How QCE Year 12 assessment works (for the 2027 cohort)

This page is for current Year 11 students who finish the QCE in 2027. It's the practical overview. QCE internal vs external assessment goes deeper on each part.

What's different about Year 12?

Units 1 and 2 (Year 11) are mostly practice as far as the ATAR goes. Only Units 3 and 4 results go from QCAA to QTAC for the ATAR. For the QCE certificate, Units 1 and 2 can still earn credits, as explained in how QCE credits work.

The 2027 cohort studies the revised General syllabuses that QCAA introduced with Units 1 and 2 in 2025. QCAA says 2026 is the first year of external assessment under the revised syllabuses, so you'll be the second cohort to sit them. That matters when you choose past papers. See when to start past papers.

The four assessments in each General subject

The type of each IA depends on the subject's syllabus. It might be an exam, investigation, report, extended response, performance or project. Your school's assessment schedule gives the actual dates, so ask for it in the first week of Term 1 if you don't already have it.

How much is each part worth?

QCAA adds your EA result (out of 25 or 50) to your internal result (out of 75 or 50) to give a mark out of 100 and an A to E grade. QCAA also says the EA result doesn't scale your internal results: a strong IA mark stays a strong IA mark.

Applied subjects are assessed internally only, with no QCAA external assessment, and are reported as A to E.

How QCAA checks your school's marks

• Endorsement. Before your school uses an internal assessment instrument, it goes through QCAA's endorsement process against the syllabus requirements.
• Confirmation. After marking, QCAA assessors review a sample of student responses for every subject in every school, checking that teachers applied the instrument-specific marking guide (ISMG) accurately and consistently.

Only schools can request reviews of internal results, and only during confirmation. You can't appeal an IA mark after results come out, so raise concerns with your teacher at the time. The review routes open to students are covered in results reviews and appeals.

When do the external assessments fall?

In Term 4, on dates QCAA sets. For comparison, the 2026 EAs run from Monday 26 October to Tuesday 17 November 2026. The 2027 timetable is to be announced, and QCAA will publish it on its external assessment timetable page. For Queensland state schools, Term 1 2027 starts for students on 27 January, and the calendar lists 19 November 2027 as the final date for Year 12 attendance. Non-state schools set their own term dates.

For what the day itself looks like, see QCE exam day. If you have a disability, illness or other circumstance, talk to your school early about AARA, because applications have deadlines.

What counts toward the ATAR?

QTAC uses your best five scaled results from:

• five General subjects; or
• four General subjects plus one Applied subject; or
• four General subjects plus one completed VET qualification at Certificate III or higher.

You also need a C or better in an English subject (English, Literature, English as an Additional Language, English & Literature Extension or Essential English), and your results must be gained within five years. A General and an Applied English can't both count, and neither can a General and an Applied Mathematics. For scaling and worked examples, read how the QCE ATAR is calculated. You can also test scenarios in the QCE ATAR calculator.

What this means for your year

• Term 1 matters. Your school may schedule an IA early in the year, so the summer is your preparation window. See a summer study system before Year 12.
• Keep Unit 3 alive. The EA covers Units 3 and 4, so revise Unit 3 content across the year, not just before exams.
• Use each subject's exam page, for example Mathematical Methods exam prep and English exam prep, and the QCE exams hub.

The full series is on starting Year 12 in 2027.