Australian Council for Educational Research

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The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) is a non-governmental educational research organisation based in Camberwell, Victoria.

Established in 1930, ACER has a long history and solid reputation as a provider of reliable support to education policy makers and professional practitioners. As a private company, independent of government, ACER receives no direct financial support and generates its entire income through contracted research and development projects and through products and services that it develops and distributes.

Today, ACER is one of the world’s leading educational research centres, committed to creating and distributing research-based knowledge, products and services to improve learning across the lifespan in both formal and informal settings.

Blending solid experience and creative talent with established methodologies, ACER is a full service research consultancy specialising in collecting and interpreting information to shape strategic decision making. ACER researchers bring many years of experience to their projects, and skills in a range of disciplines and research methods. ACER’s research strengths are reflected in its seven research programs: Assessment and Reporting, Learning Processes and Contexts, National and International Surveys, System and School Testing, Teaching and Learning, Transitions and Economics of Education, and Early Childhood Education.

ACER has an established reputation in large-scale survey research. Research in this area draws on staff expertise in sampling, survey management, the analysis of survey data, and the interpretation and reporting of results. Current ACER work includes the management of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment and work for the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Civics Education Project, both in collaboration with the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).

In addition to being a national centre for educational policy research and advice, ACER develops and provides a range of research-based products and services to support the work of practitioners. ACER publishes an extensive range of research-based resources including tests, kits, books and software for professional practitioners in education, psychology, parent education and human resources.

ACER also provides secure, fee-for-service testing programs to schools, universities, employers and professional organisations.These programs include selection tests for entry to schools and universities, scholarship tests, and tests for diagnostic and monitoring purposes. Examples include the Special Tertiary Admissions Test, Cooperative Scholarship Test, and admissions tests (the Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test and the Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test) used by Australian medical schools and some United Kingdom universities.

ACER’s Cunningham Library provides educators with access to more than 50000 books, 400 professional journals, and an extensive collection of conference papers and reports.The library also offers a variety of online information services, including library catalogues, electronic databases, literature searches and document delivery services.

Through its Centre for Professional Learning, ACER works with teachers and a range of others to provide workshops, seminars and conferences to support professional learning and research-based professional practice across a range of occupations.