What the numbers on your child's results mean, and how schools use them.
Your child gets three scores and a band. Each subject score comes from 56 questions across Paper 1 and Paper 2.
| Score | Range | Average |
|---|---|---|
| English | 69 to 141 | 100 |
| Maths | 69 to 141 | 100 |
| Total (TSAS) | 138 to 282 | 200 |
| Band | 1 to 6 | Band 1 is the top 40% |
SEAG turns each subject's raw mark into a Standardised Age Score. It allows for your child's age on the day and for how hard the questions were.
A child born in September is almost a year older than one born in August. Standardising stops that difference counting, so schools can compare children fairly.
The English (or Gaeilge) and maths scores are added together to give the Total Standardised Age Score, or TSAS. Most grammar schools use the total.
SEAG also places each child in one of six bands, by where their total score sits among everyone who sat the test that year. Band 1 is the top 40%. The percentages stay the same each year; the scores that fall in each band change.
Each grammar school publishes its own admissions criteria. Many rank applicants by total score. Some look at the band first, then apply other criteria within it, such as a sibling at the school. The order you list schools in is usually not used. Read each school's criteria for the year you apply.
Our school finder links to each school's own page.
A practice paper score is not a SEAG score, because SEAG scores depend on everyone who sat the test that year. Use a practice paper to find the topics behind lost marks, not to predict a result. Paper 01 is free.
Results due? Our results day guide covers the Statement of Outcomes, re-marks and the transfer application.
Figures from SEAG's guidance at seagni.co.uk, last checked in July 2026. Admissions criteria change each year.
Free. No account or card needed.