The Senior Secondary Certificate of Education (SSCE) is the graduation certificate awarded to most students in Australian

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s, and is equivalent to the Advance Placement in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

and the GCE

A-Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. Students completing the SSCE are usually aged 16 to 18 and study full-time for two years (years 11 and 12 of schooling). In some states adults may gain the certificate through a

Technical and Further Education Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational co ...

college or other provider. The curriculum, assessment and name of the SSCE is different in each state and territory. The government of each determines these themselves, although the curriculum must address mutually agreed national competencies.

Universities Australia Universities Australia (formerly the ''Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee'') is an organisation founded in Sydney in May 1920, which attempts to advance higher education through voluntary, cooperative and coordinated action. After being ba ...

generates a nationally standardised final score for each SSCE exam student called the

Australian Tertiary Admission Rank The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is the primary criterion for domestic student entry into undergraduate courses in Australian public universities. It was gradually introduced to most states and territories in 2009–10 and has sinc ...

(ATAR). Universities and other

Higher Education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...

providers typically use this mark as the main criterion in selecting domestic students. Most States and Territories in Australia uses the ATAR system with the exemption of Queensland. Queensland has its own ranking system called

Overall Position The Overall Position (OP) was a tertiary entrance rank used in Queensland, Australia to guide selection into universities. Like similar systems used throughout the rest of Australia, the OP shows how well a student has performed in their senior s ...

(OP).

References

{{Reflist Australian Certificate of Education Secondary school qualifications

See also

References