Senior Secondary Certificate of Education
The Senior Secondary Certificate of Education is the graduation certificate awarded to most students in Australian high schools, and is equivalent to the Advance Placement in North America and the GCE A-Levels of the United Kingdom. Students completing the SSCE are usually aged 16 to 18 and study full-time for two years. 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 Board Developed Course - ATAR Board Endorsed Course - Non-ATAR Content Endorsed Course - Non-ATAR Life Skills Course - Non-ATAR | HSC |
| Victoria | Victorian Certificate of Education - ATAR Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning - Non-ATAR | VCE VCAL |
| Queensland | Queensland Certificate of Education "Authority" Subjects - OP/ATAR "Authority-Registered" Subjects - Non-ATAR | QCE |
| South Australia | South Australian Certificate of Education | SACE |
| Western Australia | Western Australian Certificate of Education 2016 - present: "ATAR" and "General" Courses 2007 - 2015: Stage 2 and Stage 3 subjects 2007-2015: Preliminary and Stage 1 subjects | WACE |
| Tasmania | Tasmanian Certificate of Education Level 3 - ATAR Level 1 and Level 2 subjects - Non-ATAR | TCE |
| Australian Capital Territory | Australian Capital Territory Year 12 Certificate "T" and "H" course Subjects - ATAR "A","V","M',"C","E" and "R" course Subjects - Non-ATAR | |
| Northern Territory | Northern Territory Certificate of Education | NTCE |
Universities Australia generates a nationally standardised final score for each SSCE exam 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. Most States and Territories in Australia uses the ATAR system with the exemption of Queensland. Queensland has its own ranking system called Overall Position.