Dubai:
Dubai’s 10-year-olds reported improved scores in reading, according to results published in a new international assessment study.
The 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) shows pupils in Dubai’s private schools scored overall 527 points — improving 37 average points from their previous performance in 2011.
The PIRLS assessment, which has been running since 2001, involves nine- and 10-year-olds from grade 4 or year 5 completing comprehension tests. It provides internationally comparative data on how well children read by assessing students’ reading achievement in different countries. PIRLS tests follow a five-year cycle.
Fourth graders from private schools in the Dubai scored 539 in ePIRLS 2016 — an assessment of online reading — significantly higher than the international average. More than 7,000 pupils from Dubai participated in the reading tests and they outperformed pupils in France, Belgium and Chile in PIRLS.
The study, which is run by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in Amsterdam, and Boston College, USA, tested more than 319,000 pupils in 50 countries.
The latest results show that 61 per cent of private school students in Dubai scored at and above international average in PIRLS and 62 per cent in ePIRLS.
- Dr Abdullah Al Karam | Director-General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority
Dr Abdullah Al Karam, director-general of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai said: “The success of Dubai’s students reflects our increased emphasis on improving reading skills and raising education standards across schools. Our rise in the global rankings is commendable and it affirms our continued progress to achieve the UAE’s national agenda goals. These results will have a positive impact on our schools, teachers and students as we will continue to work on new initiatives that provide opportunities to collaborate and share successful experiences.”
