Media Centre

Media releases

Quantifying the return on investment of workplace training

09 May 2013

Research by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) for the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) is helping employers identify the quantifiable return on investment in literacy and numeracy training for their workers.
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Improving our understanding of learning

08 May 2013

A new Science of Learning Research Centre led by a consortium of researchers at the University of Queensland, the University of Melbourne and the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) will work with teachers to enhance our understanding of the learning process.
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Australian students rate their university experience positively

27 March 2013

Results from the largest survey of Australian university students ever conducted reveal that 80 per cent of students rate the quality of their educational experience as good or excellent. More than 110 000 students completed the University Experience Survey, which was developed for the Australian Government by a consortium of organisations led by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and was conducted between July and October 2012. The Commonwealth Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education released the national report today.
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Time to reform educational assessment

18 March 2013

Significant reform is needed in the field of educational assessment, according to a review by Professor Geoff Masters, CEO of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER).
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Low SES student enrolment target may be within reach

06 March 2013

New modelling by ACER shows Australia may be closer than previously thought to achieving its target of raising the proportion of undergraduate students from low socioeconomic backgrounds to 20 per cent by 2020. In the latest ACER Joining the Dots research briefing, Principal Research Fellow Dr Daniel Edwards explores the use of a new measure of socioeconomic status (SES) that is based on students’ prior residential address, rather that their address once attending university, to monitor the participation of underprivileged groups in higher education.
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International study reveals serious adult literacy and numeracy problems

15 February 2013

Preliminary results from an OECD study released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today reveals that many adult Australians do not possess the literacy and numeracy skills necessary to participate fully in modern life and work.
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Philanthropic support: a big knowledge gap for schools

11 February 2013

Schools are relying on fetes and other types of traditional fundraising while missing out on the financial and “in-kind” support available from philanthropic foundations and trusts, according to a survey by the Australian Council for Educational Research in partnership with The Ian Potter Foundation and the Origin Foundation.
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ACER releases results from latest international studies of student achievement

13 December 2012

Reports released on Tuesday by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) reveal disappointing results for Australia in the latest international study of mathematics and science achievement, and in Australia’s first ever international assessment of reading at primary school level.
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New data confirms dramatic decline in Indian university student visas, ACER research briefing notes

13 December 2012

13 December 2012: A higher education research briefing paper released today by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), drawing on new data, has confirmed the dramatic decline of international student enrolments in higher education in recent years and has highlighted how a massive downturn in Indian students has been a key driver in this overall trend.
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TIMSS & PIRLS 2011 national report

11 December 2012

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) released the TIMSS & PIRLS 2011 national reports at 8pm AEDST on Tuesday, 11 December 2012.
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Embed the Creative Arts in early childhood education

13 November 2012

The Arts can, and should, play a central role in the early years of life to lay an optimal foundation for children’s life chances, according to Robyn Ewing, the editor of Creative Arts in the Lives of Young Children, published by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and launched today in Sydney.
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Student engagement is key to staying competitive

29 October 2012

Demand-driven funding arrangements in Australia’s higher education sector have given more weight to student decisions and behaviours, making student engagement a vital part of institutions’ competitiveness, a conference in Melbourne will tomorrow hear. The LH Martin Institute and the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) are hosting a two-day conference on higher education student engagement.
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Creative students love learning

29 October 2012

29 October 2012: Winners in a statewide creative arts competition were announced at the launch of the ‘I love learning’ calendar on Saturday, 27 October. The competition for children in primary schools and in Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) invited young Western Australians to create artwork that shows what they love to learn. The ‘I love learning’ competition was created by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the PMH Foundation, with judging by the Art Gallery of Western Australia. First prize winners in the ‘I love learning’ competition are: • Cynthia Toh from Riverton Primary School in the Years 5, 6 and 7 category • Alysha van den Berg from Brunswick Junction Primary School in the Years 3 and 4 category • Sophie Rodger from Fremantle Primary School in the Years 1 and 2 category.
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Excellent teachers are the key

25 October 2012

25 October 2012: A key to achieving the Prime Minister’s goal of placing Australia in the top five school systems in the world will be to redouble efforts to ensure that every child has an excellent teacher, according to ACER Chief Executive, Professor Geoff Masters. Speaking ahead of World Teachers’ Day, which is being celebrated in Australia on Friday 26 October, Professor Masters said that increased achievement levels in Australian schools depended on all teachers doing what the best already do. “An outstanding teacher is one of the most precious gifts a child can be given,” Professor Masters said. “Teachers make a huge difference to children’s lives and futures. The best teachers are inspirational and build a love of learning.”
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Call for strengths-based approach to school readiness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids

04 October 2012

A new paper highlights the need for a strengths-based approach to school readiness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, in order to recognise the skills, cultural knowledge and understandings they already have when they transition to formal learning. The study, a joint project by ACER and the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), reviews the literature and uses a strength-based analysis of information from Footprints in Time: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) to examine Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s abilities and knowledge at 4-6 years of age.
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Bring your own technology – now

14 September 2012

The use of mobile devices by young people is surging, and schools that continue banning their students from using their own technology inside the school gates will be swamped, according to the authors of a new book on the Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) model in schools. Innovative schools are now harnessing mobile technologies for learning. The keys to doing that are addressed in 'Bring Your Own Technology: The BYOT guide for schools and families' written by Lee and co-author Martin Levins, published by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and launched by Professor Michael Hough at the Leading a Digital School Conference on the Gold Coast.
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Growth in number of Indigenous university students, but still underrepresented

04 September 2012

The number of Indigenous students enrolled at Australian universities has grown by over 40 per cent since 2006, and there has been substantial growth in the number of Australian university students born in developing nations, according to a new analysis of Census data by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The latest ACER Joining the Dots research briefing analyses information from the 2011 Census, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in August 2012, to provide insight into the characteristics of Australian university students and how they have changed since the previous Census and in the first decade of the 21st century.
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University expansion fastest for more than two decades: Census

04 September 2012

New data from the Australian Census shows that the growth in university students in Australia over the five years from 2006 to 2011 was the fastest recorded for at least the past twenty years, according to a research briefing by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The latest ACER Joining the Dots research briefing analyses data from the 2011 Census, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in August 2012, to provide insight into the characteristics of Australian university students and how they have changed since the previous Census and in the first decade of the 21st century.
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School improvement not enough, expert warns

28 August 2012

School improvement initiatives should occur within an innovative ‘learning ecosystem’ that engages a wide range of providers and partners, and would locate learning in a new variety of spaces and places, an international expert will tell delegates to the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) annual conference today. In the final keynote presentation of the conference, Board Director of the London-based not-for-profit, Innovation Unit, Ms Valerie Hannon will argue that the pursuit of school improvement is insufficient to address the challenges facing the world if it is to provide equitable, effective learning systems for all its citizens.
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Good evidence supports school improvement

27 August 2012

Effective use of data by teachers is the crux of school improvement, Dr Michele Bruniges will tell delegates to the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) annual conference. More than 1200 teachers, policymakers and researchers are gathered in Sydney today for the 17th annual ACER Research Conference. Addressing the theme 'School Improvement: What does the research tell us about effective strategies?', the conference covers not only what schools can do to improve outcomes for students but also how they can do it most effectively.
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