Dubai private school pupils now rank among world’s best in Maths and Science

Dubai: Dubai private school students have scored amongst the top 10 in the latest Maths and Science international standardised tests under Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).

TIMSS, held every four years, shows how well students perform in grades four and eight in Maths and Science, with 500 points as the centre-point of that scale on which countries can compare their performance. Results from the latest TIMSS, taken in 2019, were announced recently.

The 2019 results show Dubai private school students made it to the top 10 in all categories (grade four Maths, grade eight Maths, grade four Science and grade eight Science). It also means they have met the UAE National Agenda’s TIMSS targets to place in the top 15 by 2021. “Dubai’s private school students have made amazing progress since Dubai first took part in the TIMSS international test in 2007. They’ve improved an additional 98 points in Grade 4 Maths; 70 points in Grade 8 Maths, 79 points in Grade 4 Science & 60 points in Grade 8 Science,” Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) tweeted on Saturday.

How Dubai ranked

Earlier, on Thursday, Dubai Media Office had announced that Dubai private schools’ highest placing came in Grade 8 Science, for which they ranked fifth among participating countries and regions. In Grade 4 Science, they were placed eight. Dubai private schools scored seventh overall in Grade 8 Maths, and 10th in Grade 4 Maths. KHDA director-general Dr Abdulla Al Karam said: “Six years ago, the leadership of the UAE announced ambitious National Agenda targets for Dubai private schools. Our education community has never backed away from a challenge. Ever since Dubai first participated in the TIMSS cycle in 2007, schools have made consistent and significant improvement. What started out as an ambitious target soon became a reality.”

Students attending Indian-curriculum schools scored highest in Grades 4 and 8 Science and Grade 8 Maths, scoring 568, 598 and 580 respectively, while students at UK-curriculum schools were placed highest in Grade 4 Maths, with 565 points.

Singapore was again number one in every category, retaining its top spot across the board since 2015. Involving more than 72 countries and regions and 580,000 students, TIMSS 2019 is one of the world’s most influential global assessments of student achievement in maths and science. A total of 7,265 Grade 4 students from 199 Dubai private schools and 5,728 Grade 8 students from 163 schools across various curricula participated in the digital version of TIMSS in 2019. This was Dubai’s fourth consecutive participation in TIMSS, the first time being the 2007 cycle.

UAE’s overall performance

The results of the TIMSS 2019 study also revealed that overall, UAE’s fourth-grade students advanced from TIMSS 2015 by 29 points in Maths (scoring 481) and 22 points in Science (scoring 473), reported WAM on Wednesday. Eighth-grade students improved in Maths by eight points (scoring 473), with a slight decrease of four points in Science (scoring 473). These overall results are below the 500-point TIMSS average.

More than 48,000 students from about 700 public and private schools across UAE participated in the 2019 study, WAM had reported. Under the directive of the Education and Human Resources Council, the Ministry of Education was determined to involve all public schools in this international study. When compared to all other countries taking part, the number of UAE’s students who participated was the largest in the world.

Since its first participation in TIMSS in 2011, the UAE has made “remarkable progress” with a steady improvement in the national averages, WAM had reported. The Ministry of Education is working in cooperation with partners to achieve the goals of the National Agenda 2021, which aims for the UAE to be among the top 15 countries in the world in this study.

TIMSS has been administered every four years since 1995, and is sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in Amsterdam.