Information for Year 10 Students and their Parents
WASSA
WACE Requirements
OLNA
WACE / VET Courses
ATAR pathway for 2020
VET pathways for 2020
Subject Counselling Process
Support Staff
All students receive a Western Australian Statement of Student Achievement (WASSA) when they complete Year 12.
The WASSA:
• formally records a student’s achievement in every course, qualification and program that the student has completed in senior secondary schooling
• provides evidence of achievement.
The Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) is awarded to students who have successfully completed senior secondary schooling in WACE studies and have met the WACE requirements.
The majority of students in Western Australia achieve the WACE.
Students are required to demonstrate breadth and depth of study and reach specified achievement standards
Study towards the WACE can be undertaken over a lifetime.
Students must: complete one of three course combination options complete at least four Year 12 ATAR courses* OR complete at least five Year 12 General courses and/or ATAR
courses or equivalent OR complete a Certificate II (or higher) VET qualification in
combination with ATAR, General or Foundation courses
demonstrate the literacy and numeracy standards meet the requirements for breadth and depth of
study meet the achievement standard.
Students must demonstrate minimum standards of literacy and numeracy by either:
demonstrating the standard through the Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA); or
pre-qualifying for a particular component by achieving Band 8 or higher in reading, writing and numeracy in their Year 9 NAPLAN and being exempted from that component in the OLNA.
Students must complete a minimum of 20 units or the equivalent, including:
a minimum of ten Year 12 units or the equivalent
four units from an English course, post-Year 10, including at least one pair of Year 12 units from an English learning area course
one pair of Year 12 units from List A
one pair of Year 12 units from List B.
Students must achieve 14 C grades or higher (or equivalents) in Year 11 and Year 12 units, including at least six C grades (or equivalents) in Year 12 units.
The WACE Checker is a tool that Year 12 students can use to check their progress towards meeting the requirements of the WACE.
It is designed to determine whether students have met (or are expected to meet) each of the requirements for the WACE.
The WACE Checker is easy to use An updated version for 2021 Year 12s will be
available in early 2020.
Students are offered three study options which they can mix and match:
WACE courses (course types – ATAR and General)
VET programs
endorsed programs.
These courses: are examined by the School Curriculum and
Standards Authority (the Authority) are used by the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre
(TISC) to calculate a student’s Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR).
There are written examinations for all ATAR courses.There are practical examinations for some ATAR courses. Students must complete both examinations in these courses.
Students enrolled in a Year 12 ATAR course pair of units are required to sit the written and, if the course has one, practical examination. Students who do not sit the examination will not: have a course mark or grade recorded on their
WASSA receive an ATAR course report have the pair of units completed in that year
contribute towards any of the WACE requirements.
These courses: are not externally examined have an externally set task (EST) which is set
by the Authority are designed for students who are typically
aiming to enter further vocationally based training or the workforce directly from school.
• For all Year 12 General courses
• Marking key and content is set and provided by the Authority based on established curriculum
• Contributes to final mark for the pair of units –15%
• Students complete the EST in Term 2 Year 12
• For a selected group of General courses, the Authority reviews a sample of EST scripts from each school as part of system moderation
VET is nationally recognised and enables students to gain qualifications for all types of employment, and specific skills to help them in the workplace or in further training.
As part of the minimum WACE requirements, a student may complete a Certificate II or higher in combination with ATAR, General or Foundation courses.
Studying VET can provide up to eight units towards the number of course units students need to complete to achieve their WACE.
Students will typically enrol in four or five additional ATAR, General or Foundation courses to meet the WACE requirements.
Completed qualification
Equivalence total
Credit allocation (units)
Year 11 Year 12
Certificate I 2 units 2 —
Certificate II 4 units 2 2
Certificate III and higher
6 units 2 4
These programs:
provide access to areas of learning not covered by WACE courses or VET programs and contribute to the WACE as unit equivalents
are for students wishing to participate in programs that are delivered in a variety of settings by schools, workplaces, universities and community organisations.
Endorsed programs can be used to: contribute towards the breadth and depth
requirement and the achievement standard requirement of the WACE
count as a maximum of four unit equivalents towards the WACE – two unit equivalents in Year 11 and two unit equivalents in Year 12.
The list of endorsed programs is available on the Authority website.
There are three categories of endorsed programs, which differ in respect to the developer, the type of evidence required for determining student achievement and the quality assurance process.
These categories are:
Authority-developed endorsed programs
Provider-developed endorsed programs
School-developed endorsed programs.
The Authority publishes dates about changing enrolments in its Activities Schedule.
There are points in the semester after which students should not change courses because it would be unlikely they could complete the assessment program.
Changing means students replace one course enrolment with another.
Withdrawing means students are no longer studying a course.
If students withdraw from a course in Year 12, their enrolment course for the year is not recorded on their WASSA. This means no credit is given for the work done for the year’s units prior to dropping the course.
Meeting these standards:
is a benchmark of educational achievement
is valued by employers and post-school training providers
ensures all students leave school with the best chance of future success.
Adjustments will be made to the OLNA conditions, if a student’s access to the assessment is significantly affected by a disability, impairment, illness or impediment.
Evidence of a disability, diagnosed by a specialised medical professional, is required for adjustment.
The Guidelines for disability adjustments for timed assessments is available on the Authority website at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/disability-adjustment-guidelines.
Adjustments typically requested for approval by principals include: rest breaks and provision for a pause button extra time to work a reader scribe assistance for the writing component use of a support person for the reading and
numeracy components special formats.
Assistance is available through:
online programs to assist and practice OLNA assessment style questions
feedback to schools on individual student performance for each OLNA component.
after school practice sessions run by the English and Maths faculties
Australian Tertiary Admission Rank is a percentile rank
Students are ranked because there are more applicants than university
places available
Students’ ATAR are calculated from 99.95 down
An ATAR of 90= top10% (i.e. better than 90% of the Year 12 school
leaver age population)
90 ATAR = scaled average score of 70 (school mark + exam mark +
scaling)
Differences exist between course units and course weightings.
TISC website www.tisc.edu.au
English/English Literature
Maths Methods/Maths Applications/Maths Specialist
Chemistry/Earth and Environmental Science
Modern History/Drama
Physics/Geography
Human Biology
An ATAR high enough to get into a course of your
choice (University entry is competitive)
Competence in English
Meet any prerequisites associated with the
particular course. These may vary between the
Universities.
Entry requirements vary depending on course and University. Access their websites for more specific data
CURTIN – minimum ATAR of 70 + pass English as entry requirement
UWA – minimum ATAR of 80 + English language competence. Medicine, Engineering, Philosophy – ATAR 98+ and required prerequisites
Murdoch – minimum ATAR of 70. Also alternative entry options. ECU – minimum ATAR of 70 + English competence. Also have
some alternative admission options. Notre Dame – ATAR of 70 + English competence / Admission
by direct application and interview.
Specialised/VET Programs‘Package Pathways’ KIC – School Based Metals & Engineering Traineeship
Building & Construction
Hospitality
Plant Mechanic
Process Plant Operations
‘Stand Alone’ Information Technology
Creative Industries
Visual Arts
Sports Coaching
Business
TAFE – Automation, Visage, Community Services, Animal Studies etc.
Non-competitive courses – applicants need to meet Entrance Requirement
Competitive courses – applicants need to meet Entrance Requirements and Selection Criteria
Please See http://www.fulltimecourses.tafe.wa.edu.au/sites/default/files/uploads/TAFE-admissions-guide-V2-Final.pdf
Entrance Requirements are consistent across all TAFE colleges and are based on the literacy and numeracy levels required for entry into a course
Selection Criteria are academic (60 points) and work history (30 points) criteria which are used to rank applicants for entry to courses where there are more applicants than positions available
WACE ATAR
Stream
WACE Vet
Qualification Stream
WACE General
Stream
Entry to
Cert III
3 x A grades 60 points Cert II 30 points
Cert III 45 points
3 x A grades 48 points
3 x B grades 60 points 3 x B grades 45 points
3 x C grades 54 points 3 x C grades 42 points
Entry to
Cert IV
3 x A grades 60 points Cert II 25 points
Cert III 45 points
3 x A grades 48 points
3 x B grades 60 points 3 x B grades 45 points
3 x C grades 54 points 3 x C grades 42 points
Interviews scheduled - 8.30am – 2.45pm daily from Monday 17th June
to Friday 28th June 2019.
Counselling session will occur with each year 10 student and their
Parent/Caregiver
Gilmore College course unit information for 2020 can be accessed via the college website at www.gilmorecollege.wa.edu.au
Counselling Interviews booked through Schools Online Booking System at http://sobs.com.au/pt/parent.php
VET Coordinator◦ Ms Kilpatrick
Senior School Manager◦ Ms McCaig
Year Coordinator◦ Ms Daly
Associate Principals◦ Mr Gurr/Ms Lobb/Mr Chikwama
Student Services Staff
What does this look like1. Be self controlled2. Know where your support services are3. Know the difference between the importance of
homework and study4. Recognise your impact on the learning of others5. Practice good social skills6. Deal with conflicts in a socially mature way – See point
27. Be organised8. Be prepared
What does this look like
8. Be a good time manager9. Have a regular routine (i.e. Study Timetable – see point
3)10.Balance school and other activities11.Maintain regular sleep habits12.Be punctual13.Attend14.Attend15.Attend
Thank you all for beginning this journey with your child.
Please contact us for assistance, we are here to share this journey with you as well
www.scsa.wa.edu.au
https://facebook.com/SCSAWA
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Exploring career options - https://www.myfuture.edu.au
Apprenticeship information – www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au
Australian Apprenticeship Pathway – www.aapathway.com.au
Gilmore College – www.gilmorecollege.wa.edu.au
School Curriculum and Standards Authority – www.scsa.wa.edu.au
Tertiary Institutions Service Centre – https://www.tisc.edu.au
Curtin University- www.curtin.edu.au
Edith Cowan University – www.ecu.edu.au
Murdoch University – www.murdoch.edu.au
Notre Dame University – www.nd.edu.au
University of western Australia – www.uwa.edu.au