Assessment

Dr Dan Cloney, Lead Researcher for the International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study (IELS) explores why the years before school are so important for children’s learning, development and well-being.
 

TAO-Powered PISA 2025 Digital Assessment Programme Honoured for Global Delivery Across 91 Countries and Economies

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), together with its platform partner Open Assessment Technologies (OAT), has been recognised at the 2026 e‑Assessment Awards for the delivery of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025.

ACER was invited to meet the Governor-General at a Sydney event earlier this month, in recognition of our music education survey of teachers and leaders.

Early learning lays the foundations for everything that follows in education. The skills children develop in the years before school shape how they engage with learning, how they manage challenges, and how they thrive as they move through school and life. 

Understanding how children learn and develop in the early years is central to supporting strong educational outcomes and lifelong wellbeing.