Skills for Tertiary Admissions Test

The Skills for Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) provides an admission pathway to university if you don’t hold other qualifications that are acceptable for entry. It’s a test designed to assess aptitude for learning at tertiary level.

The STAT is also a suitable pathway if you have attempted an English ATAR subject in year 12 and achieved a scaled mark below 50 – you may be invited by TISC to sit the Written English (WE) section of the STAT.

The STAT is recognised in all Australian states. In Western Australia, the STAT is administered by the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC). It is designed to assess a range of competencies considered important for success in tertiary study. It focuses on critical thinking and reasoning skills more so than knowledge. There are two sections: a two-hour multiple-choice (MC) test covering a range of subjects and a one-hour written English (WE) test.

To use the test to gain entry to university, you must be at least 20 years of age before 1 March in the year of entry to university, if applying for the first semester. If applying for second semester, you must be at least 20 years of age before 1 August in the year of entry. If you have left high school but are not yet 20 years of age, you can sit the STAT WE section only in an attempt to meet English.

The test result is given as a score between 100 and 200, with 200 being a perfect score. This is then converted to a STAT ranking. If you achieve a score of at least 140 WE, you can use this result to meet Curtin’s English language requirement.

Some courses, particularly science and engineering courses, do not accept the full STAT as an admission pathway. All Curtin courses, however, accept the WE section as proof of English language proficiency. You should find your intended course to check whether the STAT is an accepted method of entry.

Preparing for the test

If you enrol and pay to sit STAT, you will receive a candidate information booklet containing examples of the types of questions used in the test. You should simply familiarise yourself with the STAT by reading the information in this booklet, or you may prefer to receive additional tuition, especially if you’ve been out of the education system for a while.