What happens after the exam?
Finding out your results
HPAT - Ireland results will be released to UL applicants and mature test takers in mid to late April. All the other test takers will receive their results in late June 2024. You will be advised via email when results are available to you via your online account. You can access your Statement of Results through your ACER account.
Scoring the HPAT exam
The process of scoring HPAT - Ireland is complex. Neither the raw or final score is produced by any automated process. But rather, calculated in accordance with psychometric principles. Any ‘raw score’ or ‘systems value” automatically produced by ACER’s software online delivery assessment and reporting system is not used in scoring HPAT results. The maximum score a test taker can achieve is 300. Each of the three HPAT - Ireland scores is expressed on a scale of 0 to 100. These are not percentage marks. You will receive a score for each of the three sections, together with an Overall Score and an overall percentile ranking to give you an indication of how well you performed against other HPAT - Ireland test takers sitting in the same year as you. The overall score is a weighted aggregate of the three section scores. The overall HPAT - Ireland score is calculated using the following formula:
Overall Score = [(2 × Section 1 + 2 × Section 2 + 1 × Section 3) ÷ 5] × 3
UL applicants will also receive an additional score for the Written English component. The Written English Score is a separate score and is not used in the calculation of the Overall Score.
Scaled scores
For HPAT - Ireland, rigorous, psychometric techniques are used to transform test raw scores (the number of questions a test taker has answered correctly) and place them on a measurement scale. The transformed scores are called scaled scores. Although test developers follow defined parameters so that test versions are broadly comparable in difficulty, some differences are unavoidable. Thus, raw scores may reflect test difficulty as well as test taker ability. Scaled scores account for these variations to give a more accurate representation of the test-taker’s performance.
HPAT and CAO
ACER will provide your results to the CAO and universities for the purpose of selecting applicants into their programmes. You are not required to do anything to facilitate this, other than making sure your CAO number is correct and included in your ACER account. The universities will be taking both your HPAT score and (moderated) Leaving Certificate (or equivalent exam) into consideration.
Can I use my HPAT score from a previous year?
HPAT scores can be used for admission to a course ONLY in the same year in which the course is due to commence. For example, results from HPAT 2024 can be used for courses beginning in 2024 but not 2025. Do not register for HPAT - Ireland 2025 unless you are planning to apply for a course commencing in 2025 and that you meet the eligibility criteria for that course.
What is a good HPAT score?
This can change marginally year to year depending on the group of students undertaking the exam. You should be looking to achieve 160 + out of a maximum score of 300. Remember that it is not just your HPAT score that is important: As a guide, in 2023 those students that received an offer achieved LCE points ranging from 542–625 and HPAT - Ireland scores ranging from 164–235.
