South Australian Certificate of Education

The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) is the diploma given to students who have completed Years 11 and 12 of their secondary schooling in the state of South Australia. It is administered by the Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia (or SSABSA). The SACE is usually completed over two years, but students are permitted to spend as long as they require.

The SACE is the South Australian certificate within the Australian Senior Secondary Certificate of Education, soon to be the Australian Certificate of Education, which is part of the Australian Qualifications Framework.

Importance

Completion of the SACE is generally a requirement for admission to universities in South Australia, as well providing the equvilent requirement for the rest of the nation and worldwide. Several South Australian high schools offer both the SACE and International Baccalaureate diploma programs, providing an alternative qualification for students in the state.

Organisation

Each SACE subject is organised into units. Students usually choose to study four, five or six subjects each year at the SACE level. The range of subjects depends on the school, as each individual school decides which subjects they will offer to their students. SACE subjects are divided into “Stage 1” (subjects that are usually studied in Year 11) or “Stage 2” (subjects that are usually studied in Year 12).

Most, but not all, SACE subjects at Stage 2 level comprise two units. All Stage 1 level subjects are one unit, but most subjects have variations which can be studied in sequence. For example, a subject may be named “Legal Studies —The Australian Legal System” and another subject is named “Legal Studies —The Judiciary and Family Law.” A unit is studied for one semester. Year 11 students can "accelerate" and study a Stage 2 subject early, enabling them to complete the SACE early or with a reduced workload in Year 12. On completing a subject, a student receives an “SA” (Satisfactory Achievement), an “RA” (Recorded Achievement) or an “RNM” (Requirements Not Met). In addition to this, in most Stage 2 subjects students receive a grade out of 20.

In order to receive the SACE students must complete 22 units overall, with at least six at Stage 2 level and 16 with the status “SA.” Students must achieve at least “RA” status in two units of English, one unit of Australian Studies and one unit of Mathematics at Stage 1 level. In addition to this students must complete two Group 1 units (Arts and Humanities subjects) and two Group 2 units (Mathematics, Science and Technology subjects) at both Stage 1 and Stage 2 levels. Until 2005, students also had to complete a Writing Based Literacy Assessment, but this requirement has now been built into each individual subject.

Students can receive units at Stage 1 level (and sometimes at Stage 2 level) for completing qualifications at TAFE through Vocational Education and Training partnerships between schools, TAFE SA institutes and employers. This system is considered by some to be pioneering, allowing students to get ahead in a trade situation while simultaneously allowing academic education (separating it from a purely vocational education) but traditionalists deride it as reducing the academic rigour required to complete the SACE.

Students’ SACE results are the only data employed to formulate their Tertiary Entrance Rank or TER. In order to receive a TER, students must study five two-unit subjects at Stage 2 level that deliver scores out of 20. Using these results, SSABSA "scales" these subjects based on their “difficulty.” This involves adding or subtracting a few marks to the student’s grade for a subject. For example, a student who completed Chemistry would be likely to have one or two marks added to their grade whereas a student who completed Outdoor Education might have a mark or two subtracted from their grade. Then using these "scaled" grades, SSABSA formulates a University Aggregate out of 90 by summing the highest four grades and half of the lowest grade. For example, if a student received the following grades after scaling:

After this, students are ranked on the basis of their University Aggregate on a range between 0 and 99.95, advancing in increments of 0.05. On average, between three and seven students receive each incremental rank. Universities then admit students who apply to courses from students ranked 99.95, then the students who apply ranked 99.90 and so on until all positions available are filled. The Tertiary Entrance Ranking (TER) of the final student or students to receive a position (also called the "cut-off" rank) is published as a guide to what TER is required to enter the course in the next year.

Awards

"Merits" are awarded to students who receive a perfect score of 20 out of 20 in individual subjects. Students who receive five merits are considered to be the top students of the state, and the day following the release of results, news media (including television, radio and paper media) typically feature these students.

Prizes are awarded to the top student in certain subjects, including French, German, Modern History, Music, Economics, Geography, Physics (The Bronze Bragg Medal), Chemistry (The Way College Prize), Biology (The Hardwicke College Prize) and English Studies (The Tennyson Medal).

Since 2003, a proportion of these prize-winners and top students from a wide range of schools have formed a collective known as Core Knowledge which aims to provide student-based resources for current Year 12 students. Currently the resources available are Maths Studies, Biology, Chemistry and Physics subject guides.

SACE Terms

*Scaling: Scaling is a mathematical process which adjusts the results students achieve in their various SACE Stage 2 (Year 12) subjects.
*SACE unit: One semester of full-time study.
*Stage 1: The first of the two stages of the SACE. Students usually undertake Stage 1 in Year 11.
*Stage 2: The second of the two stages of the SACE. Students usually undertake Stage 2 in Year 12.
*Summative assessment: Assessment tasks, such as essays, which contribute to or form the SACE final assessment for the unit.
*Formative assessment: Assessment tasks which do not count towards the SACE final assessment but are generally used by the school to calculate term and semester marks.
*“Suicide Five”: Slang term for what is considered by many to be the hardest combination of subjects: Specialist Mathematics, Mathematical Studies, Chemistry, Physics and English Studies.
*“Perfect Score”: Used informally to describe the achievement of 20/20 in at least 5 subjects in SACE. Each year, on the day of release of results, Perfect Score students are subject to significant media attention, television and newspaper media included.

See also

* University admission
* Australian Qualifications Framework
* Education in Australia

External links

* [http://www.ssabsa.sa.edu.au/ SSABSA Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia] —administers the SACE.
* [http://www.satac.edu.au SATAC South Australian Tertiary Adminissions Centre] —conducts university admissions.