an average score!
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