Victoria

Victorian Year 11 and 12 students can pursue studies that lead to a Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), a Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL), or to an industry apprenticeship.

Of these, the VCE is the qualification most commonly undertaken by students aiming for tertiary studies.

The VCE is an internationally recognised qualification. A VCE course can be constructed from pure VCE subjects, or VET programs (Vocational Education and Training), or both. Approx 100 accredited VCE subjects and 30 VET programs are available to students. Students must satisfactorily complete 16 units of study to be awarded the VCE, including at least three units from the English group of subjects.

The VCAL is a state-level qualification that recognises learning programs such as workplace placements, community projects and youth development programs.

VCE results are based upon students' study scores in each unit. A study score measures student performance in a study at Unit 3 and 4 level, compared to everyone else in Victoria who undertook that study.

The maximum VCE study score is 50. The mean (average) study score is set at 30. Students who achieve a study score of 40 or above fall into the top 9% of students in that subject and are listed on the TopScores web site. A study score of 45 or above places a student in the top 2% band.

VCE study scores are sometimes referred to as "raw scores", meaning that they have not had any ATAR scaling and ranking conversions applied for the purposes of tertiary admission calculations.

The VCE and VCAL systems are administered by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), which is responsible for the development and approval of year 11 and 12 course curricula and the conduct of VCE assessments.