Students at top Dubai schools are best performers in maths and science, study shows

DUBAI // Schools rated “outstanding” and “good” have proved themselves in an international ratings system, says Dubai’s education regulator.

The findings of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (Timss) are in line with those of Dubai school inspections, according to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority.

“We have seen students from ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ schools perform better than other students in Dubai,” said Rabaa Al Sumaiti, the authority’s executive director of international assessments. “Students in acceptable schools were found to be performing near the international average score of 500, and weaker performing schools were seen performing below average.”

The Timss assessment, held every four years, measures Grade 4 and 8 pupils’ performance in the core mathematics and science subjects.

In the most recent assessment, held last year, schools in more than 60 countries took part, including more than 13,000 pupils in Dubai.

Those in outstanding and good schools scored above the international average in Grades 4 and 8, and their scores ranged between 540 and 593.

The results of last year’s tests showed that more than 60 per cent of pupils in “outstanding” schools were performing at Timss’s high or advanced levels.

More than 45 per cent of pupils at “good” schools performed at the high or the advanced levels, according to the authority.

Between 2008 and last year, the authority’s inspectors were evaluating pupils by using seven quality indicators and a four-point scale (outstanding, good, acceptable, and unsatisfactory).

Inspectors judged schools on the quality of students’ achievements in key subjects such as mathematics and science.

Private schools in Dubai took part in Timss for the first time in 2007. Data from international assessments have been used to monitor the quality of the education in the UAE.