Starting QCE Year 12 in 2027: The guide for this year's Year 11s
If you're in Year 11 now, your Year 12 is Units 3 and 4 in 2027. Every General subject has three school-based internal assessments and one QCAA external assessment in Term 4, worth 50% in Mathematics and Science and 25% elsewhere. QTAC then builds your ATAR from your best five scaled results. Start with the three guides below, then set up your year.
The series
- How Year 12 assessment works: internal and external assessment, weightings, QCAA's checks on school marks, and what counts toward the ATAR.
- A summer study system before Year 12: organising notes by unit and topic, a light weekly routine, and recall practice with the planner, Today and flashcards.
- When to start past papers: where QCAA papers and marking guides live, topic-by-topic use, full timed papers, and the revised syllabus caveat.
Also useful: QCE internal vs external assessment, how QCE credits work and QCE AARA.
How is the QCE ATAR calculated?
QTAC, not QCAA, calculates the ATAR:
- QCAA sends QTAC your Units 3 and 4 subject results and any completed VET qualifications.
- QTAC scales each subject so results can be compared across subjects.
- It adds your best five eligible scaled results: five General subjects, or four General subjects plus one Applied subject or one completed Certificate III or higher.
- Students are ranked by that aggregate and placed into 2,000 ATAR bands, from 99.95 down in steps of 0.05, sized using the Queensland Year 12 population.
To be eligible you also need a C or better in an English subject (English, Literature, English as an Additional Language, English & Literature Extension or Essential English), with results gained within five years. You don't need a QCE to get an ATAR. A General and an Applied English can't both count, and neither can a General and an Applied Mathematics.
Read the full explanation, with 2025 scaling data, in how the QCE ATAR is calculated, and try scenarios in the QCE ATAR calculator. The calculator gives an estimate only, because scaling is recalculated every year. You'll find other tools on the QCE calculators page.
Key 2027 dates
| Date | What | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 27 January 2027 | Term 1 starts for students in Queensland state schools | Published (Department of Education) |
| Term 4 2027 | QCAA external assessments | Timetable to be announced by QCAA |
| 19 November 2027 | Final date for Year 12 attendance in state schools | Published (Department of Education) |
| December 2027 | QCE results and ATAR release | Dates to be announced by QCAA and QTAC |
Non-state schools set their own term dates. Your school's own assessment schedule gives your internal assessment dates. QCAA publishes its dates on its key dates and external assessment timetable pages, and QTAC announces the ATAR release date on its website.
Before Term 1, check that your subjects make you ATAR-eligible and meet the prerequisites for courses you're considering. Use the uni course finder and each subject hub, such as English or Mathematical Methods.
For this year's Year 12s, the December 2026 results guides start at understanding your QCE results.
Sources & how we know this
- ATAR (eligibility and calculation) — Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) (2026)
- About external assessment — Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) (2026)
- Key dates — Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) (2026)
- School calendar, Queensland state schools 2027 — Queensland Department of Education (2026)
Last updated: 2026-09-28. Rules change. For the official source see QCAA.