Reporting
ACARA collects, manages, analyses, evaluates and reports statistical and related information about the educational outcomes of schooling for young Australians. ACARA reports a large amount of data on schools and school students, bringing together information from education and statistical agencies around Australia.
ACARA's reporting is guided by the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration's education goals for young Australians.
ACARA's data and reporting functions
The National Report on Schooling in Australia
ACARA publishes the annual National Report on Schooling in Australia on behalf of Australian education ministers, recording progress towards the goals and commitment in the Education Declaration. The report includes information on:
- school structures, and school, teacher and student numbers
- major programs and initiatives to support students and schools achieve educational goals and support the commitment to action
- student outcomes (Key Performance Measures), as prescribed in the Measurement Framework for Schooling in Australia
- school resourcing
The National Report on Schooling in Australia data portal
Access the most recent statistical information on schooling in the National Report on Schooling data portal, which includes time series data, charts and tables, and downloadable datasets.
My School
The My School website supports national transparency and accountability for Australia's schools by publishing nationally consistent school-level data about every school in Australia, including student attendance, NAPLAN results and school finances.
The National Assessment Program
ACARA publishes national reports for the:
- National Assessment Program – literacy and numeracy (NAPLAN)
- National Assessment Program sample assessments.
Find out more on ACARA's National Assessment Program (NAP) website.
The Australian Schools List
ACARA maintains a list of all currently registered schools in Australia, the Australian Schools List.
Data collection standards
ACARA publishes the National Standards for Student Attendance Data Reporting to make sure this is consistent and the Data Standards Manual: Student Background Characteristics to help schools (and school systems) collect consistent student information from parents. ACARA collects attendance data for all schools and collects student background data directly from independent schools and school systems.
The data access program
ACARA has a data access program to allow researchers and other approved parties access to its data collection. Data is provided in accordance with the Data Access Protocols.