Assessment

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.

After a competitive tender process, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has appointed the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to lead the development and implementation of the 2029 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) across more than 90 countries and economies, once again entrusting the world’s largest international education survey to ACER, the 96-year-old Australian organisation.

Across the school year, educators around the world face a familiar challenge: understanding where students are in their learning and how best to support their progress. In a recent webinar showcasing ACER’s global expertise, Aloka Singh and Dr Jarrod Hingston explored how assessment, when used thoughtfully, can drive evidence-informed decisions that benefit students and teachers.

New Delhi — 23rd February 2026 — The Australian Council for Educational Research (India) and AmplifiU AI have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on advancing evidence-informed assessments, teacher professional development, and responsible integration of artificial intelligence in education, aligned with India’s National Education Policy (NEP 2020) on 18 February 2026. 

ACER is developing a new PAT Early Numeracy Screener, designed to help teachers identify foundational gaps in Year 1 students’ mathematical understanding. The screener, which offers a timely, evidence-based tool to support learning, will commence content trial in March.