Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to our FAQ page. Here, you'll find answers to common questions about achieving the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE), accessing your ATAR exam timetable, understanding the OLNA attempts, and much more.
The Western Australian Statement of Student Achievement (WASSA) is issued to all Year 12 students upon completion of their secondary schooling. It provides a formal record of what students leaving Year 12 have achieved because of their school education in Western Australia.
The Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) is the certificate students receive when they meet the specified requirements regarding literacy and numeracy and achieve results across a range of subjects over Years 11 and 12.
Graduation is what students celebrate at the end of their journey at Our Lady of Mercy College. This is for all Year 12 students to celebrate with their peers, family and staff.
Visit the WACE requirements section on the College website or use our WACE Checker tool to see if you will meet the requirements to achieve a WACE.
The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) expresses the student’s overall performance for university entrance in rank order on a percentile ranking from 0 to 99.95. This rank compares all students in the state. The higher the ATAR, the better the student’s performance.
Visit the Examination Timetables page of the Years 11 and 12 website for information on the timetables and their release dates. Once released in September, your personalised examination timetable can be accessed through the Student Portal.
From Year 10 until Year 12, students have 6 attempts to achieve their OLNA. Generally, students complete two attempts per year.
If students do not demonstrate the literacy and numeracy standards by the time they exit secondary school, they can apply to the Authority to re-sit the assessment at any age.
If you have a scaled score in LOTE, 10% of your LOTE scaled score is added to the total of your best four scaled scores when calculating your Tertiary Entrance Aggregate (TEA) for entry to the University.
If you have a scaled score in Mathematics Methods and/or Mathematics Specialist, 10% of your scaled score/s in these subjects is added to the total of your best four scaled scores when calculating your Tertiary Entrance Aggregate for entry to university. You receive these bonus scores even if the course/s are not used in the calculation of your TEA.
As a Catholic College, the Bishops mandate that students complete a Religion and Life course in Years 11 and 12. Students can select from General and ATAR courses, which are also offered through the VISN program.
This number is calculated using the best four scaled scores from ATAR courses examined at the end of Year 12. The TEA is converted to an ATAR.
