Which WACE Human Biology past paper do students score lowest on?

The 2024 Exam, averaging 59.6% across 765 marked attempts on AusGrader. The 2023 Exam is the highest on 72.4%.

Which WACE Human Biology dot points give the best return on revision time?

4.6.1 (1.8 marks at risk per 100), 4.5.4 (1.6 marks at risk per 100) and 3.4.5 (1.5 marks at risk per 100). Marks at risk combines a dot point's share of paper marks with the marks students drop on it, so it ranks by recoverable marks and not by score alone.

How many attempts is each WACE Human Biology figure based on?

43,847 marked attempts overall, with the per-row count shown in every table. Any cut below 50 attempts is withheld instead of published.

Do these averages show how the SCSA cohort performed?

No. They are AusGrader users' marked attempts, a self-selected group practising when they chose to and often without exam timing. They corroborate what SCSA publishes about this subject and do not replace it.

WACE Human Biology hardest topics

Across 43,847 marked attempts on AusGrader, WACE Human Biology students average 72.2% on questions taken from board external papers. The lowest average of any command verb is provide on 40.1%, and the verb that costs the most marks is explain, which carries 32.2% of the paper against 0.6% for provide. These are self-selected users practising when they chose to, not the SCSA cohort under exam conditions.

How to read these numbers

The figures are AusGrader users' marked attempts, not SCSA results. They corroborate what the board publishes about this subject and do not stand in for it.
Any cut with fewer than 50 attempts is withheld, which on this page is 1 dot point and 21 verbs. Every figure shown carries its attempt count.
Scores cover questions mapped to the WACE Human Biology syllabus from any board's external papers, which is why the sample is larger than the 6 SCSA papers alone. The paper table below is the exception and uses SCSA papers only.
Internal assessment and school-uploaded exams are excluded throughout, so these averages differ from the ones on WACE Human Biology performance stats, which count every attempt.

Score by past paper

Year	Exam	Average	Attempts
2025	Exam	61.3%	595
2024	Exam	59.6%	765
2023	Exam	72.4%	462
2022	Exam	65.4%	557
2021	Exam	71.3%	639
2020	Exam	61.1%	780

The lowest average belongs to the 2024 Exam on 59.6% from 765 attempts, and the highest to the 2023 Exam on 72.4% from 462 attempts. A paper's average reflects both how hard it was and who chose to sit it, so treat the spread as a guide to which papers make demanding practice.

Score by question type

Question type	Average	Attempts
Extended response	55.2%	100
Short answer	69.1%	5,290
Multiple choice	73.8%	38,457

Score by unit

Unit	Average	Attempts
Unit 3: Homeostasis and disease	72.1%	27,210
Unit 4: Human variation and evolution	72.4%	19,356

An attempt counts once per unit, so a question assessed across two units appears in both rows and the column adds to slightly more than 43,847.

The priority list: heavy topics with low scores

Topic	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
Central and peripheral nervous system	14.7%	69.8%	620	4.4
Hominid evolutionary trends	14.3%	72.8%	1,657	3.9
Homeostasis	11.9%	68.8%	932	3.7
Response to infection	12.0%	71.6%	16,347	3.4
Evidence for evolution	10.4%	72.3%	3,792	2.9
Gene pools	7.6%	70.5%	3,601	2.2
Endocrine system	6.1%	64.3%	871	2.2
Science as a Human Endeavour (Unit 4)	6.3%	73.2%	3,929	1.7
Mutations	5.4%	71.8%	2,304	1.5
Science Inquiry Skills (Unit 3)	5.4%	75.0%	9,816	1.4
Science as a Human Endeavour (Unit 3)	4.1%	74.1%	1,957	1.1
Science Inquiry Skills (Unit 4)	1.7%	73.6%	7,581	0.5

The topic list is close: 4.4 against 3.9 marks at risk separates first from second, so topic choice alone will not order revision. The dot-point list below spreads further.

The same cut at dot-point level

Dot point	Content	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
4.6.1	humans as primates are classified as great apes. The species within the great ape family are differentiated by DNA nucleotide sequences, which brings about differences in relative size of cerebral cortex; mobility of the digits; stance and locomotion – adaptations to bipedalism, brachiation and quadrupedalism; prognathism and dentition	6.8%	73.5%	1,033	1.8
4.5.4	both relative dating techniques, including stratigraphy and index fossils, and absolute dating techniques, including radiocarbon dating and potassium-argon dating, have limitations of application	4.1%	62.2%	627	1.6
3.4.5	transmission of nerve impulses is via electro-chemical changes that occur at the generation of the impulse, the propagation of the impulse along the nerve fibre, and the transfer of the impulse across the synapse	4.9%	70.3%	114	1.5
4.3.1	mutations in genes and chromosomes can result from errors in DNA replication, cell division or from damage caused by mutagens	4.2%	69.8%	947	1.3
3.5.3	blood sugar levels are maintained by controlling of sugar uptake, its storage and release by cells and use in metabolism; these processes involve the hormones of the pancreas and adrenal glands	3.2%	63.3%	187	1.2
4.6.2	determining relatedness and possible evolutionary pathways for hominins uses evidence from comparisons of modern humans and the other great apes with fossils of Australopithecus afarensis; Australopithecus africanus; Paranthropus robustus; Homo habilis; Homo erectus; Homo neanderthalensis; Homo sapiens	3.9%	71.8%	831	1.1
3.6.5	antiviral and antibiotic drugs are used for treating infections and differ in their specificity to pathogens	2.4%	59.8%	889	1.0
4.2.1	developments in biotechnology, for example polymerase chain reaction (PCR), gel electrophoresis and DNA sequencing, have increased access to genetic information of species and provide evidence for evolution (the process of obtaining a DNA sequence is not required)	3.4%	71.9%	2,899	1.0
3.4.2	the parts of the central nervous system, including the brain (cerebrum, cerebellum, medulla oblongata, hypothalamus, corpus callosum) and spinal cord, have specific roles in the co-ordination of body functions and are protected by the bones of the skull, the meninges and cerebro-spinal fluid	2.7%	65.1%	181	0.9
4.4.2	gene pools are dynamic, with changes in allele frequency caused by mutations; differing selection pressures; random genetic drift, including the founder effect; changes in gene flow between adjoining groups	2.9%	68.1%	2,241	0.9
3.5.4	body fluid concentrations are maintained by balancing water and salts via the skin, digestive system and the kidneys, which involve the actions of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and aldosterone on the nephron, and the thirst reflex	2.5%	65.9%	113	0.8
3.5.2	thermoregulation occurs by the control of heat exchange and metabolic activity through physiological and behavioural mechanisms	3.2%	74.2%	263	0.8
3.3.2	hormones secreted from the hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, pancreas and adrenal glands are involved in homeostasis by affecting specific target organs	2.4%	65.4%	467	0.8
4.5.3	sequencing a fossil record requires a combination of relative and absolute dating techniques to locate fossils onto the geological timeline	1.9%	57.7%	1,025	0.8
3.4.1	structure and function of the divisions of the nervous system can be observed and compared at different levels in detecting and responding to the changes in the internal and external environments including central-peripheral; afferent-efferent; autonomic-somatic; sympathetic-parasympathetic	2.4%	67.5%	163	0.8
3.5.1	homeostatic processes involve nerves and hormones in maintaining the body’s internal environment within tolerance limits through the control of metabolism and physiological and behavioural activities	2.4%	69.1%	333	0.7
3.1.4	represent data in meaningful and useful ways, including the use of mean, median, range and probability; organise and analyse data to identify trends, patterns and relationships; discuss the ways in which measurement error, instrumental accuracy, the nature of the procedure and the sample size may influence limitations in data; and select, synthesise and use evidence to make and justify conclusions	2.7%	73.6%	5,101	0.7
3.6.7	immunity is gained through the exposure to specific antigens by the production of antibodies by B lymphocytes and the provision of cell-mediated immunity by T lymphocytes; in both cases memory cells are produced	2.4%	72.4%	7,579	0.7
3.3.3	the secretions of the pituitary gland are controlled by the hypothalamus through transport of hormones, either via nerve cells or the vascular link between them	1.8%	64.4%	217	0.6

Which command verbs cost the most marks

Verb	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
explain	32.2%	67.0%	1,165	10.6
describe	19.0%	67.4%	700	6.2
identify	13.7%	64.6%	612	4.8
outline	7.8%	64.7%	638	2.8
name	6.7%	72.2%	199	1.9
justify	5.0%	71.7%	344	1.4
state	4.8%	77.7%	410	1.1
define	2.9%	67.2%	113	0.9
provide	0.6%	40.1%	60	0.4

Provide has the lowest average on the page at 40.1%, and it is not where the marks go. Explain averages 67.0% but carries 32.2% of the paper against 0.6%, so it puts 10.6 marks per 100 at risk against 0.4. Each verb above is practised in the WACE Human Biology question bank, where the marking criteria show what SCSA expects the answer to do.

What this does not measure

Where to practise

Work the priority list from the top: Central and peripheral nervous system and Hominid evolutionary trends first, then the dot points above. Each topic page holds real SCSA questions with marking criteria attached. For what the papers actually cover, read WACE Human Biology most tested topics.

Syllabus and assessment material referenced in this guide is used under licence, © School Curriculum and Standards Authority. See our SCSA licensing notice. The School Curriculum and Standards Authority does not endorse this publication or product.