The South Australian Certificate of Education
(SACE) exists to encourage students to successfully complete secondary
education and to attest to their readiness for entry into post-school
studies and employment.
The SACE is an internationally recognised credential
that opens pathways leading to vocations and careers, further studies
and employment. The SACE also ensures that students leave school
with a strong general education.
To
meet the requirements of the certificate, students need to take
a balanced range of studies, generally over two years, although
no particular time limit is specified. Stage 1 of the SACE is usually
studied in Year 11 and Stage 2 of the SACE is usually studied in
Year 12. Students may negotiate alterations to this schedule. The
studies include English or English as Second Language, Australian
Studies, and Mathematics at Stage 1 (Year
11), as well as a selection from other subject groups.
To be awarded the SACE, students must:
- study 22 semester (half-year) units, some
of which may be combined to form full-year programs;
- reach a level of satisfactory achievement
in at least 16 of the 22 units;
- meet the subject pattern requirements.
The SACE is the basic requirement for entry
to higher education. The higher education institutions use a tertiary
entrance rank (TER), derived from SACE studies, to rank students
for selection to particular courses. To be eligible for a TER, students
must complete five Stage 2 (Year 12) subjects.
Definitions of commonly used terms can be
found on the SACE
terminology page.