The Senior Secondary Certificate of Education (SSCE) is the graduation certificate awarded to most students in Australian high schools, and is equivalent to the High School Diploma of North America and the A-Levels of the United Kingdom. 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 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.
| State | SSCE title | Abbreviation |
| New South Wales | Higher School Certificate | HSC |
| Victoria | Victorian Certificate of Education Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning |
VCE VCAL |
| Queensland | Queensland Certificate of Education | QCE |
| South Australia | South Australian Certificate of Education | SACE |
| Western Australia | Western Australian Certificate of Education | WACE |
| Tasmania | Tasmanian Certificate of Education | TCE |
| Australian Capital Territory | Australian Capital Territory Year 12 Certificate | |
| Northern Territory | Northern Territory Certificate of Education | NTCE |
Universities Australia generates a nationally standardised final score for each SSCE student called the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank. Universities and other Higher Education providers typically use this mark as the main criterion in selecting domestic students. Prior to 2010, this was called the Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER) in Victoria, and the University Admissions Index (UAI) in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, and the Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) elsewhere.
Competing qualifications outside the Australian Qualifications Framework are the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Accelerated Christian Education(ACE) Year 12 Academic Certificate. The IB is well accepted by universities. ACE has lesser support, and students may also have to additionally pass a Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
Read more about this topic: Australian Qualifications Framework, Schools Sector
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