Academic Assessment Services (AAS), ACER and Edutest are three leading scholarship testing providers in Australia.
Each brings different strengths to the table, from assessment methodologies and reporting capabilities to delivery flexibility and support services. This guide intends to provide a clear, unbiased comparison of the three, helping you cut through the complexity by stating the key factors that matter most to schools: comprehensive skill assessment, depth of reporting, results turnaround times, delivery flexibility and more.
Whether you’re a school administrator evaluating providers for the first time or reconsidering your current testing partner, the insights below will help you understand what distinguishes these three major providers and which features align best with your institution’s needs and values.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided by AAS for general informational purposes only and based on publicly available information. While we have taken reasonable care to ensure the information is accurate at the time of publication, we do not warrant that it is complete, current or error-free. Users should verify all information directly with the relevant provider before making decisions.
AAS vs ACER & Edutest scholarship comparison
| Academic Assessment Services (AAS)
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ACER Scholarship Tests
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Edutest Scholarship & Entrance Tests
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| Purpose | To identify high-potential students through original, fully-managed assessments | To identify academically able students for the award of a scholarship | To differentiate top students with high ability and achievement skills |
| Skills assessed | Writing, reading comprehension, mathematics, reasoning (verbal, mathematical, figural and spatial) | Writing, reading and viewing, mathematics and science and humanities. | Ability (verbal and numerical reasoning) and achievement (reading comprehension, mathematics and written expression) |
| Test duration | Typical exam is 40–50 minutes with a short break. Written expression is 25–30 minutes | ACER doesn’t publish test durations. | 30 minutes each for ability and achievement tests. Written expression is 15 minutes |
| Delivery modes | Paper or online |
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Paper or online |
| Delivery & invigilation | Managed and invigilated by AAS team or school staff, depending on your preference. Remote proctoring for home online tests. | Managed and invigilated by schools with ACER support |
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| Marking & results timeframe | Results marked and delivered ~10 days after testing |
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Results marked and delivered within ~7 working days for both paper and online tests |
| Key reports & Insights |
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Edutest doesn’t publish available reports |
| Support with understanding reports | Extensive | Unspecified | Unspecified. |
| Practice materials | Practice tests written by the same assessment team, covering the same skills | Practice materials and resources available through the ACER scholarship portal | Practice tests to familiarise with test types |
| Customisation | Schools can select their preferred test dates and customise communications, branding and portal setup | Schools select their preferred test dates | Schools select their preferred test dates. Students can sit one exam for multiple specified schools |
| Created by | AAS’s own educators, school leaders and assessment experts with decades of classroom and educational experience | ACER’s own research and assessment teams as part of their scholarship testing programs | Edutest’s own educators, educational psychologists and administrators |
