Dubai Student Maths, Science Progress Below Global Average
Is Dubai a good place to educate your child? Comparing academic performance with peers internationally is no easy feat, but international assessment in mathematics and science show students in the emirate still falling below global averages.
In results released on Tuesday by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), a total of 12,000, students from both private and public schools, participated in the 2011 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessment.
TIMSS is an international test of grade 4 and grade 8 students in maths and science that takes place every four years. Compared to TIMSS 2007, Dubai students managed to increase their overall score in math with Grade 4 students scoring 468, a 24-point increase, while Grade 8 students scored 478, which marks a 17-point increase compared to the 2007 score. A score of 500 is the global average...
In the science assessment test, students in Grade 4 only improved their showing from 460 to 461 but Grade 8 students performance fell by 4 points, from 489 to 485.As for curriculums, schools with IB and UK curriculum seemed to score the highest and achieved scores above TIMSS international average score.
Schools following the Pakistani curriculum scored the lowest.
Despite an overall increase in TIMSS score, Dubai still remains below the international average of 500.
Dubai students also participated in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) for the first time which assesses Grade 4 reading literacy skills.
Dubai achieved the highest score in the region with an average of 476 points, still falling below the international average by 24 points.
Students attending IB and UK schools also scored the highest in PIRLS and achieved scores that are above PIRLS international average. Pakistani curriculum students again achieved the lowest.
The majority of Emirati students enrolled in private and public Ministry of Education (MoE) curriculum schools scored lower than their expatriate counterparts. Emirati students enrolled in UK curriculum schools, however, achieved greater scores than those attending MoE schools.
Across all curriculum types, female Emirati students were found to outperform Emirati male students in all but Grade 4 mathematics at Private MoE schools.
