ACER's global research expertise draws on decades of experience of learning; from early years and school education to vocational, adult and workplace education, and higher education.
Our research findings are used to inform educational policy and practice; and to support leaders, policymakers, educators and learners. ACER has a particular focus on supporting Ministries of Education within the development sector to improve student learning.
ACER's international development
ACER’s education and development research program focuses on conducting and supporting research that aims to improve student learning in the development context.
Our partners and clients
ACER’s approach to a robust assessment program
Supported by decades of research experience, an outstanding talent pool, and proven methodologies, ACER is a full-service research consultancy.
-
Clearly articulated policy goals and priorities that are relevant and inform key assessment decisions on content, scope, design, methods, operations, and use of data.
-
A dedicated assessment team that is appropriately skilled and adequately resourced to design, implement, analyse, and disseminate the outcomes of the learning assessment.
-
A key document that clearly describes standards of technical quality for all aspects of the learning assessment, and indicates how standards can be used as part of quality monitoring and reporting.
-
A document that communicates the purposes and characteristics of the learning assessment to key stakeholders, developers and to a broader audience.
-
Cognitive instruments containing items with proven reliability, validity and fairness with regard to the population(s) of interest.
-
Contextual instruments containing items with proven reliability, validity and fairness with regard to the population(s) of interest.
-
Cognitive and contextual instruments that are appropriate, linguistically equivalent, and psychometrically equivalent across multiple languages.
-
Appropriate products and approaches to reporting and dissemination that are tailored to the different stakeholder groups and promote appropriate and effective use of the assessment results by those groups.
-
Analytical results that are fully documented and reproducible, and that permit valid and useful inferences about the population(s) of interest.
-
Cognitive and contextual data that is scaled using well-developed analytical tools in order to support useful comparisons and to communicate meaningful information.
-
A final database that respects respondent anonymity, is free from discrepancies and errors, and is appropriately structured and documented for analysis and dissemination.
-
Field operations are standardised, monitored and documented to ensure that the data are collected under the same conditions, in an efficient and secure manner.
-
A sample that, through the use of scientific sampling methods, helps to guarantee appropriate and estimable levels of statistical precision and validity in the interpretation of assessment results.
-
A design that ensures efficiency in sample sizes, balanced assessment content, appropriate assessment length, and stable measures over time.
ACER global research centres
Our work in the UK is supported by ACER's leading edge research centres.
Centre for School and System Improvement
ACER Research Repository
ACEReSearch is a repository bringing together all ACER's public research under one umbrella, with an aim to preserve and provide access to that research. It is maintained by the Cunningham Library.
Reports
Working papers
Conference papers
Join a world class research team
One of ACER’s great strengths is its people. ACER's global resource pool includes more than 150 research staff with the majority of them holding a doctorate degree.
In the UK, the team consists of passionate and committed researchers including doctorates and former teachers who work closely with the global team.
Join our team
ACER is actively seeking professional partnerships with international researchers and consultants with expertise in a range of education quality improvement areas.
World class professional learning supported by decades of experience in education research
Built on the research expertise of 90 years, ACER is able to design and deliver training that is purposeful and engaging.
Civic and Citizenship Education in Europe
2009 & 2016
IEA - International Civic and Citizenship Study (ICCS)
What we do
An overview of the results from the regional assessment of civic and citizenship education in the European region based on data from 24 European countries.
ACER was the International Study Centre for the first two cycles of ICCS in 2009 and 2016.
2018 Research report
Where we work
Europe and Australia
Maximising the Impact of Teaching Assistants (MITA) - RAND
2017
EEF & RAND Europe
What we do
Commissioned by RAND Europe – ACER UK will be evaluating the impact of the trial via assessments – Testing occurs at the start of the trial (Year 2 & 5) and at the end of the trial (Year 3) to assess the student’s impact in learning.
Where we work
London & UK
Digital Feedback Evaluation Study - RAND
2018
EEF & RAND Europe
What we do
RAND Europe commissioned ACER UK to provide the evaluation assessment for the digital feedback evaluation trial – using ELMS mathematics for Year 4 and 5 students. ACER UK collects the data from the testing and results for RAND to analyse in their outcome Evaluation Report.
Where we work
London and Lincolnshire Region, UK
Question Development for the SATs Tests - STA
Ongoing
Standards and Testing Agency
ACER is one of the organisations appointed to the Standards and Testing Agency Item Writing Framework. This means that ACER is approved to write test items (questions) and mark schemes that are included in the National Curriculum Tests in England (more commonly known as the SATs tests). These tests are administered in a paper-based format each year to children in England at the end of key stage 1 (7 year-olds) and the end of key stage 2 (11 year-olds). ACER has been writing items for the SATs since 2011.
During this time ACER has developed items for each of the following SATs:
- KS1 mathematics
- KS2 mathematics
- KS1 English reading
- KS2 English reading
- KS1 English grammar, punctuation and spelling
- KS2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling
- KS2 science sampling
What we do
Where we work
A typical item writing contract for STA involves writing items to fulfil a specific brief, which details the number of items required for different areas of STA’s content and cognitive domains. ACER’s subject expert test developers write items and their accompanying mark schemes, including assigning relevant domain references. Once written, other subject expert test developers peer review the items using a process known as panelling. The process also includes trialling items in a small number of schools, in order to check that children are interpreting questions as intended and to gather responses to be used to further develop the mark schemes.
Items and mark schemes are also reviewed by staff and consultants at the Standards and Testing Agency, and we meet with these staff to feedback on the informal trialling process and agree on any further revisions that may be needed to items or mark schemes. STA’s feedback is incorporated before we handover the final set of questions and mark schemes. The final handover of the questions is in a designed form that is set up in the correct house style ready for use in future paper-based SATs.