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THE WORLD BANK

United Arab Emirates

STUDENT ASSESSMENT SABER Country Report 2013

Key Policy Areas for Student Assessment Status

1. Classroom AssessmentIn the United Arab Emirates, a formal, publicly available system-level document provides guidelines for classroom assessment. In addition, there are some system-wide resources and materials (such as scoring criteria for evaluating students’ work) available to teachers for carrying out classroom assessment activities. While there are varied and systematic mechanisms in place to monitor the quality of classroom assessment practices, these practices are considered to be of weak quality due to issues such as grade inflation and the uneven application of standards for grading students’ work.

2. ExaminationsThe Twelfth Grade Examination has been administered to grade 12 students since 1967. Students are assessed in mandatory subjects (Islamic education, Arabic language, English language, mathematics, physics, and biology) along with other subjects depending on their section. Examination results are used to certify student completion of the school cycle and to determine selection to higher-education institutions. Examination results are officially recognized by certification and selection systems in the UAE and abroad. In addition, regular funding for the examination is provided by the government and covers all core examination activities. Although expert review groups are in place to monitor the consequences of the examination, there are very limited options for students who do not perform well on the examination.

3. National Large Scale Assessment (NLSA)The United Arab Emirates National Assessment Program (UAENAP) has been operating since 2003 and on a regular basis since 2010, assessing students in grades 3, 5, 7, and 9. A formal, publicly available policy document authorizes the NLSA, and there is a written plan for future NLSA activities. In addition, there is regular government funding covering all core NLSA activities and research and development. Opportunities for teachers to learn about the NLSA are occasionally made available.

4. International Large Scale Assessment (ILSA)In the last five years, the UAE has participated in PIRLS (2011), TIMSS (2011), and PISA (2009). At the time of data collection, the UAE had taken concrete steps to participate in PIRLS (2016), TIMSS (2015), and PISA (2012, 2015). Funding for ILSAs is provided through regular government budget and covers all core ILSA activities. Some opportunities to learn about ILSAs are made available in the UAE to a wide audience. While UAE-specific ILSA results are regularly and widely disseminated in the country, it is not known at the time of data collection whether decisions based on ILSA results have had a positive impact on achievement levels.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES SABER STUDENT ASSESSMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013

SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 2

Introduction

The United Arab Emirates has focused on increasingstudent learning outcomes by improving the quality ofeducation in the country. An effective studentassessment system is an important component toimproving education quality and learning outcomes as itprovides the necessary information to meetstakeholders’ decision making needs. In order to gain abetter understanding of the strengths and weaknessesof its existing assessment system, United Arab Emirateshave decided to benchmark this system usingstandardized tools developed under The World Bank’sSystems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER)program. SABER is an evidence based program to helpcountries systematically examine and strengthen theperformance of different aspects of their educationsystems.

What is SABER Student Assessment?

SABER Student Assessment is a component of theSABER program that focuses specifically onbenchmarking student assessment policies and systems.The goal of SABER Student Assessment is to promotestronger assessment systems that contribute toimproved education quality and learning for all.

National governments and international agencies areincreasingly recognizing the key role that assessment ofstudent learning plays in an effective education system.The importance of assessment is linked to its role in:(i) providing information on levels of student

learning and achievement in the system;(ii) monitoring trends in education quality over

time;(iii) supporting educators and students with real

time information to improve teaching andlearning; and

(iv) holding stakeholders accountable for results.

SABER Student Assessment methodology

The SABER Student Assessment framework is built onthe available evidence base for what an effectiveassessment system looks like. The framework providesguidance on how countries can build more effectivestudent assessment systems. The framework isstructured around two main dimensions of assessmentsystems: the types/purposes of assessment activitiesand the quality of those activities.

Assessment types and purposes

Assessment systems tend to be comprised of threemain types of assessment activities, each of whichserves a different purpose and addresses differentinformation needs. These three main types are:classroom assessment, examinations, and large scale,system level assessments.

Classroom assessment provides real time informationto support ongoing teaching and learning in individualclassrooms. Classroom assessments use a variety offormats, including observation, questioning, and paperand pencil tests, to evaluate student learning, generallyon a daily basis.

Examinations provide a basis for selecting or certifyingstudents as they move from one level of the educationsystem to the next (or into the workforce). All eligiblestudents are tested on an annual basis (or more often ifthe system allows for repeat testing). Examinationscover the main subject areas in the curriculum andusually involve essays and multiple choice questions.

Large scale, system level assessments provide feedbackon the overall performance of the education system atparticular grades or age levels. These assessmentstypically cover a few subjects on a regular basis (such asevery 3 to 5 years), are often sample based, and usemultiple choice and short answer formats. They may benational or international in scope.

Appendix 1 summarizes the key features of these maintypes of assessment activities.



Quality drivers of an assessment system

The key considerations when evaluating a studentassessment system are the individual and combinedquality of assessment activities in terms of theadequacy of the information generated to supportdecision making. There are three main drivers ofinformation quality in an assessment system: enablingcontext, system alignment, and assessment quality.

Enabling context refers to the broader context in whichthe assessment activity takes place and the extent towhich that context is conducive to, or supportive of, theassessment. It covers such issues as the legislative orpolicy framework for assessment activities; institutionaland organizational structures for designing, carryingout, or using results from the assessment; theavailability of sufficient and stable sources of funding;and the presence of trained assessment staff.

System alignment refers to the extent to which theassessment is aligned with the rest of the educationsystem. This includes the degree of congruencebetween assessment activities and system learninggoals, standards, curriculum, and pre and in serviceteacher training.

Assessment quality refers to the psychometric quality ofthe instruments, processes, and procedures for theassessment activity. It covers such issues as design andimplementation of assessment activities, analysis andinterpretation of student responses to those activities,and the appropriateness of how assessment results arereported and used.

Crossing the quality drivers with the differentassessment types/purposes provides the frameworkand broad indicator areas shown in Table 1. Thisframework is a starting point for identifying indicatorsthat can be used to review assessment systems andplan for their improvement.

The indicators are identified based on a combination ofcriteria, including:

professional standards for assessment;empirical research on the characteristics of effectiveassessment systems, including analysis of thecharacteristics that differentiate between theassessment systems of low versus high performingnations; andtheory — that is, general consensus amongexperts that it contributes to effectiveassessment.

Levels of development

The World Bank has developed a set ofstandardized questionnaires and rubrics for collectingand evaluating data on the three assessment typesand related quality drivers.

The questionnaires are used to collect data on thecharacteristics of the assessment system in a particularcountry. The information from the questionnaires isthen applied to the rubrics in order to judge thedevelopment level of the country’s assessment systemin different areas.

The basic structure of the rubrics for evaluatingdata collected using the standardized questionnairesis summarized in Appendix 2. The goal of the rubrics isto provide a country with some sense of thedevelopment level of its assessment activities comparedto best or recommended practice in each area. For

Table 1: Framework for building an effectiveassessment system, with indicator areas



each indicator, the rubric displays four developmentlevels—Latent, Emerging, Established, and Advanced.These levels are artificially constructed categorieschosen to represent key stages on the underlyingcontinuum for each indicator. Each level isaccompanied by a description of what performance onthe indicator looks like at that level.

Latent is the lowest level of performance; itrepresents absence of, or deviation from, thedesired attribute.Emerging is the next level; it represents partialpresence of the attribute.Established represents the acceptable minimumstandard.Advanced represents the ideal or current bestpractice.

A summary of the development levels for eachassessment type is presented in Appendix 3.

In reality, assessment systems are likely to be atdifferent levels of development in different areas. Forexample, a system may be Established in the area ofexaminations, but Emerging in the area of largescale, system level assessment, and vice versa. Whileintuition suggests that it is probably better to befurther along in as many areas as possible, theevidence is unclear as to whether it is necessary tobe functioning at Advanced levels in all areas.Therefore, one might view the Established level as adesirable minimum outcome to achieve in all areas, butonly aspire beyond that in those areas that mostcontribute to the national vision or priorities foreducation. In line with these considerations, the ratingsgenerated by the rubrics are not meant to be additiveacross assessment types (that is, they are not meant tobe added to create an overall rating for an assessmentsystem; they are only meant to produce an overallrating for each assessment type). The methodology forassigning development levels is summarized inAppendix 4.

Education in the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a high incomecountry in the Middle East region. GDP per capita

(current, US$) is $39,058, with annual growth ofapproximately 4.4 percent.

The UAE spends 25 percent of total governmentexpenditure on the education sector, and publiceducation is free through the university level forchildren who are citizens. The education system iscomprised of kindergarten (for children between theages of 4 5 years); elementary (for students 6 11 yearsold); intermediate (for students 12 14 years old); andsecondary (15 17 years old). The net primaryenrollment rate is approximately 90 percent, with a 100percent completion rate. In addition, the netenrollment rate at the secondary level is 81 percent.The UAE has one of the lowest student to teacher ratios(15:1) in the world and has made significant progress toensure high literacy (which was 91 percent for theoverall population in 2005), to increase the use ofmodern technology in education programs, and topromote and encourage women’s education.

Government priorities for education reform areoutlined in the Ministry of Education Strategy 20102020. In this strategy, the Ministry identified 20comprehensive initiatives to improve the currenteducation system. Some of these initiatives include: thedevelopment of curricula aligned with higher educationand job market requirements; supporting theprofessional development of all teachers and educationstaff; aligning compulsory school age with internationalstandards; improving national assessments andparticipating in international examinations; andsupporting the technical development of schoolinfrastructure, especially with respect to informationtechnology.

Detailed information was collected on the UAE’sstudent assessment system using the SABER StudentAssessment questionnaires and rubrics in 2011. It isimportant to remember that these tools primarily focuson benchmarking a country’s policies and arrangementsfor assessment activities at the system or macro level.Additional data would need to be collected todetermine actual, on the ground practices in the UAE,particularly by teachers and students in schools. Whilethe UAE is a federal system comprised of sevenemirates, this report analyzes policies only at thenational level, and additional data would need to be



collected to evaluate policies within each emirate (theMinistry of Education in the UAE oversees publicschooling in the country, and each emirate oversees itsprivate schools). The following sections discuss thefindings by each assessment type, accompanied bysuggested policy options. The suggested policy optionswere determined in collaboration with key localstakeholders based on the UAE’s immediate interestsand needs. Detailed, completed rubrics for eachassessment type in the UAE are provided in Appendix 5.



Classroom Assessment

Level of development: EMERGING

In the United Arab Emirates, The Guidelines to theImplementing of On going Assessment Tools document,authorized by the Ministry of Education's Directorate ofEvaluation and Examinations in 2010, providesguidelines for classroom assessment.

There are some system wide resources available forteachers to engage in classroom assessment, including adocument that outlines what students are expected tolearn in different subject areas at different grade levelsand textbooks that provide support for classroomassessment. Scoring criteria or rubrics for gradingstudents' work are also available in an electronic systemthat is accessible to all schools.

There are some mechanisms available systematically toensure that teachers develop skills and expertise inclassroom assessment. For example, in service teachertraining is available to all teachers, and online resourceson classroom assessment include question banks. Someteachers also have the opportunity to participate inconferences and workshops, and in item developmentfor, or scoring of, large scale assessments or exams.However, not all teacher training programs include arequired course on classroom assessment, and thereare no pre service teacher training opportunitiesrelated to building skills in classroom assessment.

In general, classroom assessment practices areperceived to be weak. Teachers commonly rely onmultiple choice or selection type questions, andclassroom assessment activities tend to be aboutrecalling information. In addition, grade inflation andthe uneven application of standards for gradingstudents' work are serious problems.

However, there are varied and systematic mechanismsin place to monitor the quality of classroom assessmentpractices. For example, government funding is availablefor research on the quality of classroom assessmentactivities and how to improve classroom assessment,and national reviews of the quality of education includea focus on classroom assessment. Although the weightof classroom assessment in a teacher's performance

evaluation is low, it is indeed a required component of ateacher's performance evaluation and schoolinspection.

In addition, there are a number of required uses ofclassroom assessment to support student learning,including its use as an input for external examinationresults. Classroom assessment activities are used todiagnose student learning issues, develop students' selfevaluation skills, provide feedback to students on theirlearning, and inform parents about their child'slearning.

Suggested policy options:

1. Introduce various mechanisms to ensure thatteachers develop skills and expertise in classroomassessment. For example, make available pre serviceteacher training opportunities that focus on classroomassessment methodologies, and introduce a requiredcourse on classroom assessment for all teachers duringin service teacher training. Ensure that teacher trainingopportunities address the importance of consistentlyapplying standards for grading across student groups.

2. Introduce a variety of system wide resources to helpteachers improve their classroom assessment practices.For example, develop a document that clearly outlinesthe levels of performance that students are expected toreach in different subject areas at different grade or agelevels, which should be made available to all teachers.Additionally, conduct monitoring of classroomassessment activities to ensure that classroomassessment practices are in line with their intendedpurposes and uses.



Examinations

Level of development: ESTABLISHED

The Twelfth Grade Examination's main purposes are forstudent certification of school cycle completion andstudent selection to higher education institutions. Itwas authorized by the Ministry of Education in 2010with a formal, system level document, the Assessmentand Examination System for Grades 1 12. The TwelfthGrade Examination was first administered in 1967, andit continues to be administered to grade 12 students inmandatory subjects, as well as subjects relevant to thestudent's section. Specifically, all students are assessedin Islamic education, Arabic language, English language,mathematics, physics, and biology. Although studentshave the option to retake the examination or repeat thegrade, they do not have the options to attend remedialor preparatory courses in order to prepare to retake theexamination or to opt for less selective schools,universities, or tracks.

Regular funding is allocated by the government for theexamination, which covers all core examinationactivities, including examination design andadministration, data analysis and reporting, and long ormedium term planning of program milestones.However, funding does not cover staff training, orresearch and development activities.

The Assessment and Examinations Administration, aunit within the Ministry of Education, has had primaryresponsibility for running the Twelfth GradeExamination since 1972. While it has state of the artfacilities to carry out the examination, the allocatedstaff is insufficient to meet the needs of theexamination. However, this lack of permanent staff isoffset by utilizing assistance from technical teams in theEducational Supervision Department within the Ministryof Education and by forming temporary committees toperform the tasks required during examination periods.

The UAE also offers a wide range of opportunities thatprepare for work on the examination, includinguniversity graduate programs, university courses, andnon university training courses or workshops oneducational measurement and evaluation. In addition,internships are offered in the examination office, and

funding is available for attending internationalprograms, courses, or workshops on educationalmeasurement and evaluation.

There is only one systematic mechanism, internalreview or observers, in place to ensure the quality ofthe examination. Other mechanisms, such as pilot orfield testing, are not in place.

At the same time, inappropriate behavior surroundingthe examination process is low. For example, examtakers’ use of unauthorized materials and the provisionof external assistance via the supervisor or mobilephone do not typically occur. When they do occur,inappropriate behaviors are dealt with by the legalaffairs department on a case by case basis.

Only one systematic mechanism, expert review groups,is in place to monitor the consequences of theexamination.


1. Introduce varied systematic mechanisms to ensurethe quality of the examination. Mechanisms to considerinclude carrying out pilot or field testing, translationverification, and external review and certification.

2. Introduce more options for students who do notperform well on the examination, such as allowingstudents to choose to attend less selective universities,or continue their studies in a vocational track.

3. Ensure that varied and systematic mechanisms are inplace to monitor the consequences of the examination.Such mechanisms include holding regular focus groupsor surveys of key stakeholders, commissioning studiesthat are updated regularly, instituting a permanentoversight committee, and providing regular funding forindependent research on the impact of theexamination.



National Large Scale Assessment (NLSA)


The United Arab Emirates National Assessment Program(UAENAP) was first administered in 2003 to students ingrade 5. Since 2010, students in grades 3, 5, 7, and 9have been assessed in the following subjects: Arabic,English, mathematics, and science. The main purposesof the UAENAP include monitoring education quality atthe system level, evaluation, decision making, andsupporting schools, teachers, and policy design. TheMinistry of Education authorized the UAENAP with theImplementing the National Assessment Programdocument in 2010.

There is regular funding allocated by the governmentfor the UAENAP. Funding covers all core activities ofthe assessment, including assessment design andadministration, data analysis and reporting, long ormedium term planning of program milestones, and stafftraining. Funding for the UAENAP also covers researchand development activities.

The NLSA office is a permanent unit created for runningthe assessment within the Administration of Evaluationand Examinations under the supervision of the Ministryof Education. It is adequately staffed with permanentand full time staff to carry out the assessmenteffectively.

The UAE also offers a wide range of opportunities toprepare individuals for work on the UAENAP, includinguniversity graduate programs, university courses, andnon university courses or workshops on educationalmeasurement and evaluation. In addition, funding forattending international programs, as well as internshipsor short term employment in the large scaleassessment office, are available.

Some mechanisms are in place to ensure the quality ofthe NLSA. For example, all proctors or administratorsare trained according to a protocol, all booklets arenumbered, and there is double scoring of data.

In addition, NLSA results are disseminated effectively.Reports with the results are made available to allstakeholder groups and contain information on overall

achievement levels and subgroups, as well as trendsover time overall and by subgroups. There is also amedia briefing organized to discuss results, and resultsare featured in newspapers, magazines, radio, ortelevision.

However, only two mechanisms are in place to monitorthe consequences of the NLSA: expert review groupsand themed conferences that provide a forum todiscuss research and other data on the consequences ofthe large scale assessment.


1. Introduce additional mechanisms to ensure thequality of the NLSA. For example, conduct a pilot beforethe main data collection takes place, and require thedouble processing of data.

2. Introduce a variety of system level mechanisms tomonitor the quality of the NLSA. For example, introduceregular focus groups or surveys of key stakeholders, apermanent oversight committee, and funding forindependent research on the impact of the large scaleassessment.



International Large Scale Assessment(ILSA)


The United Arab Emirates has participated in threeILSAs in the past five years, the Progress in InternationalReading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and Trends inInternational Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in20111, as well as the Programme for InternationalStudent Assessment (PISA) in 2009. In addition, at thetime of data collection, the UAE has taken concretesteps to participate in several ILSAs in the next 5 years,including PISA 2012 and 2015, TIMSS 2015, and PIRLS2016. A formal policy document, Ministerial Council forServices Decision Number (73/6S/2) authorized by theUAE Cabinet in 2010, addresses participation in ILSAs.

Regular funding for international assessmentparticipation is approved by law. Funding covers allcore activities of ILSAs, including internationalparticipation fees, implementation of the assessmentexercise, processing and analyzing data from theimplementation of the assessment exercise, andreporting and disseminating assessment results.Research and development activities are also coveredby funding for ILSAs.

The ILSA office is adequately staffed and trained tocarry out ILSAs effectively, as team members haveattended all international meetings related to theassessment and have previous experience working oninternational assessments. However, there have beensome issues with the translation of the assessmentinstruments. For example, there are some difficultieswhen translating the original PISA questions fromEnglish to Arabic, given that there are strict guidelinesfor the number of words used in questions.

The UAE also offers some opportunities to learn aboutILSAs, including workshops on using internationalassessment databases, funding for attendinginternational workshops or training on internationalassessments, and online courses on internationalassessments. However, online courses are only

1 In addition, two emirates, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, were benchmarkingparticipants for TIMSS 2011. Dubai was also a benchmarking participant forTIMSS 2007.

periodically available, and there are no stand aloneuniversity courses or workshops on the topic ofinternational assessments.

Country specific ILSA results and information areregularly and widely disseminated in the UAE, andproducts providing feedback to schools and educatorsabout ILSA results are systematically made available.

Results from ILSAs are used in a variety of ways toinform decision making in the UAE, including trackingthe impact of reforms on student achievement levels,and informing curriculum improvement, teachertraining programs, and other assessment activities inthe system. However, at the time of data collection, itwas not known whether decisions based on ILSA resultshave had a positive impact on students' achievementlevels in the UAE.


1. Make available workshops or presentations aboutinternational assessments in the UAE to governmentofficials, and professionals and university staffinterested in assessment.

2. Introduce a variety of opportunities to learn aboutthe ILSA that are regularly available, including onlinecourses that are updated, as well as stand aloneuniversity courses or workshops on the topic ofinternational assessments.



Appendix 1: Assessment Types and Their Key Differences

Classroom Large-scale assessment Surveys

Examinations

National International Exit Entrance

Purpose To provide immediatefeedback to inform classroom instruction

To provide feedback on overall health of the system at particular grade/age level(s), and to monitor trends in learning

To provide feedback on the comparative performance of the education system at particular grade/age level(s)

To certify students as they move from one level of the education system to the next (or into the workforce)

To select students for further educational opportunities

Frequency Daily For individual subjects offered on a regular basis (such as every 3-5 years(

For individual subjects offered on a regular basis (such as every 3-5 years)

Annually and more often where the system allows for repeats

Annually and more often where the system allows for repeats

Who is tested?

All students Sample or census of students at a particular grade or age level(s)

A sample of students at a particular grade or age level(s)

All eligible students

All eligible students

Format Varies from observation to questioning to paper-and-pencil tests to student performances

Usually multiple choice and short answer

Usually multiple choice and short answer

Usually essay and multiple choice

Usually essay and multiple choice

Coverage of curriculum

All subject areas Generally confined to a few subjects

Generally confined to one or two subjects

Covers main subject areas

Covers main subject areas

Additional informationcollected from students?

Yes, as part of the teaching process

Frequently Yes Seldom Seldom

Scoring Usually informal and simple

Varies from simple to more statistically sophisticatedtechniques

Usually involves statistically sophisticatedtechniques





Appendix 2: Basic Structure of Rubrics for Evaluating Data Collected on a Student Assessment System

Dimension

Development Level

LATENT (Absence of, or deviation from,

attribute)

EMERGING (On way to meeting minimum standard)

ESTABLISHED (Acceptable

minimum standard)

ADVANCED (Best practice) Justification

EC—ENABLING CONTEXT EC1—Policies EC2—Leadership, public engagement

EC3—Funding EC4—Institutional arrangements EC5—Human resources

SA—SYSTEM ALIGNMENT SA1—Learning/quality goals SA2—Curriculum SA3—Pre-, in-service teacher training

AQ—ASSESSMENT QUALITY AQ1—Ensuring quality (design, administration, analysis)

AQ2—Ensuring effective uses



Appendix 3: Summary of the Development Levels for Each Assessment Type

Assessment Type LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED

Absence of, or deviation from, the attribute

On way to meeting minimum standard

Acceptable minimum standard

Best practice

CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT

There is no system-wide institutional capacity to support and ensure the quality of classroom assessment practices.

There is weak system-wide institutional capacity to support and ensure the quality of classroom assessment practices.

There is sufficient system-wide institutional capacity to support and ensure the quality of classroom assessment practices.

There is strong system-wide institutional capacity to support and ensure the quality of classroom assessment practices.

EXAMINATIONS

There is no standardized examination in place for key decisions.

There is a partially stable standardized examination in place, and a need to develop institutional capacity to run the examination. The examination typically is of poor quality and is perceived as unfair or corrupt.

There is a stable standardized examination in place. There is institutional capacity and some limited mechanisms to monitor it. The examination is of acceptable quality and is perceived as fair for most students and free from corruption.

There is a stable standardized examination in place and institutional capacity and strong mechanisms to monitor it. The examination is of high quality and is perceived as fair and free from corruption.

NATIONAL (OR SYSTEMLEVEL) LARGE SCALEASSESSMENT

There is no NLSA in place.

There is an unstable NLSA in place and a need to develop institutional capacity to run the NLSA. Assessment quality and impact are weak.

There is a stable NLSA in place. There is institutional capacity and some limited mechanisms to monitor it. The NLSA is of moderate quality and its information is disseminated, but not always used in effective ways.

There is a stable NLSA in place and institutional capacity and strong mechanisms to monitor it. The NLSA is of high quality and its information is effectively used to improve education.

INTERNATIONAL LARGESCALE ASSESSMENT

There is no history of participation in an ILSA nor plans to participate in one.

Participation in an ILSA has been initiated, but there still is need to develop institutional capacity to carry out the ILSA.

There is more or less stable participation in an ILSA. There is institutional capacity to carry out the ILSA. The information from the ILSA is disseminated, but not always used in effective ways.

There is stable participation in an ILSA and institutional capacity to run the ILSA. The information from the ILSA is effectively used to improve education.



Appendix 4: Methodology for AssigningDevelopment Levels

1. The country team or consultant collects informationabout the assessment system in the country.

2. Based on the collected information, a level ofdevelopment and score is assigned to each dimension inthe rubrics:

Latent = 1 score pointEmerging = 2 score pointsEstablished = 3 score pointsAdvanced = 4 score points

3. The score for each quality driver is computed byaggregating the scores for each of its constituentdimensions. For example:

The quality driver, ‘Enabling Context,’ in the case ofILSA, has 3 dimensions on which a hypothetical countryreceives the following scores: Dimension A = 2 points;Dimension B = 2 points; Dimension C = 3 points. Thehypothetical country’s overall score for this qualitydriver would be: (2+2+3)/3 = 2.33

4. A preliminary level of development is assigned toeach quality driver.

5. The preliminary development level is validated usingexpert judgment in cooperation with the country teamand The World Bank Task Team Leader.

For scores that allow a margin of discretion (i.e., tochoose between two levels of development), a finaldecision has to be made based on expert judgment. Forexample, the aforementioned hypothetical country hasan ‘Enabling Context’ score of 2.33, corresponding to apreliminary level of development of ‘Emerging orEstablished.’ Based on qualitative information notcaptured in the rubric, along with expert judgment, thecountry team chooses ‘Emerging’ as the mostappropriate level.

6. Scores for certain key dimensions under ‘EnablingContext’ (in the case of EXAM, NLSA, and ILSA) andunder ‘System Alignment’ (in the case of CLASS) were

set as ceiling scores, i.e., the overall mean score for theparticular assessment type cannot be greater than thescore for these key dimensions. These key variablesinclude formal policy, regular funding, having apermanent assessment unit, and the quality ofassessment practices.

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areexpe

cted

tolearnor

towhatlevelof

performance.

There

isan

official

curriculum

orstandardsdo

cumen

tthat

specifies

what

stud

ents

areexpe

cted

tolearn,

butthe

levelof

performance

requ

ired

isno

tclear.

4

There

isan

official

curriculum

orstandardsdo

cumen

tthat

specifies

what

stud

ents

areexpe

cted

tolearn

and

towhatlevelof

performance.

ENABLINGCONTEXT

ANDSYSTEM

ALIGNMENT3:

Havingeffectivehuman

resourcestocarryoutclassroom

assessmentactivities

Thereareno

system

levelmechanism

sto

ensure

that

teache

rsde

velop

skills

andexpe

rtise

inclassroo

massessmen

t.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

There

are

some

system

level

mechanism

sto

ensure

that

teache

rsde

velopskillsandexpe

rtise

inclassroo

massessmen

t.5

There

are

avarie

tyof

system

level

mechanism

sto

ensure

that

teache

rsde

velopskillsandexpe

rtise

inclassroo

massessmen

t.

*

*

* * *

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ARAB

EMIRAT

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16

ASSESSMENTQUALITY

Qua

lityof

classroo

massessmentd

esign,ad

ministratio

n,an

alysis,

anduse.

LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

ASSESSMENTQUALITY1:

Ensuring

thequality

ofclassroomassessment

Classroo

massessmen

tpractices

suffe

rfrom

widespreadweaknessesor

thereis

noinform

ation

available

onclassroo

massessmen

tpractices.

Classroo

massessmen

tpractices

are

know

nto

beweak.

6Classroo

massessmen

tpractices

are

know

nto

beof

mod

eratequ

ality

.Classroo

massessmen

tpractices

are

know

nto

begene

rally

ofhigh

quality

.

Thereareno

mechanism

sto

mon

itorthe

quality

ofclassroo

massessmen

tpractices.

Therearead

hocmechanism

sto

mon

itor

the

quality

ofclassroo

massessmen

tpractices.

Therearelim

itedsystem

aticmechanism

sto

mon

itor

the

quality

ofclassroo

massessmen

tpractices.

There

are

varie

dand

system

atic

mechanism

sin

place

tomon

itor

the

quality

ofclassroo

massessmen

tpractices.7

ASSESSMENTQUALITY2:

Ensuring

effectiveusesofclassroomassessment

Classroo

massessmen

tinformationisno

trequ

ired

tobe

dissem

inated

tokey

stakeh

olde

rs.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Classroo

massessmen

tinform

ation

isrequ

iredto

bedissem

inated

tosomekey

stakeh

olde

rs.

Classroo

massessmen

tinform

ation

isrequ

iredto

bedissem

inated

toallkey

stakeh

olde

rs.8

Thereareno

requ

ireduses

ofclassroo

massessmen

ttosupp

ortstude

ntlearning.

There

are

limite

drequ

ired

uses

ofclassroo

massessmen

tto

supp

ort

stud

entlearning.

There

are

adeq

uate

requ

ired

uses

ofclassroo

massessmen

tto

supp

ort

stud

entlearning,e

xcluding

itsuseas

aninpu

tfor

externalexam

inationresults.

There

are

adeq

uate

requ

ired

uses

ofclassroo

massessmen

tto

supp

ort

stud

entlearning,including

itsuseas

aninpu

tfor

externalexam

inationresults.9

*

* * *

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ARAB

EMIRAT

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17

ClassroomAssessment

1.TheGu

idelines

totheIm

plem

entin

gof

Ongo

ingAssessmentToolsdo

cumen

t,authorize

dby

theMinistry

ofEd

ucation'sDirectorateof

Evaluatio

nand

Exam

inations

in20

10,provide

sguide

lines

forclassroom

assessmen

t.

2.TheGu

idelines

totheIm

plem

entin

gof

Ongo

ingAssessment T

oolsdo

cumen

tisa

vailableon

lineandinin

servicecoursesfor

teache

rs.

3.Somesystem

wideresourcesareavailableto

teache

rsto

engage

inclassroo

massessmen

t,includ

ingado

cumen

tthato

utlines

whatstude

ntsareexpe

cted

tolearnin

diffe

rent

subjectareasat

diffe

rent

gradeor

agelevelsandtextbo

oksthat

providesupp

ortforclassroo

massessmen

t.Scoringcrite

riaor

rubricsfor

stud

ents'w

orkarealso

availablein

anelectron

icsystem

that

isaccessibleto

allschoo

ls.Ho

wever,teachersdo

have

asaresource

ado

cumen

tthato

utlines

the

levelsof

performance

stud

entsareexpe

cted

toreachin

diffe

rent

subjecta

reas

atdiffe

rent

gradeor

agelevels,

item

banksor

poolswith

exam

ples

ofselection

and

multip

lechoice

orsupp

lyand

open

ende

dqu

estio

ns,on

line

assessmen

tresources,

orcompu

terbased

testingwith

instantrepo

rtson

stud

ents'

performance.

4.Th

ereisan

officialcurriculum

orstandardsd

ocum

entthatspe

cifie

swhatstude

ntsa

reexpe

cted

tolearnat

diffe

rent

gradeor

agelevels,

butitd

oesn

otspecify

towhatp

erform

ance

level.

5.Th

erearesomesystem

levelm

echanism

sin

placeto

ensure

that

teache

rsde

veloptheskillsandexpe

rtise

inclassroo

massessmen

t.Forexam

ple,

inservice

teache

rtraining

isavailableto

allteachers,andon

lineresourceson

classroo

massessmen

tinclude

resourcessuch

asqu

estio

nbanks.Someteache

rshave

the

oppo

rtun

ityto

participateinconferen

cesa

ndworksho

ps,and

inite

mde

velopm

entfor,orscorin

gof,large

scaleassessmen

tsor

exam

s.Ho

wever,not

allteacher

training

programsinclud

earequ

iredcourse

onclassroo

massessmen

t;scho

olinspectio

nor

teache

rsupe

rvision

does

notinclud

eacompo

nent

focusedon

classroo

massessmen

t;andthereareno

preserviceteache

rtrainingop

portun

ities

relatedto

buildingskillsinclassroo

massessmen

t.

6.Classroo

massessmen

tpractices

aregene

rally

considered

tobe

weak.

Teache

rscommon

lyrelyon

multip

lechoice,selectio

ntype

questio

ns,a

ndclassroo

massessmen

tactiv

ities

aremainlyabou

trecalling

inform

ation.

Classroo

massessmen

tinform

ationalso

provides

little

useful

feed

back

tostud

ents.Inadditio

n,gradeinfla

tionandtheun

even

applicationof

standardsforgradingstud

ents'w

orkareserio

usprob

lems.Ho

wever,itisno

tcommon

forparentsto

bepo

orly

inform

edabou

tstud

ents'g

rade

s,forteache

rsto

notuseexplicitor

aprioricrite

riaforscoringor

gradingstud

ents'w

ork,

toob

serveerrors

inthescoringor

gradingof

stud

ents'w

ork,or

forclassroom

assessmen

tactivities

tono

tbealigne

dwith

thepe

dagogicalorcurricular

fram

ework.

7.Therearevarie

dandsystem

aticmechanism

sinplaceto

mon

itorthe

quality

ofclassroo

massessmen

tpractices.For

exam

ple,governmen

tfun

ding

isavailable

forresearch

onthequ

ality

ofclassroo

massessmen

tactiv

ities

andho

wto

improveclassroo

massessmen

t,andnatio

nalreviewsof

thequ

ality

ofed

ucation

includ

eafocuso

nclassroo

massessmen

t.Althou

ghtheweighto

fclassroom

assessmen

tinateache

r'spe

rformance

evaluatio

nislow,itisa

requ

iredcompo

nent

ofateache

r'spe

rformance

evaluatio

nandscho

olinspectio

nor

teache

rsup

ervisio

n.Ho

wever,the

reisno

externalmod

erationsystem

that

review

sthe

difficulty

ofclassroo

massessmen

tpractices

andtheapprop

riatene

ssof

scoringcrite

ria.

UNITED

ARAB

EMIRAT

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8.Classroo

massessmen

tinformationisrequ

iredto

bedissem

inated

toallkey

stakeh

olde

rs,including

scho

oldistricto

rMinistry

ofEducationofficials,

parents,

andstud

ents.

9.Th

ereareadeq

uate

requ

ireduses

ofclassroo

massessmen

tto

supp

ortstud

entlearning,includ

ingits

useas

aninpu

tforexternal

exam

inationresults.

Classroo

massessmen

tactiv

ities

areused

todiagno

sestud

entlearning

issue

s,de

velopstud

ents'selfe

valuationskills,providefeed

back

tostud

ents

ontheir

learning,inform

parentsabou

tthe

irchild'slearning,e

valuateteache

rs'p

erform

ance,p

lanne

xtstep

sin

instruction,

gradestud

entsforinternalclassroom

uses,

andprovideinpu

t toan

externalexam

inationprogram.

UNITED

ARAB

EMIRAT

ESSA

BERSTUDE

NTAS

SESSMEN

TSA

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YRE

PORT

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PROAC

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TTER

EDUCA

TIONRE

SULTS

19

UNITED

ARAB

EMIRATES

Exam

inations

UNITED

ARAB

EMIRAT

ESSA

BERSTUDE

NTAS

SESSMEN

TSA

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SULTS

20

ENABLINGCONTEXT

Overallfram

eworkof

policies,lead

ership,organ

izatio

nalstructures,fiscaland

human

resourcesinwhich

assessmenta

ctivity

takesp

lace

inacoun

tryor

system

andtheextent

towhich

that

fram

eworkiscond

uciveto,orsup

portiveof,the

assessmenta

ctivity.

LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

ENABLINGCONTEXT

1:Settingclearpolicies

Nostandardize

dexam

inationhastaken

place.

Thestandardize

dexam

inationhasbe

enop

eratingon

anirregular

basis.

Theexam

inationisastableprogram

that

hasb

eenop

eratingregularly

.1This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion

There

isno

policy

documen

tthat

authorize

sthe

exam

ination.

There

isan

inform

alor

draft

policy

documen

tthat

authorize

sthe

exam

ination.

Thereis

aform

alpo

licydo

cumen

tthat

authorize

sthe

exam

ination.

2This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Thepo

licydo

cumen

tisno

tavailableto

thepu

blic.

Thepo

licydo

cumen

tisavailableto

the

public.3

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

The

policy

documen

taddresses

some

keyaspe

ctso

fthe

exam

ination.

4Thepo

licydo

cumen

taddressesallkey

aspe

ctso

fthe

exam

ination.

ENABLINGCONTEXT

2:Havingstrong

leadership

Allstakeh

olde

rgrou

psstrongly

oppo

setheexam

inationor

areindiffe

rent

toit.

Most

stakeh

olde

rgrou

psop

pose

the

exam

ination.

Moststakeh

olde

rsgrou

pssupp

ortthe

exam

ination.

5All

stakeh

olde

rgrou

pssupp

ort

the

exam

ination.

Thereareno

attemptsto

improvethe

exam

inationby

stakeh

olde

rgroup

s.This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

There

are

inde

pend

ent

attempts

toim

provetheexam

inationby

stakeh

olde

rgrou

ps.

There

are

coordinated

attempts

toim

provetheexam

inationby

stakeh

olde

rgrou

ps.6

Effortsto

improvetheexam

inationare

not

welcomed

bythe

leadership

incharge

oftheexam

ination.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Effortsto

improvetheexam

inationare

gene

rally

welcomed

bytheleadership

incharge

oftheexam

ination.

7

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

(CONTINUE

D)

* * * *

*

**

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ARAB

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LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

ENABLINGCONTEXT

3:Havingregularfunding

There

isno

fund

ing

allocated

forthe

exam

ination.

Thereis

irregular

fund

ingallocatedfor

theexam

ination.

Thereisregularfun

ding

allocatedforthe

exam

ination.

8This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Fund

ingcovers

somecore

exam

ination

activities:de

sign,

administratio

n,data

processin

gor

repo

rting.

Fund

ing

covers

allcore

exam

ination

activities:de

sign,

administratio

n,data

processin

gandrepo

rting.

9

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Fund

ing

does

notcoverresearch

and

developm

ent.1

0This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Fund

ing

covers

research

and

developm

ent.

Havingstrongorganizationalstructures

Theexam

inationofficedo

esno

texist

orisne

wlyestablish

ed.

The

exam

ination

office

isne

wly

establish

ed.

The

exam

ination

office

isa

stable

organizatio

n.11

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

The

exam

ination

office

isno

taccoun

table

toan

external

board

oragen

cy.1

2

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Theexam

inationofficeisaccoun

tableto

anexternalbo

ardor

agen

cy.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Exam

inationresults

areno

trecognize

dby

anycertificatio

nor

selectionsystem

.Exam

ination

results

are

recognize

dby

certificatio

nor

selectionsystem

inthe

coun

try.

Exam

ination

results

are

recognize

dby

onecertificatio

nor

selectionsystem

inanothe

rcou

ntry.

Exam

ination

results

are

recognize

dby

two

ormore

certificatio

nor

selection

system

inanothe

rcou

ntry.13

The

exam

ination

office

does

nothave

therequ

ired

facilitiesto

carryou

tthe

exam

ination.

Theexam

inationofficehassomeof

the

requ

ired

facilities

tocarry

out

the

exam

ination.

The

exam

ination

office

hasallof

the

requ

ired

facilities

tocarry

out

the

exam

ination.

Theexam

inationofficehasstateof

the

artfacilitie

stocarryou

tthe

exam

ination.

14

(CONTINUE

D)

* *

*

*

*

**

UNITED

ARAB

EMIRAT

ESSA

BERSTUDE

NTAS

SESSMEN

TSA

BERCO

UNTR

YRE

PORT

|201

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SAP

PROAC

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TTER

EDUCA

TIONRE

SULTS

22

LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

ENABLINGCONTEXT

5:Havingeffectivehuman

resources

There

isno

staff

tocarry

out

the

exam

ination.

Theexam

ination

officeis

inadeq

uately

staffed

toeffectively

carry

out

the

exam

ination,issue

sare

pervasive.

The

exam

ination

office

isadeq

uately

staffed

tocarry

outthe

exam

ination

effectively,with

minim

alissue

s.15

The

exam

ination

office

isadeq

uately

staffed

tocarry

out

the

assessmen

teffectively,with

noissue

s.

Thecoun

trydo

esno

toffe

ropp

ortunitie

sthat

prep

are

for

work

onthe

exam

ination.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

The

coun

tryoffers

someop

portun

ities

that

prep

are

for

work

onthe

exam

ination.

The

coun

try

offers

awide

range

ofop

portun

ities

that

prep

areforworkon

theexam

ination.

16

*

*

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ARAB

EMIRAT

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BERSTUDE

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SYSTEM

ALIGNMENT

Degree

towhich

theassessmentisc

oherentw

ithothercom

ponentso

fthe

educationsystem

.LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

SYSTEM

ALIGNMENT1:

Aligning

exam

inationswith

learning

goalsand

opportunitiestolearn

Itis

notclearwhatthe

exam

ination

measures.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Thereis

aclearun

derstand

ingof

what

theexam

inationmeasures.17

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

What

the

exam

ination

measures

isqu

estio

nedby

somestakeh

olde

rgroup

s.This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Whatismeasuredby

theexam

inationis

largelyaccepted

bystakeh

olde

rgroup

s.18

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Materialtoprep

arefortheexam

ination

isminim

aland

itis

only

accessible

tovery

fewstud

ents.

Thereissomematerialtoprep

areforthe

exam

inationthat

isaccessible

tosome

stud

ents.

There

iscompreh

ensiv

ematerial

toprep

are

for

the

exam

ination

that

isaccessibleto

moststude

nts.

There

iscompreh

ensiv

ematerial

toprep

are

for

the

exam

ination

that

isaccessibleto

allstude

nts.

19

SYSTEM

ALIGNMENT2:

Providingteacherswith

opportunitiestolearnabouttheexam

ination

Thereareno

coursesor

worksho

pson

exam

inations

availableto

teache

rs.

There

are

noup

todate

courses

orworksho

pson

exam

inations

availableto

teache

rs.

Thereareup

todate

voluntarycourses

orworksho

pson

exam

inations

available

toteache

rs.

Thereareup

todate

compu

lsory

courses

orworksho

pson

exam

inations

for

teache

rs.2

0

Teache

rsare

exclud

edfrom

all

exam

inationrelatedtasks.

Teache

rsare

involved

invery

few

exam


21Teache

rsare

involved

insome

exam


Teache

rsare

involved

inmost

exam


* *

* *

*

UNITED

ARAB

EMIRAT

ESSA

BERSTUDE

NTAS

SESSMEN

TSA

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|201

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PROAC

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TTER

EDUCA

TIONRE

SULTS

24

ASSESSMENTQUALITY

Degree

towhich

theassessmentm

eetsqu

ality

stan

dards,isfair,

andisused

inan

effectiveway.

LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

ASSESSMENTQUALITY1:

Ensuring

quality

There

isno

technicalrepo

rtor

othe

rdo

cumen

tatio

n.There

issome

documen

tatio

non

the

exam

ination,

butit

isno

tin

aform

alrepo

rtform

at.

There

isa

compreh

ensiv

etechnical

repo

rtbu

twith

restrictedcirculation.

22Thereis

acompreh

ensiv

e,high

quality

technicalrep

ortavailableto

thegene

ral

public.

There

are

nomechanism

sin

place

toen

sure

thequ

ality

oftheexam

ination.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Therearelim

itedsystem

aticmechanism

sin

place

toen

sure

the

quality

ofthe

exam

ination.

23

There

are

varie

dand

system

atic

mechanism

sin

place

toen

sure

the

quality

oftheexam

ination.

Ensuringfairness

Inapprop

riate

behavior

surrou

ndingthe

exam

inationprocessish

igh.

Inapprop

riate

behavior

surrou

ndingthe

exam

inationprocessism

oderate.

Inapprop

riate

behavior

surrou

ndingthe

exam

inationprocessislow

.24Inapprop

riate

behavior

surrou

ndingthe

exam

inationprocessism

arginal.

Theexam

ination

results

lack

cred

ibility

fora

llstakeh

olde

rgroup

s.Theexam

inationresults

arecred

ible

for

somestakeh

olde

rgroup

s.Theexam

inationresults

arecred

ible

for

allstakeho

lder

grou

ps.25

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Themajority

ofthestud

ents

(over50%)

may

nottaketheexam

inationbe

causeof

language,gend

er,or

othe

req

uivalent

barriers.

Asig

nificant

prop

ortio

nof

stud

ents

(10%

50%)m

ayno

ttaketheexam

ination

becauseof

language,gend

er,or

othe

req

uivalent

barriers.

Asm

allp

ropo

rtionof

stud

ents(le

ssthan

10%)may

not

take

the

exam

ination

becauseof

language,gend

er,or

othe

req

uivalent

barriers.

Allstud

ents

cantake

theexam

ination;

thereareno

language,gend

eror

othe

req

uivalent

barriers.26

(CONTINUE

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25

LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

ASSESSMENTQUALITY3:

Usingexam

inationinform

ationinafairway

Exam

ination

results

are

notused

ina

prop

erway

byallstakeho

lder

grou

ps.

Exam

ination

results

are

used

bysome

stakeh

olde

rgroup

sinaprop

erway.

Exam

ination

results

are

used

bymost

stakeh

olde

rgroup

sinaprop

erway.

Exam

ination

results

are

used

byall

stakeh

olde

rgroup

sinaprop

erway.2

7

Stud

entn

ames

andresults

arepu

blic.28

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Stud

ents’resultsareconfidentia

l.This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

ASSESSMENTQUALITY4:

Ensuring

positiveconsequencesoftheexam

ination

Thereareno

optio

nsforstud

ents

who

dono

tperform

wello

ntheexam

ination,

orstud

ents

mustleave

the

education

system

.

There

are

very

limite

dop

tions

for

stud

entswho

dono

tperform

wellonthe

exam

ination.

29

Therearesomeop

tions

forstude

ntsw

hodo

notp

erform

wellontheexam

ination.

Thereisavarie

tyof

optio

nsforstud

ents

who

dono

tpe

rform

well

onthe

exam

ination.

There

are

nomechanism

sin

place

tomon

itor

the

conseq

uences

ofthe

exam

ination.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Therearesomemechanism

sin

placeto

mon

itor

the

conseq

uences

ofthe

exam

ination.

30

Thereisavarie

tyof

mechanism

sin

place

tomon

itor

the

conseq

uences

ofthe

exam

ination.

*

*

*

*

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ARAB

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26

Exam

inations

1.Th

eTw

elfthGradeExam

ination'smainpu

rposes

includ

estud

entcertificatio

nforscho

olcyclecompletionandstud

entselectionto

higher

education

institu

tions.The

TwelfthGradeExam

inationwas

firstadministered

in19

67,and

itcontinue

sto

beadministered

toGrade12

stud

entsin

mandatory

subjects,as

wella

ssubjects

relevant

tothestud

ent's

sectionselection.

Specifically,allstud

ents

areassessed

inIslamic

education,

Arabic

language,En

glish

language,

mathe

matics,ph

ysics,andbiology.Forstud

ents

inthescientificsection,

theexam

inationalso

covers

chem

istry

andgeology,while

forstud

ents

intheliterary

section,theexam

inationcoversgeograph

y,history,psycho

logy,and

econ

omics.

2.Th

eMinistry

ofEd

ucation'sA

ssessm

enta

ndExam

inationSystem

forG

rades1

12do

cumen

tfrom

2010

authorize

sthe

TwelfthGradeExam

ination.

3.Th

eAssessmenta

ndExam

inationSystem

forG

rades1

12do

cumen

tisa

vailableto

andeasilyaccessibleby

thepu

blic.

4.TheAssessment a

ndExam

inationSystem

forG

rades112

documen

tadd

resses

very

fewkeyaspe

ctsof

theexam

ination.

Thedo

cumen

toutlines

governance,

distrib

utionof

power,a

ndrespon

sibilitie

sam

ongkeyen

tities;de

scrib

esthepu

rposeof

theexam

ination;

andexplains

alignm

entw

ithcurriculaandstandards.

However,itd

oesn

otde

scrib

etheauthorize

duses

ofresults;state

fund

ingsources;ou

tline

proced

ures

toinvestigateandaddresss

ecurity

breaches,che

ating,or

othe

rform

sof

inapprop

riate

behavior;o

utlineproced

ures

forspecialo

rdisadvantagedstud

ents;spe

cify

who

cansit

fortheexam

ination;

iden

tifyrulesabou

tprep

aration;

orexplaintheform

atof

theexam

inationqu

estio

ns.

5.Po

licym

akersandun

iversitiesstronglysupp

orttheexam

ination,

andteache

run

ions,e

ducators,m

edia,think

tanksandNGO

ssupp

ortitas

well.Stud

ents,

parents,andem

ployersa

rene

utraltotheexam

ination.

6.Co

ordinatedeffortsh

avebe

enmadeby

stakeh

olde

rgroup

stoim

provetheexam

ination.

7.Leadershipincharge

oftheexam

inationgene

rally

welcomes

effortstoim

provetheexam

ination.

8.Re

gularfun

ding

isallocatedby

thegovernmen

tfor

theexam

ination.

9.Fund

ingcovers

allc

oreexam

inationactiv

ities,including

exam

inationde

signandadministratio

n,data

analysisandrepo

rting,

andlong

ormed

ium

term

planning

ofprogram

mileston

es.H

owever,stafftraining

isno

tcovered

bythefund

ing.

10.Re

search

andde

velopm

entactiv

ities

areno

tcoveredby

thefund

ingfortheexam

ination.

Training

andresearch

budgetsareallocatedby

specialized

executiveen

titiesa

ndareun

relatedto

thefund

ingof

exam

inations.

11.The

Assessmen

tand

Exam

inations

Administratio

n,aun

itwith

intheMinistry

ofEducation,hasb

eenincharge

oftheTw

elfthGradeExam

inationsin

ce19

72.

12.The

Assessmen

tand

Exam

inations

Administratio

nisno

taccou

ntableto

anexternalbo

ardor

agen

cy.

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ARAB

EMIRAT

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TIONRE

SULTS

27

13.Examinationresults

arerecognize

dby

certificatio

nor

selectionsystem

sintheUAE

andabroad,including

intheUSA

,UK,Ge

rmany,andothe

rArabcoun

tries.

14.The

Assessmen

tand

Exam

inations

Administratio

nhasstate

oftheartfacilitie

stocarryou

tthe

exam

ination,which

includ

ecompu

tersfora

lltechnicalstaff,

asecure

building,secure

storagefacilities,accessto

adeq

uate

compu

terservers,the

ability

tobackup

data,and

adeq

uate

commun

icationtools.

15.T

heAssessmen

tand

Exam

inations

Administratio

nhaspe

rmanen

tand

fulltim

estaff,bu

titisinsufficien

tto

meetthe

need

sof

theexam

ination.

However,

thislack

ofpe

rmanen

tstaffisoffset

byutilizin

gassistancefrom

technicalteamsintheEducationalSup

ervisio

nDe

partmen

twith

intheMinistry

ofEducationan

dby

form

ingtempo

rary

committeesto

perform

thene

cessarytasksrequ

ireddu

ringexam

inationpe

riods.Issue

s,such

asfreq

uent

errors

indata

processin

gor

intheexam

inationqu

estio

ns,haveno

tbeeniden

tifiedwith

thepe

rformance

ofthehu

man

resourcesrespo

nsibleforthe

exam

ination.

16.The

UAE

offersawiderangeof

oppo

rtun

ities

toprep

areforw

orkon

theexam

ination,

includ

ingun

iversitygraduate

programs,un

iversitycourses,andno

nun

iversitytraining

courseso

rworksho

pson

educationalm

easuremen

tand

evaluatio

n.In

additio

n,internshipsa

reofferedintheexam

inationoffice,andfund

ing

isavailablefora

tten

ding

internationalprogram

s,courses,or

worksho

pson

educationalm

easuremen

tand

evaluatio

n.

17.The

reisaclearu

nderstanding

that

theexam

inationmeasuresn

ationalschoo

lcurriculum

guidelines

orstandards.

18.Stakeho

lder

grou

pslargelyaccept

whatism

easuredby

theexam

ination.

19.C

ompreh

ensiv

ematerialtoprep

arefortheexam

inationisavailableandaccessible

toallstude

nts.Forexam

ple,

inform

ationon

how

toprep

areforthe

exam

ination,

exam

ples

ofthetype

sof

questio

nsthat

areon

theexam

ination,

andtherepo

rton

thestrengthsandweaknessesin

stud

entpe

rformance

are

available.Ho

wever,the

fram

eworkdo

cumen

texplainingwhatism

easuredon

theexam

inationisno

tavailable.

20.U

pto

date

compu

lsory

courseso

rworksho

pson

theexam

inationareavailableto

teache

rs.

21.Althou

ghteache

rsareinvolved

inscoringtheexam

inationandsupe

rvising

exam

inationproced

ures,they

areno

tinvolved

inselectingor

creatin

gexam

inationqu

estio

nsor

scoringguides,adm

inisteringtheexam

ination,

actin

gas

ajudge,

orresolvinginconsisten

cies

betw

eenexam

inationscores

andscho

olgrades.

22.A

lthou

ghacompreh

ensiv

etechnicalrep

ortisa

vailable,its

circulationisrestricted.

23.O

nlyon

esystem

aticmechanism

,internalreviewor

observers,isin

placeto

ensure

thequ

ality

oftheexam

ination.

Other

system

aticmechanism

s,such

aspiloto

rfieldtesting,externalcertificatio

nor

audits,and

externalreview

orob

servers,areno

tinplace.

24.Inapp

ropriate

behavior

surrou

ndingtheexam

inationprocessislow.A

lthou

ghcopyingfrom

othe

rcand

idates

andcollusio

nam

ongcand

idates

viamob

ileph

ones

orpassingof

pape

roccurs, leakage

oftheconten

tof

anexam

inationpape

ror

part

ofapape

rpriorto

theexam

ination,

impe

rson

ation(w

henan

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ARAB

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28

individu

alothe

rthan

theregistered

cand

idatetakestheexam

ination),usingun

authorize

dmaterials

such

asprep

ared

answ

ersandno

tes,

intim

idationof

exam

inationsupe

rviso

rs,issuing

forged

certificatesor

alterin

gresults

inform

ation,

orprovision

ofexternalassistanceviathesupe

rviso

rorm

obile

phon

edo

not

occur.Inapprop

riate

behaviorsa

rede

altw

ithby

thelegalaffa

irsde

partmen

tonacase

bycase

basis

.

25.A

llstakeh

olde

rgroup

sperceiveexam

inationresults

ascred

ible.

26.R

egardlesso

fbackgroun

d,locatio

n,or

theability

topay,allstude

ntsm

aytake

theexam

ination.

27.A

llstakeh

olde

rgroup

suse

exam

inationresults

inaprop

erway.

28.Stud

entresults

areno

tconfiden

tial,as

stud

entnames

andresults

arepu

blic.Stud

ents

arefirst

inform

edof

theresults

viaSM

Sfrom

theMinistry

ofEducation'se

learning

system

,after

which

theresults

aremadeavailableto

themed

iaford

issem

inationto

thepu

blic.

29.A

lthou

ghstud

entshave

theop

tionto

retake

theexam

inationor

repe

atthegrade,they

dono

thavetheop

tions

toattend

remed

ialorp

reparatory

coursesin

orde

rtoprep

areto

retake

theexam

inationor

toop

tfor

less

selectivescho

ols,un

iversities,or

tracks.

30.O

nlyon

esystem

aticmechanism

,expertreviewgrou

ps, isinplaceto

mon

itorthe

conseq

uences

oftheexam

ination.Other

mechanism

s,such

asregularfocus

grou

psor

surveysof

keystakeh

olde

rs,studies

that

areup

datedregularly

,ape

rmanen

toversig

htcommittee,a

ndfund

ingforinde

pend

entresearch

onthe

impactof

theexam

ination,areno

tinplace.

UNITED

ARAB

EMIRAT

ESSA

BERSTUDE

NTAS

SESSMEN

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TIONRE

SULTS

29

UNITED

ARAB

EMIRATES

National(orSystem

Level)LargeScaleAssessment(NLSA)

UNITED

ARAB

EMIRAT

ESSA

BERSTUDE

NTAS

SESSMEN

TSA

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PORT

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SAP

PROAC

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TTER

EDUCA

TIONRE

SULTS

30

ENABLINGCONTEXT

Overallfram

eworkof

policies,lead

ership,organ

izatio


human

resourcesinwhich

NLSAactivity

takesp

lace

inacoun

tryor

system

andthe

extent

towhich

that

fram

eworkiscond

uciveto,orsup

portiveof,the

NLSAactiv

ity.

LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

ENABLINGCONTEXT

1:SettingclearpoliciesforNLSA

NoNLSAexercise

hastaken

place.

The

NLSA

has

been

operating

onan

irregular

basis.

TheNLSA

isastable

program

that

has

been

operatingregularly

.1This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Thereis

nopo

licydo

cumentpe

rtaining

toNLSA.

There

isan

inform

alor

draft

policy

documen

tthata

utho

rizes

theNLSA.

Thereis

aform

alpo

licydo

cumen

tthat

authorize

sthe

NLSA.

2This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Thepo

licydo

cumen

tisno

tavailableto

thepu

blic.

Thepo

licydo

cumen

tisavailableto

the

public.3

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Thereisno

plan

forN

LSAactivity

.This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Thereisagene

ralund

erstanding

that

the

NLSAwilltake

place.

There

isa

written

NLSA

plan

forthe

comingyears.

4

ENABLINGCONTEXT

2:Havingstrong

publicengagementforNLSA

Allstakeh

olde

rgrou

psstrongly

oppo

setheNLSAor

areindiffe

rent

toit.

Some

stakeholde

rgrou

psop

pose

the

NLSA.

Moststakeh

olde

rsgrou

pssupp

ortthe

NLSA.

5Allstakeho

lder

grou

pssupp

ortthe

NLSA.

(CONTINUE

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*

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LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

ENABLINGCONTEXT

3:HavingregularfundingforNLSA

There

isno

fund

ing

allocated

tothe

NLSA.

There

isirregular

fund

ingallocated

totheNLSA.

Thereisregularfund

ingallocatedto

the

NLSA.

6This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Fund

ing

covers

some

core

NLSA

activities:d

esign,administratio

n,analysis

andrepo

rting.

Fund

ingcovers

allcore

NLSA

activities:

desig

n,administratio

n,analysis

and

repo

rting.

7

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Fund

ing

does

notcoverresearch

and

developm

enta

ctivities.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Fund

ing

covers

research

and

developm

enta

ctivities.8

ENABLINGCONTEXT

4:Havingstrong

organizationalstructuresforNLSA

Thereis

noNLSAoffice,

adho

cun

itor

team

.TheNLSAofficeisatempo

rary

agen

cyor

grou

pof

peop

le.

TheNLSAofficeisape

rmanen

tagen

cy,

institu

tionor

unit.

9This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Political

considerations

regularly

hampe

rtechnicalcon

siderations.

Political

considerations

sometim

eshampe

rtechn

icalconsiderations.

Political

considerations

never

hampe

rtechnicalcon

siderations.1

0

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

TheNLSAofficeisno

taccoun

tableto

aclearly

recognize

dbo

dy.

The

NLSA

office

isaccoun

table

toa

clearly

recognize

dbo

dy.1

1This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

(CONTINUE

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*

*

*

*

**

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LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

ENABLINGCONTEXT


resourcesforNLSA

Thereisno

staffa

llocatedforrun

ning

anNLSA.

TheNLSAofficeis

inadeq

uately

staffed

toeffectivelycarryou

tthe

assessmen

t.TheNLSAofficeisadeq

uately

staffedto

carry

out

the

NLSA

effectively,

with

minim

alissue

s.

TheNLSAofficeisadeq

uately

staffedto

carryou

ttheNLSA

effectively,

with

noissue

s.12

Thecoun

trydo

esno

toffe

ropp

ortunitie

sthat

prep

are

individu

als

forwork

onNLSA.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Thecoun

tryofferssomeop

portun

ities

toprep

are

individu

als

for

work

onthe

NLSA.

The

coun

try

offers

awide

range

ofop

portun

ities

toprep

areindividu

alsfor

workon

theNLSA.

13

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SYSTEM

ALIGNMENT

Degree

towhich

theNLSAiscoherent

with

othercom

ponentso

fthe

educationsystem

.LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

SYSTEM

ALIGNMENT1:

Aligning

theNLSA

with

learning

goals

Itis

notcleariftheNLSA

isbasedon

curriculum

orlearning

standards.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

TheNLSAmeasurespe

rformance

against

curriculum

orlearning

standards.

14This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Whatthe

NLSA

measuresis

gene

rally

questio

nedby

stakeh

olde

rgroup

s.This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

WhattheNLSAmeasuresis

questio

ned

bysomestakeh

olde

rgroup

s.What

the

NLSA

measures

islargely

accepted

bystakeh

olde

rgroup

s.15

There

are

nomechanism

sin

place

toen

sure

that

the

NLSA

accurately

measures

what

itis

supp

osed

tomeasure.

Therearead

hocreview

sof

theNLSAto

ensure

that

itmeasures

what

itis

intend

edto

measure.

Thereareregularinternalreview

sof

the

NLSAto

ensure

that

itmeasureswhatit

isintend

edto

measure.16

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

SYSTEM

ALIGNMENT2:

Providingteacherswith

opportunitiestolearnabouttheNLSA

Thereareno

coursesor

worksho

pson

theNLSA.

There

are

occasio

nal

courses

orworksho

pson

theNLSA.

17Therearesomecoursesor

worksho

pson

theNLSAofferedon

aregularb

asis.

Therearewidelyavailablehigh

quality

courses

orworksho

pson

the

NLSA

offeredon

aregularb

asis.

*

*

*

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ASSESSMENTQUALITY

Degree

towhich

theNLSAmeetstechnicalstand

ards,isfair,an

disused

inan

effectiveway.

LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

ASSESSMENTQUALITY1:

Ensuring

thequality

oftheNLSA

No

optio

nsare

offered

toinclud

eall

grou

psof

stud

entsintheNLSA.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Atleaston

eop

tionisofferedto

includ

eallgroup

sofstude

ntsintheNLSA.

18Diffe

rent

optio

nsareofferedto

includ

eallgroup

sofstude

ntsintheNLSA.

There

are

nomechanism

sin

place

toen

sure

thequ

ality

oftheNLSA.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.


sin

placeto

ensure

thequ

ality

oftheNLSA.

19There

are

avarie

tyof

mechanism

sin

placeto

ensure

thequ

ality

oftheNLSA.

There

isno

technicalrepo

rtor

othe

rdo

cumen

tatio

nabou

tthe

NLSA.

Thereissomedo

cumen

tatio

nabou

tthe

technicalaspe

ctsof

theNLSA,

butitis

notinaform

alrepo

rtform

at.

There

isa

compreh

ensiv

etechnical

repo

rtbu

twith

restrictedcirculation.

Thereis

acompreh

ensiv

e,high

quality

technicalrep

ortavailableto

thegene

ral

public.2

0

ASSESSMENTQUALITY2:

Ensuring

effectiveusesoftheNLSA

NLSAresults

areno

tdissem

inated

.NLSAresults

arepo

orlydissem

inated

.NLSA

results

are

dissem

inated

inan

effectiveway.2

1This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

NLSAinform

ationisno

tused

orisused

inwaysinconsisten

twith

thepu

rposes

orthe

technicalcharacteristicsof

the

assessmen

t.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

NLSA

results

are

used

bysome

stakeh

olde

rgrou

psin

away

that

isconsisten

twith

the

purposes

and

technical

characteristics

ofthe

assessmen

t.

NLSA

inform

ation

isused

byall

stakeh

olde

rgrou

psin

away

that

isconsisten

twith

the

purposes

and

technical

characteristics

ofthe

assessmen

t.22

There

are

nomechanism

sin

place

tomon

itorthe

conseq

uences

oftheNLSA.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.


sin

placeto

mon

itortheconseq

uences

oftheNLSA.

23

There

are

avarie

tyof

mechanism

sin

place

tomon

itorthe

conseq

uences

oftheNLSA.

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*

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National(ofSystem

Level)LargeScaleAssessment(NLSA)

1.Th

eUnitedArab

Emira

tesNationalA

ssessm

entProgram

(UAE

NAP

)was

first

administered

in20

03as

theNationalA

ssessm

entof

Stud

entAchievem

enta

ndProgress

(NAS

AP)to

stud

ents

inGrade5,

andsubseq

uently

administered

in20

05to

stud

ents

inGrades

5and7,

tostud

ents

inGrades

312

in20

09as

the

ExternalMeasuremen

tofS

tude

ntAchievem

ent(EM

SA),andto

stud

ents

inGrades

3,5,

7,and9in

2010

astheUAE

NAP

.(Th

eNAS

AP,E

MSA

,ANDUAE

NAP

all

refertothesamenatio

nalassessm

ent.)

Themainpu

rposes

oftheassessmen

tprogram

includ

emon

itorin

gtheed

ucationqu

ality

atthesystem

level,supp

ortin

gscho

ols,

teache

rs,andpo

licyde

sign,

evaluatio

n,andde

cisio

nmaking.

Alls

tude

ntsat

specified

gradelevels

areassessed

inthefollowingsubjects:Arabic

language,Englishlanguage,m

athe

matics,andscience.

2.Th

eMinistry

ofEd

ucationauthorize

dtheUAE

NAP

with

theIm

plem

entin

gtheNationa

lAssessm

entP

rogram

documen

tin20

10.

3.Th

eIm

plem

entin

gtheNationa

lAssessm

entP

rogram

documen

tisa

vailableto

thepu

blic.

4.Thereisapu

bliclyavailablewrittenplan

specifyingwho

willbe

tested

andinwhich

subjecta

reas.The

plan

isavailableto,and

easilyaccessible,bythepu

blic.

5.Moststakeh

olde

rgrou

pssupp

orttheUAE

NAP

.While

policym

akers,

teache

run

ions,anded

ucatorsstrongly

supp

orttheUAE

NAP

,andthemed

iaand

universitiess

uppo

rtitas

well,stud

ents,paren

ts,think

tanksa

ndNGO

s,andem

ployersa

rene

utraltoit.

6.Thereisregularfun

ding

allocatedby

thegovernmen

tfor

theUAE

NAP

.

7.Fund

ingfortheUAE

NAP

covers

allcoreactiv

ities

oftheassessmen

t,includ

ingassessmen

tde

signandadministratio

n,data

analysisandrepo

rting,

long

ormed

ium

term

planning

ofprogram

mileston

es,and

stafftraining.

8.Fund

ingforthe

UAE

NAP

coversresearch

andde

velopm

enta

ctivities.

9.Theofficein

charge

oftheUAE

NAP

isape

rmanen

tunitcreatedforrunn

ingtheassessmen

t.Itiswith

intheAd

ministratio

nof

Evaluatio

nandExam

inations

unde

rthe

supe

rvision

oftheMinistry

ofEd

ucation.

10.Po

litical

considerations

neverhampe

rtechnicalconsiderations;largescaleassessmen

tresults

have

neverbe

enwith

held

from

publicationbe

causeof

politicalreason

s.

11.The

officeincharge

oftheUAE

NAP

ishe

ldaccoun

tableto

thePo

licyCo

uncil,ahigher

officeintheMinistry

ofEducation.

12.The

officeincharge

oftheUAE

NAP

isadeq

uatelystaffedwith

perm

anen

tand

fulltim

estafftocarryou

tthe

assessmen

teffe

ctively,with

noissue

siden

tified

with

thepe

rformance

ofthehu

man

resourcesthata

rerespon

sibleforthe

largescaleassessmen

t.

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13.T

heUAE

offers

awiderangeof

oppo

rtun

ities

toprep

areindividu

alsforworkon

theNLSA,

includ

ingun

iversitygraduate

programs,un

iversitycourses,and

nonun

iversitycoursesor

worksho

pson

educationalmeasuremen

tandevaluatio

n.In

additio

n,fund

ingforattend

inginternationalprograms,

courses,

orworksho

pson

educationalm

easuremen

tand

evaluatio

n,andinternshipso

rsho

rtterm

employmen

tinthelargescaleassessmen

toffice

areavailableas

well.

14.The

UAE

NAP

measuresp

erform

ance

againstn

ationalcurriculum

guidelines

orlearning

standards.

15.Stakeho

lder

grou

pslargelyaccept

whatism

easuredby

theUAE

NAP

.

16.T

here

aread

hocreview

s,regularinternal

review

s,andregularinde

pend

entreview

sof

thealignm

entbe

tweentheassessmen

tinstrumen

tandwhatitis

supp

osed

tomeasure.

17.Livecoursesor

worksho

pson

theNLSAareofferedoccasio

nally,a

ndthey

areaccessible

bymostteache

rs.T

hese

coursestend

tobe

ofhigh

quality

and

provideteache

rswith

relevant

resourcesthatthe

ycanuseintheirclassroom

s.Ho

wever,teachersd

ono

thaveaccessto

courseso

nline.

18.The

largescaleassessmen

tisofferedin

thelanguage

ofinstructionfora

lmosta

llstud

entg

roup

s.Ho

wever,spe

cialplansor

accommod

ations

areno

tmade

toen

sure

that

thelargescaleassessmen

tisa

dministered

tostud

entswith

disabilitieso

rstude

ntsinhard

toreachareas.

19.The

rearesomemechanism

sinplaceto

ensure

thequ

ality

oftheNLSA.

Fore

xample,allproctorso

radm

inistratorsaretraine

daccordingto

aprotocol,the

reisastandardize

dmanualfor

largescaleassessmen

tadm

inistrators,allbo

okletsarenu

mbe

red,thereisdo

ublescoringof

data,scorersaretraine

dto

ensure

high

interraterreliability,thereareexternalandinternalreview

ersor

observers,as

wellasexternalcertificatio

nor

audits.H

owever,d

iscrepanciesareno

treq

uired

tobe

recorded

onastandard

sheet,thereisno

doub

leprocessin

gof

data,and

apilotisn

otcond

uctedbe

fore

themaindata

collectiontakesp

lace.

20.A

compreh

ensiv

e,high

quality

technicalrep

orto

nthegene

ralresultsisavailableto

thepu

blic.A

lthou

ghde

tailedrepo

rtson

theresults

arealso

prod

uced

,theircirculationisrestricted.

21.R

esults

from

theUAE

NAP

aredissem

inated

inan

effectiveway.R

eports

with

theresults

aremadeavailableto

allstakeho

lder

grou

ps.R

eports

contain

inform

ationon

overallachievemen

tlevelsa

ndsubgroup

s,as

wellastren

dsover

timeoveralland

bysubgroup

s.Althou

ghresults

areno

tdissem

inated

with

in12

mon

thsafterthe

largescaleassessmen

t isadministered

andthemainrepo

rtson

theresults

dono

tcon

tain

standard

errors,the

reisamed

iabriefin

gorganized

todiscussresults,w

orksho

psor

presen

tatio

nsareorganizedfork

eystakeh

olde

rson

theresults,and

theresults

arefeatured

inne

wspapers,magazines,radio,or

televisio

n.

22.Inform

ationon

theUAE

NAP

isused

byalls

takeho

lder

grou

psin

away

that

isconsisten

twith

thestated

purposes

ortechnicalc

haracteristicsof

the

assessmen

t.

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23.The

reareon

lytw

omechanism

sinplaceto

mon

itorthe

conseq

uences

oftheNLSA:

Expe

rtreview

grou

psareinplaceandthem

edconferen

cesthatp

rovide

aforum

todiscussresearch

andothe

rdata

ontheconseq

uences

ofthelargescaleassessmen

t are

held.R

egular

focusgrou

psor

surveysof

keystakeh

olde

rs,a

perm

anen

toversight

committee,and

fund

ingforind

epen

dent

research

ontheim

pactof

thelargescaleassessmen

tare

notinplace.

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UNITED

ARAB

EMIRATES

InternationalLarge

ScaleAssessment(ILSA)

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ENABLINGCONTEXT

Overallfram

eworkof

policies,lead

ership,organ

izatio


human

resourcesinwhich

ILSA

takesp

lace

inacoun

tryor

system

andtheextent

towhich

that

fram

eworkiscond

uciveto,orsup

portiveof,ILSAactiv

ity.

LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

ENABLINGCONTEXT

1:SettingclearpoliciesforILSA

Thecoun

try/system

hasno

tparticipated

inan

ILSA

inthelast10

years.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Thecoun

try/system

hasparticipated

inat

leasto

neILSA

inthelast10

years.

Thecoun

try/system

hasparticipated

intw

oor

moreILSA

inthelast10

years.1

The

coun

try/system

has

not

taken

concrete

step

stoparticipateinan

ILSA

inthene

xt5years.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Thecoun

try/system

hastakenconcrete

step

stoparticipateinat

leasto

neILSA

inthene

xt5years.

2

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

There

isno

policy

documen

tthat

addressesp

articipationinILSA

.There

isan

inform

alor

draft

policy

documen

tthata

ddresses

participationin

ILSA

.

Thereis

aform

alpo

licydo

cumen

tthat

addressesp

articipationinILSA

.3This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Thepo

licydo

cumen

tisno

tavailableto

thepu

blic.4

Thepo

licydo

cumen

tisavailableto

the

public.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

ENABLINGCONTEXT

2:HavingregularfundingforILSA

Thereis

nofund

ingforparticipationin

ILSA

.Thereis

fund

ingfrom

loansor

external

dono

rs.

There

isregularfund

ing

allocated

atdiscretio

n.5

Thereisregularfun

ding

approved

bylaw,

decree

orno

rm.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Fund

ingcovers

somecore

activ

ities

oftheILSA

.Fund

ingcovers

allc

oreactivities

ofthe

ILSA

.6This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Fund

ing

does

notcoverresearch

and

developm

enta

ctivities.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Fund

ing

covers

research

and

developm

enta

ctivities.7

(CONTINUE

D)*

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*

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LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

ENABLINGCONTEXT


resourcesforILSA

There

isno

team

ornatio

nal/system

coordinator

tocarry

out

the

ILSA

activities.

There

isa

team

ornatio

nal/system

coordinator

tocarry

out

the

ILSA

activities.

There

isa

team

and

natio

nal/system

coordinator

tocarry

out

the

ILSA

activities.8

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

The

natio

nal/system

coordinator

orothe

rdesignatedteam

mem

berm

ayno

tbe

fluen

tin

the

language

ofthe

assessmen

t.

Thenatio

nal/system

coordinatorisfluen

tinthelanguage

oftheassessmen

t.9

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

TheILSA

officeisinadeq

uatelystaffedor

traine

dto

carry

out

the

assessmen

teffectively.

TheILSA

officeis

adeq

uately

staffedor

traine

dto

carryou

ttheILSA

effectively,

with

minim

alissue

s.10

TheILSA

officeisadeq

uatelystaffedand

traine

dto

carryou

ttheILSA

effectively,

with

noissue

s.

* * *

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SYSTEM

ALIGNMENT

Degree

towhich

theILSA

meetstechnicalqua

litystan

dards,isfair,

andisused

inan

effectiveway.

LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

SYSTEM

ALIGNMENT1:

ProvidingopportunitiestolearnaboutILSA

The

ILSA

team

has

not

attend

edinternationalw

orksho

psor

meetin

gs.

The

ILSA

team

attend

edsome

internationalw

orksho

psor

meetin

gs.

TheILSA

team

attend

edallinternatio

nal

worksho

psor

meetin

gs.1

1This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

The

coun

try/system

offers

noop

portun

ities

tolearnabou

tILSA.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

The

coun

try/system

offers

some

oppo

rtun

ities

tolearnabou

tILSA.

12Thecoun

try/system

offers

awiderange

ofop

portun

ities

tolearnabou

tILSA.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Opp

ortunitie

sto

learn

abou

tILSA

are

availableto

thecoun

try's/system

'sILSA

team

mem

berson

ly.

Opp

ortunitie

sto

learn

abou

tILSA

are

availableto

awideaudien

ce,inadditio

nto

the

coun

try's/system

'sILSA

team

mem

bers.1

3

* *

*

UNITED

ARAB

EMIRAT

ESSA

BERSTUDE

NTAS

SESSMEN

TSA

BERCO

UNTR

YRE

PORT

|201

3

SYSTEM

SAP

PROAC

HFO

RBE

TTER

EDUCA

TIONRE

SULTS

42

ASSESSMENTQUALITY

Degree

towhich

theILSA

meetstechnicalqua

litystan

dards,isfair,

andisused

inan

effectiveway.

LATENT

EMERGING

ESTABLISHED

ADVANCED

ASSESSMENTQUALITY1:

Ensuring

thequality

ofILSA

Data

from

the

ILSA

has

not

been

publish

ed.

The

coun

try/system

met

sufficien

tstandardsto

have

itsdata

presen

ted

bene

ath

the

main

display

ofthe

internationalrep

orto

rinan

anne

x.

The

coun

try/system

met

alltechnical

standards

requ

ired

tohave

itsdata

presen

ted

inthe

main

displays

ofthe

internationalrep

ort.

14

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Thecoun

try/system

hasno

tcontrib

uted

newknow

ledgeon

ILSA

.This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Thecoun

try/system

hascontrib

uted

new

know

ledgeon

ILSA

.15

ASSESSMENTQUALITY2:

Ensuring

effectiveusesofILSA

Ifany,

coun

try/system

specific

results

andinform

ationareno

tdissem

inated

inthecoun

try/system

.

Coun

try/system

specific

results

and

inform

ationaredissem

inated

irregularly

inthecoun

try/system

.

Coun

try/system

specific

results

and

inform

ationareregularly

dissem

inated

inthecoun

try/system

.

Coun

try/system

specific

results

and

inform

ation

are

regularly

and

widely

dissem

inated

inthecoun

try/system

.16

Prod

ucts

toprovidefeed

back

toscho

ols

anded

ucatorsabou

tthe

ILSA

results

are

notm

adeavailable.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Prod

ucts

toprovidefeed

back

toscho

ols

anded

ucatorsabou

tthe

ILSA

results

are

sometim

esmadeavailable.

Prod

ucts

toprovidefeed

back

toscho

ols

and

educators

abou

tILSA

results

are

system

aticallymadeavailable.

17

Thereisno

med

iacoverage

oftheILSA

results.

Thereis

limite

dmed

iacoverage

ofthe

ILSA

results.

There

issome

med

iacoverage

ofthe

ILSA

results.

Thereiswidemed

iacoverage

oftheILSA

results.1

8

Ifany,

coun

try/system

specific

results

andinform

ationfrom

theILSA

areno

tused

toinform

decisio

nmakingin

the

coun

try/system

.

Results

from

the

ILSA

are

used

ina

limite

dway

toinform

decisio

nmakingin

thecoun

try/system

.

Results

from

theILSA

areused

insome

waysto

inform

decisio

nmakingin

the

coun

try/system

.

Results

from

the

ILSA

are

used

ina

varie

tyof

ways

toinform

decisio

nmakinginthecoun

try/system

.19

Itis

notclearthat

decisio

nsbasedon

ILSA

results

have

hadapo

sitiveim

pact

onstud

ents'achievemen

tlevels.

20

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

This

optio

ndo

esno

tapply

tothis

dimen

sion.

Decisio

nsbasedon

theILSA

results

have

had

apo

sitive

impact

onstud

ents'

achievem

entlevels.

*

* * * * *

*

UNITED

ARAB

EMIRAT

ESSA

BERSTUDE

NTAS

SESSMEN

TSA

BERCO

UNTR

YRE

PORT

|201

3

SYSTEM

SAP

PROAC

HFO

RBE

TTER

EDUCA

TIONRE

SULTS

43

InternationalLargeScaleAssessment(ILSA)

1.Th

eUnitedArab

Emira

tes(UAE

)has

participated

inthreeILSA

sinthepastfiveyears,includ

ingPIRLSandTIMSS

in20

11,and

PISA

in20

09.

2.At

thetim

eof

data

collection,

theUAE

hadtakenconcrete

step

sto

participatein

severalILSAs

inthene

xtfiveyears,includ

ingPISA

2012

and20

15,T

IMSS

2015

,and

PIRLS20

16.

3.Th

eUAE

Cabine

tautho

rized

theMinisterialCou

ncilforS

ervicesD

ecision

Number(73

/6S/2)

documen

tin20

10to

addressp

articipationinILSA

s.

4.TheMinisterialC

ouncilforService

sDe

cisionNum

ber(73/6S/2)do

cumen

tisno

tavailableto

thepu

blic;h

owever,itisavailableto

strategicpartne

rswho

participateintheim

plem

entatio

nof

theassessmen

texercise

s.

5.Re

gularfun

ding

forILSAs

intheUAE

isapproved

bylaw,decree,or

norm

.

6.Fund

ingcoversallcoreactiv

ities

ofILSA

s,includ

inginternational participationfees,implem

entatio

nof

theassessmen

texercise

,processingandanalyzingdata

from

theim

plem

entatio

nof

theassessmen

texercise

,rep

ortin

ganddissem

inatingassessmen

tresults,and

attend

ance

atinternationalexpertm

eetin

gsforthe

assessmen

texercise

.

7.Re

search

andde

velopm

enta

ctivities

arecoveredby

fund

ingforILSAs.

8.Th

eUAE

hasa

team

andnatio

nalcoo

rdinator

respon

sibleforILSAactiv

ities.

9.Th

enatio

nalcoo

rdinator

forILSAintheUAE

isflu

entinthelanguage

oftheassessmen

t.

10.TheILSA

officeis

adeq

uately

staffedandtraine

dto

carryou

tILSA

seffectively,

with

minim

aliss

ues.

Inadditio

n,team

mem

bers

have

attend

edall

internationalm

eetin

gsrelatedto

theassessmen

tand

have

previous

expe

rienceworking

oninternationalassessm

ents.H

owever,the

rehave

been

someiss

ues

with

thetransla

tionof

theassessmen

tinstrumen

ts;for

exam

ple,

regardingthetransla

tionof

thePISA

questio

ns,g

iven

that

therearestrictguidelines

forthe

numbe

rofw

ords

used

inqu

estio

ns,the

rearesomedifficulties

encoun

teredwhe

ntransla

tingtheoriginalqu

estio

nsfrom

English

toArabic.O

ther

issue

s,such

aserrorsor

delays

intheprintin

gor

layout

ofthetestbo

okletsor

intheadministratio

nof

theassessmen

t,have

notb

eeniden

tified.

11.The

ILSA

team

hasa

tten

dedallinternatio

nalm

eetin

gsrelatedto

theassessmen

t.

12.TheUAE

offers

someop

portun

ities

tolearnabou

tILSA

s,includ

ingworksho

psor

meetin

gson

usinginternationalassessmen

tdatabases,

fund

ingfor

attend

inginternationalw

orksho

psor

training


ents,and

onlinecourseson

internationalassessm

ents.H

owever,o

nlinecoursesareon

lype

riodically

available,andthereareno

standalon

eun

iversitycourseso

rworksho

pson

thetopicof

internationalassessm

ents.

UNITED

ARAB

EMIRAT

ESSA

BERSTUDE

NTAS

SESSMEN

TSA

BERCO

UNTR

YRE

PORT

|201

3

SYSTEM

SAP

PROAC

HFO

RBE

TTER

EDUCA

TIONRE

SULTS

44

13.U

niversity

stud

ents

stud

ying

assessmen

torarelatedarea

andILSA

team

mem

bers

bene

fitfrom

oppo

rtun

ities

tolearnabou

tinternatio

nalassessm

ents

intheUAE

.How

ever,professionalsandun

iversitystaffinterestedinassessmen

tare

nota

bleto

bene

fitfrom

such

oppo

rtun

ities.

14.The

UAE

met

alltechn

icalstandardsreq

uiredto

have

itsdata

presen

tedinthemaindisplays

oftheinternationalrep

ort.

15.Th

eUAE

hascontrib

uted

totheglob

alknow

ledgebase

oninternationalassessmen

tsby

gene

ratin

gne

wknow

ledgeandmakingitavailablethrough

publications

andpresen

tatio

ns.

16.Cou

ntry

specificILSA

results

andinform

ationareregularly

andwidelydissem

inated

intheUAE

.

17.IntheUAE

,produ

ctsp

roviding

feed

back

toscho

olsa

nded

ucatorsa

bout

ILSA

results

aresystem

aticallymadeavailable.

18.Inadditio

nto

ILSA

results

appe

aringon

thefron

tpageof

newspapersor

asthemainstoryon

televisio

nne

ws,thereareed

itoria

lsandcolumns

commen

ting


entresults.

19.R

esultsfrom

ILSA

sareused

toinform

decisio

nmakingby

tracking

theim

pact

ofreform

son

stud

enta

chievemen

tlevels,as

wellasby

inform

ingcurriculum

improvem

ent,teache

rtraining

programs,andothe

rassessm

enta

ctivities

inthesystem

.How

ever,ILSAresults

have

notb

eenused

toinform

resource

allocatio

n.

20.A

tthe

timeof

data

collection,

itwas

notk

nownwhe

ther

decisio

nsbasedon

ILSA

results

have

hadapo

sitiveim

pact

onstud

ents'achievemen

tlevelsin

the

UAE

.



Acknowledgements

This report, part of a 16 country benchmarking exercisein the Middle East & North Africa and Africa regions,was prepared by the World Bank SABER StudentAssessment team, in partnership with the Arab LeagueEducational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization(ALECSO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific,and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which led datacollection efforts. This effort is part of the Arab RegionalAgenda for Improving Education Quality (ARAIEQ), ledby ALECSO in partnership with the World Bank. Itbenefited from feedback and review from ErnestoCuadra, Lead Education Specialist, and Simon Thacker,Education Specialist, in the World Bank’s Middle East &North Africa region, as well as comments receivedduring a national validation workshop held in UAE.

ReferencesClarke, M. 2012. “What Matters Most for StudentAssessment Systems: A Framework Paper.”READ/SABER Working Paper Series. Washington, DC:World Bank.

Ministry of Education, 2010. “The Ministry of EducationStrategy 2010 2020.” Dubai: Government of the UnitedArab Emirates.

Ministry of Education, 2013. “Education in the UAE.”Dubai: Government of the United Arab Emirates. Dataretrieved from www.moe.gov.ae/English/Pages/UAE/UaeEdu.aspx on October 4, 2013.

———. The United Arab Emirates Country IndicatorData. Washington, DC: World Bank. Data retrieved fromhttp://data.worldbank.org/ on October 3, 2013.



The Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) initiativeproduces comparative data and knowledge on education policies andinstitutions, with the aim of helping countries systematically strengthentheir education systems. SABER evaluates the quality of educationpolicies against evidence based global standards, using new diagnostictools and detailed policy data. The SABER country reports give allparties with a stake in educational results—from administrators,teachers, and parents to policymakers and business people—anaccessible, objective snapshot showing how well the policies of theircountry's education system are oriented toward ensuring that allchildren and youth learn.

This report focuses specifically on policies in the area of studentassessment.

This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusionsexpressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or thegovernments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. Theboundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on thepart of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.

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