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

This page is for current Year 11s who will finish the WACE in 2027. For the whole series, start at starting Year 12 in 2027.

School assessment: what your teachers mark

• Your school gives you an assessment outline for each course. SCSA's rule is that the syllabus assessment types and weightings must not be changed, each assessment type appears at least once across the pair of units, and the tasks sample the content of both Unit 3 and Unit 4.
• Tasks are set and marked by your teachers under your school's senior secondary assessment policy. Tasks not done under test conditions need some way of checking the work is yours (for example observation, notes or an interview).
• At the end of the year the school submits a mark and a grade (A to E) for the pair of units.

Read the assessment outline in week 1 and put every task into the study planner. The outline, not the textbook, tells you what counts.

Moderation: why your school mark moves

Schools mark on different scales, so SCSA moderates raw school marks using the ATAR exam as a common yardstick. TISC's explanation: your moderated mark keeps your rank order within your school, but it can be higher or lower than your raw school mark. A moderated 67 in Physics means the same at every school.

How much is the exam worth?

For written-exam-only courses, SCSA averages your moderated school mark and your raw exam mark (both out of 100). That's an even split. For courses with a practical, performance or oral exam, the written and practical parts are each combined this way, then mixed in the proportion the syllabus sets. After that, each course's combined marks are standardised and TISC applies Average Marks Scaling to produce your scaled score. The details are in how the WACE ATAR is calculated.

When are the exams?

SCSA runs practical exams in spring and written exams from late October. SCSA has published the 2027 exam windows:

• practical exams: Saturday 25 September to Sunday 24 October 2027;
• written exams: Wednesday 27 October to Thursday 18 November 2027.

The course-by-course timetable comes later on SCSA's examination timetables page, and you'll download a personalised timetable from the SCSA student portal. (For comparison, 2026 written exams ran from 28 October to 19 November.) WA public school Term 1, 2027 runs from 1 February to 9 April, and Term 3 ends on 24 September 2027, so most of your school assessment happens in Terms 1 to 3.

Do I have to sit the ATAR exam?

Yes. SCSA says that if you're enrolled in a Year 12 ATAR course and don't sit the exam (both written and practical where there is one) without an approved sickness/misadventure application, you won't get a course mark or grade for that course on your WASSA, and the grade may not count towards your WACE requirements.

What counts toward the ATAR?

Only scaled scores from ATAR courses. TISC adds your best four scaled scores, plus 10% of your Mathematics Methods, Mathematics Specialist and best language scaled scores if you have them. You need at least four scaled scores. In 2026, TISC's Board postponed its proposed change to the TEA calculation until further notice, so this method still applies. Try it with the WACE ATAR calculator and read choosing WACE ATAR courses with scaling in mind.

What changes for the 2027 cohort?

SCSA's WACE Refreshment changes that apply from 2027:

• Diploma-level qualifications will no longer be recognised for WACE achievement from 2027, so they won't give unit equivalents (a Diploma completed before 2027 can still count).
• To get unit equivalents from a completed Tertiary Preparation Endorsed Program (TPEP), you must complete at least one Year 12 ATAR course.
• SCSA has published What's changing: General capabilities documents for Year 12 ATAR syllabuses, describing material to be included in syllabuses effective from 1 January 2027. Check the page for each of your courses.

The WACE still needs a minimum of 20 units, including ten Year 12 units, plus SCSA's English, breadth, achievement and literacy and numeracy requirements. SCSA runs a WACE Checker for 2027 students; check your plan with your school.

Where to go next

• Subject hubs: English, Mathematics Methods, Chemistry, Human Biology, Physics.
• Exam pages such as Mathematics Methods exam and the WACE exams hub.
• Summer study system before Year 12 and when to start past papers.