How does the QCAA/QCE ATAR work?

For most Year 11 and 12 students (and their parents), the QCE is something to await with apprehension and dread. Not to mention the fact that the QLD system has recently undergone a bit of a “facelift” in 2025; there are some important changes you need to know about.

What is the QCE?

The Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) is the certification awarded to Year 12s in Queensland following the completion of their senior studies – a high school diploma. If you're interested in brushing up on exactly how the ATAR works, here is a comprehensive ATAR guide.

How to be Eligible for the QCE?

To receive your QCE at the end of Year 12, you must satisfy a couple of requirements:

• For each general subject, there are 4 units (which correspond to 4 QCE credits):
  • Units 1 and 2 are completed in Year 11 and are formative (ie. scores do not contribute to your final ATAR).
  • Units 3 and 4 are completed in Year 12 and are summative (they do contribute to your ATAR).
• Students must have a minimum of 20 credits to receive a QCE, but they can attain up to 28 credits. Most Queensland students will graduate with 24 QCE credits (4 units in 6 general subjects).
• All students must complete an English subject and a Math subject to receive their QCE.
• Score Cs and above for your QCE subjects.

If you are struggling to keep your grades up right now, a tutor from KIS Academics can help you achieve your dream ATAR!

What subjects do you need for QCE/ATAR?

In the QCE system, subjects are split up into 2 categories:

• Applied subjects can count towards QCE, but only one applied subject can be used in the calculation of ATAR
• General subjects can count towards both QCE and ATAR calculation

As mentioned above, you need a minimum of 20 credits, meaning:

• 5 general subjects;
• or 4 general subjects and 1 applied subject;
• Some students opt to undertake a diploma or certificate during Years 11 and 12, such as the Diploma of Business, which can also contribute towards their QCE/ATAR certification.

You need an English and a Math subject; other subjects are up to you. Here's a tip for subject selection:

• If you are aiming to get into a particular university course, such as Medicine, you must look into any subject prerequisites each university requires, and choose to do those subjects.

What are the Assessments like?

Each subject has a unique assessment style and structure, but all subjects will have two components:

1. Internal Assessments
   1. Internal assessments are formulated and assessed by individual schools, which are then sent off to the QCAA (QLD’s education authority) for external confirmation.
   2. For most subjects, internal assessments comprise 75% of the total subject weighting (excluding Maths and Science subjects which are 50%).
2. External assessments
   1. These exams are written and marked by the QCAA themselves, and usually amount to 25% of a subject’s total grade (excluding Maths and Science again, which are 50%).
   2. These invigilated exams are held in a 4-week exam period during the end of the school year. Each subject exam across the state is held at the same time, so you are all in this together (couldn’t resist the high school musical reference).

How to get an ATAR from QCE?

The Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) is awarded to students who satisfy the eligibility criteria, and is important for university entry. Whilst QCE is under the jurisdiction of the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA), the ATAR for Queensland is calculated by the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC).

ATAR is a rank - essentially meaning that it gives you a percentile of how you have ranked compared to all of the students in the state. Students who receive a 99.95 ATAR are in the top 0.05% of the state (around 30 people), whereas students with a 70 ATAR are in the top 30%.

How is the ATAR calculated?

The ATAR calculation is based on raw exam scores, which are then weighted to provide a cumulative score, which is then ranked accordingly. Raw exam scores are released the same day that ATARs are released. They are then combined with the internal assessment score to give an overall raw subject score out of 50.

The ATAR calculation only considers 5 of the student's highest scoring subjects (scaled). The lowest subject is not included at all (known as a 'grace subject'). If you want an estimate of what your ATAR would be, use KIS Academics' QCE ATAR Calculator:

What is Scaling?

Raw subject scores are scaled based on overall state performance in that subject. The scaling report provides an indicator of the subjects that were generally the most difficult (with the lowest grades) as well as those which were easier (with the highest grades). In saying that, it’s important to always choose subjects you enjoy over subjects you think will scale well because this often changes from year to year!

Conclusion

The QCE ATAR system can be quite complex, and understanding what's going on can be very daunting for new students and parents. If you ever need some assistance with your ATAR, KIS Academics tutors have a thorough knowledge of the subjects and can assist in understanding curriculum requirements. Our tutors can provide materials and teach how to prepare for internal and external assessments. Learn about our QCE tutoring and book a free study skills consultation with a KIS Academics private tutor.

FAQs

Written by KIS Academics Tutor, State Consultant for Queensland (QCE) and Tiktok Marketer, Amelia Mackie. Amelia graduated high school with an ATAR 99.3, an English score of 50, and a 99th percentile score (3250) in the UCAT. She graduated from a Bachelor of Science (majoring in Biomedical Science) in 2023 with an outstanding 6.75 GPA. You can view Amelia's profile here and request her as a tutor.

Want more personalized study guidance to help drastically improve your marks? A private tutor from KIS Academics can make the biggest difference!