Western Australian Certificate of Education

From 2010, the WACE replaced the Tertiary Entrance Exam (TEE), as the standard academic examination for school leavers in Western Australia.

The VET option may be met by partially completing a Certificate III or higher qualification.

Students may pre-qualify by achieving Band 8 results in the Year 9 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN).

Students may also sit the OLNA after finishing school at any age to attain the minimum literacy and numeracy standard for the WACE.

[4] The Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) calculates and awards the ATAR in Western Australia.

For example, an ATAR of 70.00 means that a student has achieved at an equal or better level than 70% of all school-leaving aged people in the state.

From 2012 to 2015, SCSA reported rankings in terms of percentage of marks of 75 or higher in WACE stage 3 courses.

VET industry specific courses contribute to both the unit and Certificate II or higher requirements of the WACE, and include both a full qualification and workplace learning.

Students can only count 8 credit transfer units towards the standards and depth requirements, there are no such limits for industry specific courses.

[16] A list of endorsed unit equivalence programs is available on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website.

The curriculum was simplified, from hundreds of courses down to around fifty,[18] and students were given increased flexibility in completing their studies.

The General course pathway can lead to university, employment, or further vocational education and training.

The Western Australian Minister for Education and Training, Sue Ellery, described the changes as offering a pathway in between the existing ATAR/university and VET options: In the past you chose ATAR courses if you wanted to go to university and VET courses if you wanted to link into training and this middle ground gives students an option for both".