ACER Media Releases

Australia a key player in international higher education student market, but competition is building

2012-02-08T23:41:13+00:00

Australia is a key player in international higher education student provision and is now ranked third in the world, according to the latest Joining the Dots research briefing released by ACER. Dr Daniel Edwards, ACER Senior Research Fellow, said Australia’s net flow of international students is one of the highest in the world, even when calculated in the context of the total size of the higher education sector.

Opinion split on walking to school

2012-02-06T22:18:02+00:00

A new study of neighbourhood satisfaction has revealed older residents believe it is safer for children to walk to school than the parents of primary school-aged children believe to be the case. The study, by ACER Research Fellow Ms Catherine Underwood, examined survey responses from over 800 residents aged 60 years and over and from over 500 parents of students aged 5 to 12 years living in six Victorian municipalities.

Don’t miss out on a scholarship for 2013

2012-01-18T22:38:28+00:00

Parents risk having their children miss the opportunity to receive a scholarship to an independent school if they wait too long. In 2012, ACER’s Cooperative Scholarship Testing Program (CSTP) test date has been brought forward and will now occur in February, instead of May as was the case in previous years.

Future academics need encouragement to stay in Australia

2012-01-16T01:33:33+00:00

The higher education sector must focus on creating roles for early career academics and retaining research graduates or it risks impeding Australia’s ability to meet its university attainment targets, according to an Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) research review paper. In the seventh research briefing for the Joining the Dots series, ‘Where are the academics of tomorrow? Supply and demand issues for Australian universities’, ACER Senior Research Fellow Dr Daniel Edwards explored how the academic workforce is placed to cope with the forecast rise in student numbers that will result if university attainment targets are to be met.

Mobile phones may help get kids active

2011-12-19T00:24:42+00:00

19 December 2011: Children who know how to use a mobile phone, as opposed to those who don’t, are more likely to move about their neighbourhood without adult supervision, new research from the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) suggests.

ACER releases results of PISA 2009+ participant economies

2011-12-15T23:00:32+00:00

• Costa Rica, Georgia, India (Himachal Pradesh & Tamil Nadu), Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Venezuela (Miranda), Moldova, United Arab Emirates • Girls significantly outperform boys in reading

Higher education student engagement under the microscope

2011-11-22T00:46:42+00:00

Higher education experts and stakeholders have gathered in Melbourne this week to discuss challenges around student engagement and share strategic insights to further improve the quality of Australian higher education.

ACER scholarship test reaches 50-year milestone

2011-11-09T03:46:53+00:00

In 2012, ACER’s Cooperative Scholarship Testing Program (CSTP) will undertake its 50th testing cycle. The test date will be brought forward three months and will now occur in February. Established in 1962, CSTP is an annual program of scholarship testing used by schools across Australia to select academically gifted students for the award of a scholarship. Approximately 150 independent schools currently use the service for entry into the first, middle or final years of secondary school.

University retention and completion rates have improved

2011-11-07T00:22:26+00:00

The retention rate for commencing bachelor degree students in Australia has increased from 81 per cent in 2001 to 84 per cent in 2009, while the completion rate has increased from 72% in 2005 to 80% in 2008, according to a research briefing released today by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The ACER 'Joining the Dots' research briefing also noted that in the next few years new university enrolments are expected to come disproportionately from low socio-economic status (SES) groups that are historically under-represented.

ACER resource aims to build resilience in dyslexic students

2011-10-18T22:21:42+00:00

A new ACER Press resource being launched in Melbourne tomorrow aims to assist students who have dyslexia to develop more effective coping skills and feel a greater sense of well being. Success and Dyslexia: Sessions for coping in the upper primary years, by Melbourne-based academics Dr Nola Firth and Associate Professor Erica Frydenberg, is an evidence-based program that assists students with dyslexia to increase their ability to take control of and cope with the problems that occur in their lives. It is estimated that one in ten students in Australia have dyslexia.