Summary of WACE Achievement Requirements
In Year 11 and Year 12, students undertake a course of study which comprises two Units per course in a year. SCSA precisely dictates the mandated requirements of what constitutes meeting secondary graduation
In summary, these requirements are that a student should:
• demonstrate a minimum standard of literacy and numeracy by gaining NAPLAN Band 8 or higher in Year 9 or pass Online Literacy and NumeracyAssessments (OLNA) during Years 10 to 12.
• complete a minimum of 20 Units, or the equivalent, during Year 11 and Year 12
• complete a minimum of five or more Year 12 ATAR courses, or Unit Equivalence
• complete two Year 11 English Units and one pair of Year 12 English Units
• study one pair of Year 12 course Units from each of List A and List B
• study paired courses in Year 12 or Unit 3 and Unit 4 from each course selected
• achieve no fewer than a minimum of 14 ‘C’ Grades (or Unit Equivalence) in Year 11 and 12 courses, six of which must be in Year 12 (or Unit Equivalence)
• take no more than eight Units of VET programs and/or endorsed program equivalence –four Year 11 Units and four Year 12 Units
The full details of WACE requirements are available on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) website: www.scsa.wa.edu.au
ATAR
ATAR is theAustralian TertiaryAdmissions Rank. TheATAR is derived from the Tertiary Entrance Aggregate (TEA). This score is calculated by adding the best four scaled scores The maximum possible TEA is 400 from 2026 The Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) is responsible for this calculation.
Three PMACS courses have a WACE bonus of 10% added to a student’sfinal scaledATAR rank: Mathematics Methods, Mathematics Specialist and Indonesian. Students benefit collectively if they study two or three of these courses. TISC has stated that these bonuses will continue to be awarded to students up until they are in Year 12 in 2027.
Students who have a background language other than English are encouraged to explore the option of taking this language as a Non-School Candidate at an ATAR level, as the final scaled score of their WACE Examination attracts a 10% bonus added to the students calculation of their ATAR.
www.tisc.edu.au/static-fixed/download/tisc-presentation-for-year12.pdf
Examinations and Assessment
Year 12 students taking anATAR Pathway must sit external written and practical examinations for their courses (Units 3 and 4). These examinations comprise 50% of their mark for each course. This provides the ATAR for university admissions.
General Pathway courses include an Externally Set Task in Year 12, worth 15% of the course. Students on an ATAR Pathway are required to sit the School’s Mid-Year and End of Year examinations, and for Year 12 students, the Mock ATAR examinations.
The School is bound by SCSA requirements, conduct and administration of course examinations, which are mirrored in the School Policies relating to Examinations and Assessment.
Astudent who does not sit the external examination in Year 12 will not be credited for studying that course. This may jeopardise their WASSA Graduation.
The School meets the SCSA guidelines for assessment and examinations.
Further information can be found at the following link: www.petermoyes.wa.edu.au/parent-resources/school-policies-and-procedures/