Welcome

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is the independent authority responsible for the development of a national curriculum, a national assessment program and a national data collection and reporting program that supports 21st century learning for all Australian students.

ACARA's work is carried out in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including teachers, principals, governments, State and Territory education authorities, professional education associations, community groups and the general public.

This website outlines the work of ACARA and provides background information on the processes involved in the development of an Australian curriculum and national assessment and reporting programs.

To view the Australian Curriculum, the My School website or the dedicated website on the National Assessment Program click on the quick links.

News Just In

The 2011 NAPLAN National Report has been released and is available here.

The National Report on Schooling in Australia 2009, the annual national report on school education of the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA), is now available. The 2009 report is the first to report on progress towards the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians and the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) National Education Agreement.

The report summarises national initiatives and achievements in education in 2009 in terms of Education Ministers’ Commitment to Action in the eight interrelated areas identified in the Melbourne Declaration. It also reports on the nationally agreed Key Performance Measures for school education and provides statistics on school numbers, enrolments, student engagement and attainment, and school funding. Click here to read the report.

What's New

The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages  is now available. The shape paper provides broad directions for the development of languages curriculum. Writing of languages curriculum will now commence, starting with F-10 Chinese and Italian and a Framework for Aboriginal languages and Torres Strait Islander languages.

The 2010 National Assessment Program—Civics and Citizenship (NAP—CC) Public Report has now been released. See media release.

The Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA) endorsed the Foundation to Year 10 Achievement Standards for English, Mathematics, Science and History at their meeting on 14 October 2011. For more information and to view version 2.0 of the Australian Curriculum please visit www.australiancurriculum.edu.au.

A Validation Report documenting the Foundation to Year 10 Achievement Standards can be viewed here.

With the first phase of the Australian Curriculum approved by Education Ministers, work is now underway to implement the F-10 Australian Curriculum in English, history, mathematics and science. More information is available in the Implementation Coordination  section of this website, including a PDF document summarising implementation plans of systems and sectors in the various states and territories.

At its October 2011 meeting the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs endorsed a revised version of the Shape of the Australian Curriculum v3.0.