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A/L Z-Score Calculator - Estimate Your Z-Score and Check the University Courses It Reaches

Take your official Z-score from your results and see the university courses it reaches in your district on the 2025/2026 cut-offs, or estimate a Z-score from your three marks with the subject means and standard deviations you enter.

Maintained by Hirantha Sandaruwan Lakshan. Rules checked 28 October 2026 against University Grants Commission, Student Handbook 2024/25 and 2 more sources.

About this tool

The estimate shows each subject's Z-score, the average and the mark you would need in a subject for a target. The Department of Examinations calculates the real Z-score; an estimate is only as good as the figures you give it. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

How it works

The UGC Handbook for 2024/25 (Section 1.3) says the Z-score is calculated by the Department of Examinations from three things: your raw mark in the subject, the mean mark of that subject for the year, and the standard deviation of that subject for the year. So the same mark can give a different Z-score in a different year or subject, because it is measured against everyone who sat that paper.

The standard Z-score of a subject is (your mark - the subject mean) / the subject standard deviation, which says how many standard deviations above or below the average you are. The handbook calls the figure used for selection the average Z-score, so this tool averages the three subject Z-scores and rounds to four decimal places, the way the UGC prints cut-offs. The handbook does not print the exact method, so treat the result as an estimate.

The year's subject means and standard deviations are not something we have found published, which is why this site's A/L guide has no calculator of its own. If you use figures from a teacher or an earlier year, the estimate is only as good as those figures. The worked example below uses made-up statistics to show the arithmetic.

With an official Z-score, choose your district and open the cut-off checker: it lists the courses whose 2025/2026 minimum Z-score in your district is at or below yours, from the UGC's published cut-offs. NQC in that table means no qualified candidates, not a Z-score of zero. Meeting a cut-off does not guarantee a place: subject requirements, the medium of instruction, your preferences and the number of places all count, and cut-offs change every year.

Worked examples

Three subjects with made-up statistics

Marks of 75, 68 and 82 against means of 50, 45 and 55 and standard deviations of 15, 14 and 18 give subject Z-scores of 1.6667, 1.6429 and 1.5. Their average is 1.6032.

The mark needed for a target

With the first two subjects at 1.6667 and 1.6429, an average of 1.8 needs a Z-score of 2.0904 in the third subject. With a mean of 55 and a standard deviation of 18 that is a mark of 92.63.

Checking courses with an official Z-score

Type the Z-score from your results, pick your district, for example Gampaha, and open the course checker. It shows every course whose 2025/2026 cut-off in Gampaha is at or below your Z-score, and the ones you just missed.

Frequently asked questions

How is the A/L Z-score calculated?

The Department of Examinations calculates it from your raw mark, the subject's mean and the subject's standard deviation for that year (UGC Handbook 2024/25, Section 1.3). The standard formula for one subject is (mark - mean) / standard deviation, and the figure used for selection is the average over your subjects. The handbook does not publish the full method.

Can this tool tell me my exact Z-score?

No. Only the Department of Examinations has the year's means and standard deviations. The estimate is exact arithmetic on the figures you enter, so it can only be as accurate as those figures.

Where do I find the subject mean and standard deviation?

We have not found them published for recent years. Some teachers estimate them from past papers. If you use such figures, say so when you share the result, because the real ones can be quite different.

Which university courses can I get with my Z-score?

Enter your official Z-score and district and open the course checker. It compares your Z-score with the 2025/2026 minimum Z-score of every course in your district, as published by the UGC. A course you meet is one you could have been selected for that year, not a guarantee for the next.

What does NQC mean in the cut-off table?

No Qualified Candidates. The UGC uses it when a district's quota was already filled, when the course filled from higher Z-scores in other districts, or when nobody from the district met the requirements. It is not a Z-score of zero.

Why does my Z-score depend on other students?

Because it measures your mark against the mean and spread of everyone who sat the same subject that year. A hard paper lowers the mean, so the same mark gives a higher Z-score than in an easy year.

Updated Oct 28, 2026