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Dubai Students Need Improvement to Reach International Standards

DUBAI - Dubai students in mid school grades (four and eight) have done well in mathematics and science on a regional basis but have to improve further if they are to be on par internationally, according to an assessment, Dr Abdulla Al Karam, chairman of the Board and Director General of the Knowledge & Human Development Authority (KHDA) said.

While announcing the results of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Assessment carried out in Dubai’s government and private schools in 2007, he said: “Dubai’s performance, in almost all categories, exceeds the average.”

“An action plan will be adopted in line with Dubai Strategic Plan 2015, particularly in the area of Government Excellence,” he said.

TIMSS is one of the most respected international academic assessment programmes, which undertakes benchmarking for education systems in around 60 countries every four years.

Elaborating, Dr Al Karam said over 6,000 students involved in the study were selected through a statistically sound method to represent the education system as a whole for grades four to eight. “At years four and eight, students in private schools at the National Curriculum were below the required levels whilst students studying in the UK curriculum achieved high levels in mathematics and science,” he said.

“Private schools at Year 4 scored higher in science and mathematics than the public schools. For year 8 the scores differences widened in both subjects,” he said pinpointing that there were no differences in the average scale scores for boys and girls at year four and eight in both subjects.

Stressing the importance of critical thinking for young people’s effective educational development, Fatma Al Marri, CEO of Dubai School Agency, said: “KHDA will undertake a similar benchmarking study in 2009 in partnership with the Programme for  International Student Assessment (PISA), which will examine reading and language skills amongst Dubai’s 15-year-olds.

“The results of this assessment will likewise be shared with the Ministry of Education for the future shaping of the curriculum and teacher training.”

Dr Sue Thomson, writer of the TIMSS report and member of Australian Council for Educational Research told Khaleej Times that the students randomly selected did not receive any pre-training, noting that an in-depth analysis was performed on all the UAE curricula.

Ramziya Mohammed, a Nadd Al Hamar Primary School student, said: “The questions were very easy and significant. It was very nice to be internationally evaluated,” she said.

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