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90,000 students sit for assessment test

Over 90,000 students sat for the annual External Measure of Student Achievement (EMSA) examination here on Sunday.

The EMSA is a standardised assessment programme designed to measure student achievement in all Abu Dhabi public schools in Arabic reading, Arabic writing, English reading, English writing, Mathematics (Grades 3-11) and Science (Grades 3-9).

The programme provides an independent and reliable measure of school- and system-level improvement. The EMSA assessments are developed, scored and analysed by a third party provider.

“The EMSA programme is intended to... measure and monitor the achievement of students over time,” said Dr Karima Al Mazroui, Curriculum Division manager at the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec).

Last year’s EMSA results showed that public school students had made remarkable improvements in Arabic, English, Mathematics and Science subjects compared to previous years.

In Cycle 2 (Grades 6-9), the overall levels of improvement in reading and writing had been significant compared to the previous three years, according to the Adec report.

In English literacy, scores in writing were particularly high across all grades. In higher grades, students showed capability in grammar, comprehension and English writing.

Cycle 2 and Cycle 3 (Grades 10-12) students had made considerable improvement in Mathematics while Science assessment (Grades 3 to 9) had showed a consistent improvement since 2009.

Grades 3 to 11 sit for the EMSA programme at the end of Trimester 2 with EMSA scores contributing ten per cent of the student’s final grade in each subject. The EMSA is conducted with Grade 12 students early in Trimester 3 and does not contribute to any final grade.

The EMSA is one of the indicators the Adec uses to ensure provision of quality teaching and learning. Student achievements in different curriculum strands assist teachers and administrators in identifying areas of strength and weakness.

olivia@khaleejtimes.com