ALES Net Calculator

Enter your correct and wrong answers in the Quantitative and Verbal tests: your nets and blanks follow the 2026-ALES guide exactly. The page also explains how the ALES score is calculated by ÖSYM’s official method and why it cannot be worked out in advance.

Last updated: 28 Oct 2026

Quantitative net30.00Verbal net 36.50

Quantitative net (32 correct, 8 wrong, 10 blank)30.00
Verbal net (38 correct, 6 wrong, 6 blank)36.50
Total blank16

ÖSYM ALES guide: ÖSYM 28 Oct 2026

Score types and test weights (2026-ALES guide 3.9) 3

How it is calculated

The Academic Staff and Graduate Education Entrance Exam (ALES) is held by ÖSYM in sessions (ALES/1, ALES/2 and ALES/3 in 2026; guide cover page, p. 2) and has two tests, Quantitative and Verbal (2026-ALES guide, 3.1). Scoring is in section 3.9 of the guide: in each test a quarter of the wrong answers is taken from the correct ones to give the net; the nets become standard scores on a 50/10 scale with that session’s mean and SD; the standard scores are added with the table’s weights for SAY, SÖZ and EA; and these weighted scores are turned into the ALES score out of 100 with the mean (X), SD (S) and maximum (B) of the weighted scores. So your ALES score depends not only on your nets but on everyone’s in the session: the same net is worth more in a hard session. The nets are exact. A standard score needs the session’s test mean and SD; ÖSYM last published these for ALES for the 2017-ALES Sonbahar session (21 Dec 2017) and not for later sessions, 2026-ALES/2 included. An estimate from statistics that old would not reflect today’s sessions, so the page shows no standard or weighted score; and the X, S and B the last step needs have not been published for any session. The ALES score out of 100 is therefore not computed here. The formula does fix this much: a candidate whose weighted score is half an SD above the session mean gets 70, the top weighted score gets 100, and a candidate at the mean gets less than 70.

Formula

Net = C − W ÷ 4 · Standard score = 50 + 10 × (net − mean) ÷ SD · Weighted score (SAY) = 0.75 × SS(Quantitative) + 0.25 × SS(Verbal) · ALES score = 70 + 30 × [2(AP − X) − S] ÷ [2(B − X) − S]

C is the number of correct, W of wrong answers; blanks do not count. The mean and SD are those of the nets of all candidates with a valid exam in that session, per test. AP is the candidate’s weighted score; X, S and B are the mean, SD and maximum of all weighted scores in that session. The SÖZ score weighs Quantitative 0.25 and Verbal 0.75, the EA score 0.50 and 0.50.

In each test, a quarter of the wrong answers is taken from the correct ones: the net (raw score). The Quantitative and Verbal tests have 50 questions each.
Each net becomes a standard score with mean 50 and SD 10, using the mean and SD of all valid candidates’ nets in that test and session. ÖSYM last published these statistics for ALES for the 2017-ALES Sonbahar session; they are not published for newer sessions, so this step and the next ones cannot be done here.
The two standard scores are added with the weights in the guide’s table: the SAY, SÖZ and EA weighted scores.
ÖSYM turns the weighted scores into the ALES score out of 100 with the session’s X, S and B. These are not published, so the last step cannot be done; the page stops at the weighted score.

Example

Quantitative 32 correct, 8 wrong: net 32 − 8 ÷ 4 = 30; blank 50 − 32 − 8 = 10. Verbal 38 correct, 6 wrong: net 38 − 6 ÷ 4 = 36.5; blank 6.

Frequently asked questions

Do wrong answers cost points in ALES?

Yes. In each test, a quarter of the wrong answers is subtracted from the correct ones; four wrong answers cancel one correct answer. Blank questions do not affect the net (2026-ALES guide, 3.9).

How many points is a given net worth?

There is no fixed answer. The ALES score depends on where a net stands among all candidates’ nets in that session; without the session’s mean, SD and top weighted score nobody can turn a net into a score. The net-to-score tables and coefficients found online are not values ÖSYM publishes.

How are the SAY, SÖZ and EA scores calculated?

All three come from the same two standard scores with different weights: SAY 0.75 Quantitative + 0.25 Verbal, SÖZ 0.25 + 0.75, EA 0.50 + 0.50 (2026-ALES guide, 3.9, “ALES score types and test weights”).

Why is no estimated ALES score shown?

A standard score needs the session’s test mean and SD. ÖSYM last published these for ALES, in its “numerical information on exam results” document, for the 2017-ALES Sonbahar session (21 Dec 2017); for the sessions held since 2018, 2026-ALES/2 included, it has not. An estimate from statistics that old would not reflect today’s sessions, so the page gives only the nets, which are exact. If ÖSYM publishes a recent session’s statistics, an estimate will be added.

What does 70 mean on the ALES scale?

The guide’s transformation gives exactly 70 to a candidate whose weighted score is half an SD above the session mean, and 100 to the session’s top weighted score. A candidate exactly at the session mean gets less than 70, so an average candidate does not reach 70.