This is the history of an important educational institution in Australia. The work looks at the problems of establishing a new institution in the late 1920s and traces its varying fortunes through 50 years to 1980. It is more, however, than an institutional history. It analyses early contributions to educational research, its subsequent growth in importance, and efforts made in the 1960s and 1970s to provide an adequate support for it. The task of critic and educational reformer has never been a comfortable one, and the book examines the up-hill efforts by the ACER and its overseas visitors from the 1930s to the 1970s to evaluate Australian education and stir the conscience of its educators. Throughout the book there are a number of interesting biographical sketches of important Australian educators, such as Tate, Cunningham, Radford, and Dunn, who had strong connections with the ACER. (Author)