Australian Capital Territory: ACT SSC, Subjects, Assessment & ATAR

Certificate requirements

The ordinary SSC standard package requires at least 17 standard units plus the prescribed course pattern and English. The standard TES pathway requires at least 20 units, four majors plus one minor or three majors plus three minors, at least three T/H majors and one T/H minor, and all AST components. Ask your college to check the full package and its classifications with you.

Subjects, school assessment and external assessment

Tasks, tests and other assessments contribute to course scores. The ACT Scaling Test supports scaling across course groups and colleges for tertiary-entry candidates. So it is not a final exam for a particular subject, or an extra subject added to the ATAR.

Which results contribute to the ATAR?

ACT BSSS scales eligible course scores using the ACT system, including AST information, and derives an ATAR from the best 3.6 courses. This is an easy distinction to miss: UAC handles university applications, but BSSS is responsible for the ACT ATAR.

Changing subjects between Years 11 and 12

Plan English, mathematics, science, humanities, language and arts courses with attention to major/minor patterns and T/A classifications. Year 11 work can count within continuous assessment too. That is worth keeping in mind before changing subjects on the assumption that only Year 12 matters.

What to keep handy

• The current school course handbook, assessment schedules and official enrolment list.
• Separate certificate/ATAR eligibility audits, course-prerequisite records and any language-eligibility approvals.

Use the state comparison and subject selection guide to put this pathway in context.