Certificate of Secondary Education: What a CSE Is, and What It Equals in the US

“Certificate of Secondary Education” means two different things, and which one applies depends on where the document was issued. In the United Kingdom it was a specific qualification, the CSE, sat in individual subjects between 1965 and 1987 and replaced by the GCSE. Everywhere else it is usually a generic English translation for a national school-leaving credential. In the United States the closest equivalents are a high school diploma issued by a school district or a state high school equivalency credential earned through the GED or HiSET exam. A foreign secondary certificate is not automatically treated as either. There is no federal agency that rules on it, and the institution or employer in front of you decides, usually after a credential evaluation.

The UK CSE: a subject qualification, not a leaving certificate

The Certificate of Secondary Education was used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for students who were not entered for the academically selective GCE Ordinary level. It was never one certificate for “finishing school.” A candidate sat CSE papers in individual subjects such as English, maths, woodwork and geography, and received a certificate listing those subjects and a grade for each, in the same way GCSEs work today.

AQA, which holds the records of the legacy boards, states that it can search for CSE exams taken between 1965 and 1987. The GCSE replaced both the CSE and the GCE O-level from 1988, so a genuine UK CSE certificate is always at least that old.

What CSE grades meant

CSE used five grades, 1 to 5, with Grade 1 the highest. AQA’s published explanation of results defines them directly:

• Grade 1 means the student “might reasonably have attained grade A, B or C at Ordinary level of the GCE exams.”
• Grade 4 is “the standard of performance expected from a student of average ability.”
• Grade 5 is below that expected for grade 4.

Grades 2 and 3 sit between those points. The mapping into modern grades is also published rather than inferred. AQA states that GCSE “grades A(a), B(b) and C(c) maintain the standards of the current GCSE grades A(a), B(b) and C(c), and the former CSE grade 1: grades D(d), E(e), F(f) and G(g) maintain the standards of the former CSE grades 2, 3, 4 and 5.” For the reformed 9–1 GCSE, AQA states that “the lower thresholds for grades 7, 4 and 1 are equivalent to the lower thresholds for GCSE grades A, C and G respectively.” Together those give a defensible chain from a 1970s certificate to a grade an employer recognizes today.

The 9–1 column is an approximation. AQA anchors only three points of the reformed scale (7 = A, 4 = C, 1 = G). The rows between those anchors are interpolated and should be described that way on an application.

The O-level side of the same era

If the certificate in hand is a GCE O-level instead of a CSE, the grading depends on the year, and AQA publishes three distinct periods. For 1951–1962, results were recorded as a “Pass,” generally at a mark around 45 out of 100. For 1963–1974, numbered grades 1 to 9 were used internally, while candidates meeting the Ordinary standard (grades 1 to 6) were issued a “Pass.” For 1975–1987, letter grades A to E were used, with A highest. How these older UK documents differ from American and European ones is covered in U.S. vs UK vs EU diplomas.

Replacing a lost CSE certificate

This is where most CSE holders go wrong, because the obvious request cannot be granted. GOV.UK states it plainly: “You cannot get a replacement certificate for an O level, CSE, GCSE or A level,” and “your exam board will send you a ‘certified statement of results’ instead.” That statement is an official document and can be used in place of the certificate, for example for a university application.

Which organisation to write to depends on the qualification and the nation:

GOV.UK adds that “you may need to prove your identity and pay a fee.” AQA’s published terms show what that means. As of September 2026 AQA charges £50.25, covering a search of two exam series, with an extra £20 per address for international delivery. Processing takes up to 20 working days, plus about five working days by post. Proof of identity is required, in the form of a birth certificate, driving licence or passport, plus evidence of any change of name, and AQA is explicit that “only you can apply for your past results,” and “no one else should do this for you.” Fees and turnaround differ between boards, so confirm with the one holding your records before paying.

If you do not know which board it was, the school name and the year you sat the exams are usually enough for it to search. And ask the recipient what they need before ordering anything. For most employers a certified statement of results, or confirmation sent to them directly, settles the question. The difference between the award document and the record of results is covered in diploma vs transcript.

“Certificate of secondary education” in other countries

Outside the UK the phrase is rarely the official name of anything. It is the label people reach for when translating a national credential into English, and the underlying documents are not interchangeable. US colleges that publish their international admissions rules give a useful picture of the range. Valencia College, for example, lists secondary credentials it accepts in place of a US high school diploma country by country. The list includes GCSE, GCE O-level and IGCSE, awards from the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), results from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), the Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE), the French baccalauréat, the Spanish or Latin American bachillerato, and the maturity certificates of several European systems.

The important detail in that list is a footnote and not a name. For the exam-based credentials, which are CXC, O-level, IGCSE, BGCSE, GCSE, WAEC and KCSE, Valencia requires five passing subjects at a US equivalent grade of C or above. A single subject pass is not a school-leaving credential anywhere, and that is exactly the trap the UK CSE sets. One CSE certificate listing one subject proves one subject.

So establish three things about your own document before anything else. Note the exact official name in the original language, the authority that issued it (school, regional board, national examinations council or ministry), and the number of subjects and grades it records. Every later step, whether replacement, translation or evaluation, starts from those.

The three US equivalents

The United States has no national school-leaving examination and no national certificate. There are three recognized routes, and they are not the same document.

Three details matter more than the headline numbers. The diploma is set locally, because graduation requirements are a state matter, which is why two American diplomas from the same year can represent different coursework. The state-by-state picture is in high school diploma requirements by state.

The equivalency exams award more than a pass mark. GED Testing Service reports scores above the 145 line in two further bands: 165–174 is “GED College Ready,” which can waive placement testing or developmental coursework, and 175–200 is “GED College Ready + Credit,” worth up to 10 college credit hours. A score in those bands belongs on an application.

The state, not the testing company, owns the credential. HiSET’s guidance says “the state you test in decides the minimum requirements for earning an HSE credential,” and some states add a civics test. Which exam is available at all depends on the state. Comparing the two routes: high school equivalency diploma or GED, how to get a GED certificate, and what a GED diploma looks like.

How a foreign secondary certificate is assessed in the US

There is no American authority that declares a foreign certificate equivalent to a high school diploma. The US Department of Education states it directly: “The U.S. Department of Education does not evaluate foreign qualifications or degrees.” It names four competent authorities instead, depending on why the question is being asked. These are education institutions for people seeking to study, employers for people seeking work, state-level licensing authorities for people seeking a professional license, and federal immigration authorities for visa matters. “In most instances,” the Department adds, “they will request that you obtain a credential evaluation to determine how one’s non-U.S. credentials compare with U.S. credentials.”

The same page carries a warning worth reading twice: “There is no federal regulation of credential evaluation services.” Anyone can print a report. What gives one weight is that the receiving institution accepts the service that wrote it, which in practice usually means membership of NACES, the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services, founded in 1987, which sets standards but, in its own words, “does not perform credential evaluations. However, our members do.”

A document-by-document report answers the secondary-school question. It states the credential’s name, the entry requirement, the program length and the equivalency in US terms, without listing courses or calculating a GPA. World Education Services, a NACES member, prices it at $118 basic and $171 for the ICAP version, which keeps the documents on file. The course-by-course report, which does convert grades into a GPA, is $186 and $239 (checked September 13, 2026, delivery charged separately).

A workable sequence:

1. Ask the recipient first. Many colleges accept transcripts and exam results directly, in English or with an official translation, and require no third-party report at all. Paying for an evaluation nobody asked for is the most common wasted step.
2. If a report is required, ask which services are accepted and whether document-by-document is enough.
3. Get official documents from the issuing authority, because evaluators want them sent through official channels, not photocopies.
4. Expect the subject rule. For exam-based systems the institution is usually counting subject passes at a set grade, not looking for a single document.

The part employers care about comes after the evaluation, when the claim gets checked. That is covered in are foreign diplomas accepted by U.S. employers, how employers verify international degrees and do employers really verify your degree. If the question is really about earnings rather than an application, salary by education level has the figures by credential, and how long it takes to get a certificate covers the credentials people add afterwards.

If you want a display copy of a certificate

Frequently asked questions

What is a secondary school certificate called in the USA?

A high school diploma, issued by the school district or private school that a student graduated from. There is no national certificate and no national leaving exam. Adults who did not graduate can earn a state high school equivalency credential instead by passing the GED or HiSET exam. The document listing subjects and grades is called a transcript, and it is usually what institutions ask for.

What is the General Certificate of Secondary Education?

The GCSE is the qualification that replaced both the CSE and the GCE O-level in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1988. Like the CSE it is taken subject by subject, normally at around age 16. It was graded A*–G until the reformed 9–1 scale was introduced, where AQA places grade 7 at the old grade A, grade 4 at grade C and grade 1 at grade G.

Is a CSE grade 1 a pass?

In the terms employers use today, yes. AQA’s published explanation is that a CSE Grade 1 student “might reasonably have attained grade A, B or C at Ordinary level of the GCE exams,” and that GCSE grades A to C maintained the standard of “the former CSE grade 1.” On the 9–1 scale that corresponds to a grade 4 or above. Grades 2 to 5 map to the old GCSE grades D through G.

Can I order a replacement CSE certificate?

No. GOV.UK states that no replacement certificate is issued for a CSE, O-level, GCSE or A-level. The exam board sends a certified statement of results instead, which can be used in its place. Apply to the board that holds the records, with proof of identity and the fee. AQA covers CSE exams sat between 1965 and 1987.

Is a certificate of secondary education the same as a high school diploma?

Not automatically. A US institution decides for itself, usually on the basis of a credential evaluation, because the US Department of Education does not evaluate foreign qualifications. For exam-based systems the common rule is a set number of subject passes at a defined grade. Valencia College, for instance, requires five subjects at a US equivalent of C or above for CXC, GCSE, O-level, IGCSE, BGCSE, WAEC and KCSE results.

Sources

1. GOV.UK, Get a replacement exam certificate, on the absence of a replacement certificate for O level, CSE, GCSE or A level, the certified statement of results issued instead, the list of awarding organisations, and identity proof and fee. Accessed September 13, 2026.
2. AQA, Past results and lost certificates, on CSE exams taken between 1965 and 1987, the £50.25 fee covering two exam series, the £20 extra per international address, up to 20 working days plus postal delivery, accepted identity documents, and the rule that only the candidate may apply. Accessed September 13, 2026.
3. AQA, CSE explanation of results, on grades 1–5, grade 1 equated to O-level A, B or C, grade 4 as average ability, and GCSE grades A to C maintaining the standard of CSE grade 1 while D to G maintain the standard of CSE grades 2–5. Accessed September 13, 2026.
4. AQA, O-level explanation of results, on grading periods 1951–1962, 1963–1974 and 1975–1987, and reformed GCSE grades 7, 4 and 1 aligned to old grades A, C and G. Accessed September 13, 2026.
5. GED Testing Service, GED test scores, on 145 or higher across all four subjects for the high school equivalency credential, 165–174 for GED College Ready, and 175–200 for GED College Ready + Credit, worth up to 10 college credit hours. Accessed September 13, 2026.
6. HiSET / ETS, Get your scores and credentials, on 8 out of 20 per subtest, at least 2 out of 6 on the essay, and at least 45 out of 100 across five subtests, with the state deciding the minimum requirements for the credential. Accessed September 13, 2026.
7. U.S. Department of Education, Recognition of foreign qualifications, on the Department not evaluating foreign qualifications or degrees, the four competent authorities, credential evaluation, and the absence of federal regulation of credential evaluation services. Accessed September 13, 2026.
8. NACES, Members, an association founded 1987, quoting “NACES does not perform credential evaluations. However, our members do.” Accessed September 13, 2026.
9. World Education Services, Credential evaluations and fees, on Document-by-Document at $118 basic and $171 ICAP, Course-by-Course at $186 basic and $239 ICAP, and the contents of a document-by-document report. Accessed September 13, 2026.
10. Valencia College, International secondary school requirements, on accepted foreign secondary credentials by country, and five passing subjects at a US equivalent grade of C or above for CXC, O-level, IGCSE, BGCSE, GCSE, WAEC and KCSE. Accessed September 13, 2026.