South Australian Certificate of Education

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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, 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.

1 Importance
2 Organisation
3 Awards
4 SACE Terms
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 a "SA" (Satisfactory Achievement), a "RA" (Recorded Achievement) or a "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 6 at Stage 2 level and 16 with the status "SA". Students must achieve at least "RA" status in 2 units of English, 1 unit of Australian Studies and 1 unit of Mathematics at Stage 1 level. In addition to this students must complete 2 Group 1 units (Arts and Humanities subjects) and 2 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 students' 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:

Subject	Grade
Mathematical Studies	18
Legal Studies	16
Chemistry	16
Physics	14
English Studies	13 (lowest subject; counts for half)
University Aggregate	70.5

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 TER of the final student or students to receive a position is called the cut-off rank and is published as a guide to what TER is required to enter the course in the next year.

[edit] Awards

Merits are awarded to students who recieve a perfect score of 20 out of 20 in individual subjects. Students who receive five merits are the duxes of the state.

[edit] 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 assesment 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 possible combination of subjects: English Studies, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics Studies and Specialist Mathematics