What Is Post-Secondary Education?

There are many different words and terms for education outside of school. These terms may relate to certifications from professional organisations and even degrees obtained through a university education. Talking to many of my high school students this seems to be something that can bring on some confusion. I thought I would write a quick simple article addressing what a post-secondary education means and the outcomes that can be associated with this.

What Is A Post Secondary Education?

A secondary education refers to high school, while “post” means after, translating into education after high school. This can include university education—such as institutions like the California Institute of Technology—college education (e.g., College of Business, College of Science), and even certification from vocational courses.

A post-secondary education is the education to obtain after completion of high school. (Shorelight Team, 2023)

What Is A Secondary Education?

A secondary education in Australia is a high school education. In the past, high school started from year 7- to 12 but in the last few years all states and territories start high school from year 6. The average age of a student who starts their secondary education is 12-13 years old and concludes when students are around 17-18 years of age. A successful completion of secondary school in Australia will require students to pass their year 12 subjects with the minimum of amount of credit points (varies between states) in order to receive their certificate of education. In South Australia the minimum is 200 SACE credits.

Below is an example of how those points can be obtained through subject selection in year 11 and 12 (Stage 1 & 2):

(South Australian Certificate of Education, 2024)

What Is SACE?

SACE stands for the South Australian Certificate of Education
SACE officially starts in Year 11 (Stage 1) and concludes in at the end of year 12 (Stage 2).

The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) is an internationally recognised qualification for life. The SACE is designed to help you to develop capabilities and provide you with skills and knowledge to live, work, and participate successfully in an ever-changing society. You’ll be awarded the SACE if you successfully complete requirements that include a range of skills and subjects you may study at school or may have acquired through other education, training or experience. (South Australian Certificate of Education, 2024)

Is Completing Secondary Education Important?

This is a big question to answer and depending on who you ask, where they are from and the experiences they have had, you will get a different answer. To put it simply, completing your secondary education and obtaining your completion certificate is important as this will be the first real qualification you will have when you leave school and enter the workforce. For some companies and jobs this is a basic requirement and importantly these certificates are nationally and globally recognised as a qualification and evidence you have received a formal education. So yes. A secondary education is very important and this is for many different reasons. Ensuring you push through and complete secondary school will make your professional life post school easier in most circumstances.

Achieving the SACE is important if you want to study at TAFE or university, but there are also other pathways after secondary school. SACE sets the foundation to move from high school to employment. (South Australian Certificate of Education, 2024)

Failure to obtain this certificate may also make it a lot harder for further study or enrolling in university and will require you to complete study additional of vocational course in order to regain entry into university. This may take an additional year of study if not more and also cost more money. With that being said if you don’t get your SACE you can still get entry into university by sitting a STAT test.

Successful completion of the SACE is the most common way for students to gain entry to local and international universities. (South Australian Certificate of Education, 2024)

So, the question is, is it important? As mentioned earlier, it really depends on everyone’s individual experience. I think when you’re in high school, it feels like the end-all, be-all, and the thought of not successfully completing secondary education seems like it will lead you to become a failure in life. This couldn’t be further from the truth. As I’ve grown older and seen those around me develop their own careers, just as I have, I’ve realised that there are many ways to be successful and to find a meaningful and fulfilling career. I have friends who left school a year early to pursue a trade, programming, or start their own business. At the end of the day, if you know what you want to do, have a plan, and a backup plan, then I don’t think completing your full secondary education is critical to becoming successful.

Another thing they often fail to remind students going through high school is that university can always be an option later. You can gain some life experience, work experience, and try different industries, then, if you decide that university is for you, you can pursue study in that area. While it may be a slightly longer path, the life skills and experiences gained will surely make you a better student and give you a broader understanding of success, as well as clarity on what you really want to do after exploring other alternatives.

A full secondary education is important for those who need it for their future career and valuable for everyone because of the many wonderful experiences high school offers. However, it’s not critical for you to be successful, to find a fulfilling career, or even to pursue post-secondary courses and degrees.

(Channel 9 News, 2023)

It won’t make or break you—only you can do that. Have a plan, vision, and of course, a backup plan. You’ll be fine.

Data Indicating Success From Australians Without Completing High School:

VET programs: In 2022, 90.1% of VET graduates were employed or continued their studies post-training(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2023).
Trades and apprenticeships: In 2021, the completion rate for apprenticeships was 55%, and 90% of those completing found employment within six months(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2023).
Entrepreneurship: Studies indicate that about one-third of Australian small business owners do not have Year 12 qualifications, relying on skills and experience instead of formal education(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2023).
Dropout employment rates: According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, about 67% of early school leavers (those who didn’t complete Year 12) are employed(Australian Bureau of Statistics).
Income potential: While high school graduates tend to earn more initially, those who pursue VET qualifications can achieve similar income levels over time. For example, the median salary for VET graduates six months post-completion was around $62,700 in 2022(Australian Bureau of Statistics).

What is an ATAR? (Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank)

An ATAR is not a score but a rank! It ranks students from 0-99.95 in order to tell you your position in your year group or graduating class in the country.

An example would be if you get an ATAR score of 80 it does not mean you have scored 80%. It means you are in the top 20% of students in your graduating class.

An ATAR is important as each university sets a required rank in order for students to get into courses. The higher the rank you get the better the chance you have of getting into your preferred degree or the more options you will have. If your ATAR is too low you won’t be offered a position in the degree.

An ATAR importantly does not reflect your personal ability or intellect, it is a ranking system.

This generally means that ATARs reflect supply and demand more than the intellectual capacity needed to study the course. (The University Of Sydney, 2024)

To get more information on ATAR, the requirements for your course or how it is calculated I would refer to your intended university webpage as this information should be on there. Here is a simple easy to understand page you can access to help you learn more about this: The University Of Sydney- Applying for an ATAR

Is SACE the same as an ATAR?

No. SACE is required to complete year 12 or high school. SACE is a requirement to get an ATAR. An ATAR is not the only option to get into university but is the primary option used and preferred by University’s and highs Schools grant students access to their courses and degrees.

They are linked. In order to study some course in university there are prerequisites subjects that you will need to complete in year 11 and 12 to gain entry. If you want to pursue a career in law, you will need to study subjects like legal studies in high school. Medicine? Well then you will need to study sciences in year 11/12 ect..

Here is the prerequisite information from the University Of Sydney and what they advise their potential future students:

To get into some of our courses, you will need to choose certain subjects in Years 11 and 12, which are prerequisites for admission. In addition to prerequisites, many of our courses also have recommendations for assumed knowledge in certain subjects, which are not required for admission, but are related to the course and will be useful for you to complete. So it’s important to start preparing early. (The University Of Sydney, 2024)

Interesting Statistics:

In 2023, around 79.1% of students in Australia completed Year 12, which has been the lowest retention rate in recent years. (Australian Bureau Statistics, 2023)
The Year 12 retention rate is typically higher in non-government schools (around 85%) compared to government schools (73%). (Australian Bureau Statistics, 2023)
Indigenous students have a lower retention rate, with approximately 60% completing Year 12. (Australian Bureau Statistics, 2023)

(ABS, 2023) Table of school affiliation- Australia 2019-2023