Competitiveness today is no longer a dream for the UAE because the PISA 2009+ results have placed the UAE in the foremost position when compared to the other Arab Countries.

The report presented in your hands provides a detailed analysis of the results and proficiency levels. Our challenge is to make decisions to reset our goals and direct the path of competi-

tiveness from an Arabian level to a Global level.

“Willingness is more powerful than Challenges.”

Assessment Department.

1

The main goals of PISA

PISA seeks to measure how well young adults, at age 15 and therefore near the end of compulsory schooling in most participating education systems, are prepared to use knowledge and skills in particular areas to meet real-life challenges. This is in contrast to assessments that seek to measure the extent to which students have mastered a specific curriculum. PISA’s orientation reflects a change in the goals and objectives of curricula, which increasingly address how well students are able to apply what they learn at school.

As part of the PISA process, students complete an assessment on reading literacy, mathematical literacy and scientific literacy as well as an extensive background questionnaire. School principals complete a survey describing the context of education at their school, including the level of resources in the school, qualifications of staff and teacher morale.

The reporting of the findings from PISA is then able to focus on issues such as:

How well are young adults prepared to meet the challenges of the future?

Can they analyse, reason and communicate their ideas effectively?

What skills do they possess that will facilitate their capacity to adapt to rapid societal change?

Are some ways of organising schools or school learning more effective than others?

What influence does the quality of school resources have on student outcomes?

What educational structures and practices maximise the opportunities of students from disadvantaged backgrounds?

How equitable is the provision of education within a country or across countries?

2

Participants in PISA 2009 and PISA 2009+ Countries

Although PISA was originally created by OECD governments, it has become a major assessment tool in many regions and countries around the world. Since the first PISA assessment in 2000, the number of countries or economic regions that have participated from one PISA cycle to the next has increased. Sixty-five countries participated in PISA 2009 with 34 OECD countries and 31 partner countries/economies (Figure 1.1). In addition, another nine countries or economies participated in PISA 2009+, which took place 12 months after the main PISA 2009 collection

Figure: Countries participating in PISA 2009 and PISA 2009+

Schools

In most countries, 150 schools and 35 students in each school were randomly selected to participate in PISA. In PISA 2009, there were 369 schools in the achieved sample for the UAE. The sample was designed so that schools were selected with a probability proportional to the enrolment of 15-year-olds in each school.

3

59.1

40.9

Number of

SchoolsPercentage of

Schools

Emirates

Abu Dhabi 91 24.7

Dubai 190 51.5

Sharjah 42 11.4

Ajman 15 4.1

Um Al Quwain 3 0.8

Ras Al Khaimah 21 5.7

Fujairah 7 1.9

CurriculumNational - Ministry ofEducation (MoE)

185 50.1

Central Bank of SecondaryEducation (CBSE-Indian)

45 12.2

UK 56 15.2

USA 58 15.7

Other 25 6.8

Type

Public 151 40.9

Private 218 59.1

Total 369 100.0

Number of schools in School Zones Percentage of Schools by School Zone

Percentage of Schools by Educational CurriculumNumber of Schools by Educational Curriculum

Number of Schools by the Education Zone Percentage of Schools by the Education Zone

Abu

DhabiDubai Sharjah Ajman Um Al

QuwainRas Al

KhaimahFujairah

OtherOther USAUSA UKUK (CBSE-Indian)(CBSE-Indian)

Public PublicPrivate Private

MoEMoE

Abu

DhabiDubai Sharjah Ajman Um Al

QuwainRas Al

KhaimahFujairah

151

218

185

45 56 5825

6.8

15.7

15.2

12.2

50.1

91

190

42

153

217

24.7

1.95.70.84.1

11.4

51.5

4

StudentsThe target population for PISA is students who are 15 years old and enrolled at an educational institution, either full- or part-time, at the time of testing. An age-based sample, focusing on students nearing the end of compulsory schooling, was chosen over a grade-based sample because of the complexities of defining an internationally comparable sample based on grade. There are many differences between the countries with regard to the nature of pre-school education and the age at which formal education commences. United Arab Emirates: PISA 2009+ In Summary 5 Internationally, the desired minimum number of students to be assessed per country is 4,500. From each country, a random sample of 35 students is selected with equal probability from each school using a list of all 15-year-old students that is submitted by the school. Almost half-a-million students, representing a worldwide population of 26 million 15-year-old students, took part in PISA 2009. The UAE PISA 2009 sample of 10,867 students, whose results are featured in this report, was drawn from the different emirates and school sectors according to the distributions shown in Table 1.2. It is important to note that the relatively small sample sizes in certain emirates, such as Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah, have implications for the interpretation of their results. Smaller sample sizes are often associated with larger confidence intervals around estimates such as means or percentages, and larger confidence intervals result in limitations in the ability to determine whether these estimates are statistically different from the estimates for other emirates.

Students participating in UAE PISA 2009, by emirate and school type

Abu Dhabi Ajman Dubai Fujairah Ras Al Khaimah Sharjah Umm Al Quwain UAE

Public Schools

Students* 1654 1373 613 260 73 473 130 4576

Students Weighted # 9298 1967 3297 1204 491 2467 719 19443

Private Schools

Students* 1005 4247 667 201 0 130 41 6291

Students Weighted # 6147 7212 3840 1068 0 741 255 19263

Total

Students* 2659 5620 1280 461 73 603 171 10867

Students Weighted # 15445 9179 7137 2272 491 3208 974 38706

* Achieved Sample# Number of students in target population represented by sample

5

Reading literacy performance from an international perspectiveStudents in the UAE achieved a mean score of 431 points on the overall reading literacy scale. Two countries had mean scores that were not signifi cantly different from that of the UAE: Bulgaria (429 score points) and Uruguay (426 score points). Four countries, including Mexico (the lowest performing OECD country) and the three other Middle East and North African (MENA) participants – Jordan, Tunisia and Qatar – performed at a level signifi cantly lower than that of the UAE. All other OECD and partner countries (including the United States, Chinese Taipei and the United Kingdom) performed at a level signifi cantly higher than the UAE.

Table 1 Distribution of mean reading literacy scores, confi dence intervals and variations by country

Country Mean score

SEConfi dence

intervalDifference between

5th – 95th percentiles

Shanghai – China 556 2.4 551 – 561 262

Korea 539 3.5 532 – 546 258

Finland 536 2.3 531 – 540 284

Hong Kong – China 533 2.1 529 – 537 279

Singapore 526 1.1 524 – 528 320

Canada 524 1.5 521 – 527 296

New Zealand 521 2.4 516 – 525 335

Japan 520 3.5 513 – 527 328

Australia 515 2.3 510 – 519 325

Netherlands 508 5.1 498 –518 285

Belgium 506 2.3 501 – 511 330

Norway 503 2.6 498 – 508 301

Estonia 501 2.6 496 – 506 274

Switzerland 501 2.4 496 – 505 308

Poland 500 2.6 495 – 506 293

Iceland 500 1.4 498 – 503 317

United States 500 3.7 493 – 507 317

Liechtenstein 499 2.8 494 – 505 270

Sweden 497 2.9 492 – 503 325

Germany 497 2.7 492 – 503 307

Ireland 496 3.0 490 – 501 309

France 496 3.4 489 – 502 347

Chinese Taipei 495 2.6 490 – 500 284

Denmark 495 2.1 491 – 499 274

United Kingdom 494 2.3 490 – 499 312

Country Mean score

SEConfi dence

intervalDifference between

5th – 95th percentiles

Hungary 494 3.2 488 – 500 300

OECD average 493 0.5 492 – 494 305

Portugal 489 3.1 483 – 495 286

Macao – China 487 0.9 485 – 488 251

Italy 486 1.6 483 – 489 311

Latvia 484 3.0 478 – 490 262

Slovenia 483 1.0 481 – 485 297

Greece 483 4.3 474 – 491 311

Spain 481 2.0 477 – 485 287

Czech Republic 478 2.9 473 – 484 302

Slovak Republic 477 2.5 472 – 482 297

Croatia 476 2.9 470 – 481 284

Luxembourg 472 1.3 470 – 475 342

Austria 470 2.9 465 – 476 326

Lithuania 468 2.4 464 – 473 283

Turkey 464 3.5 457 – 471 270

Russian Federation 459 3.3 453 – 466 298

Chile 449 3.1 443 – 455 274

Serbia 442 2.4 437 – 447 274

UAE 431 2.9 426 – 437 326

Bulgaria 429 6.7 416 – 442 368

Uruguay 426 2.6 421 – 431 327

Mexico 425 2.0 421 – 429 276

Jordan 405 3.3 399 – 411 299

Tunisia 404 2.9 398 – 409 281

Qatar 372 0.8 370 – 373 377

6

Mathematical literacy performance from an international perspectiveStudents from the UAE had a mean score of 421 points on the overall mathematical literacy scale. Six countries had scores that were not signifi cantly different from the UAE: Bulgaria, Romania, Uruguay, Chile, Thailand and Mexico. Students from Jordan, Tunisia and Qatar performed at a signifi cantly lower level than students from the UAE. All other OECD countries and partner countries performed at a signifi cantly higher level than the UAE.

Table 2 Distribution of mean mathematical literacy scores, confi dence intervals and variations by country

Country Mean score

SEConfi dence

intervalDifference between

5th – 95th percentilesShanghai – China 600 (2.8) 595 – 606 336

Singapore 562 (1.4) 559 – 565 342

Hong Kong – China 555 (2.7) 549 – 560 313

Korea 546 (4.0) 538 – 554 292

Chinese Taipei 543 (3.4) 537 – 550 342

Finland 541 (2.2) 536 – 545 270

Liechtenstein 536 (4.1) 528 – 544 286

Switzerland 534 (3.3) 527 – 540 326

Japan 529 (3.3) 522 – 536 308

Canada 527 (1.6) 524 – 530 286

Netherlands 526 (4.7) 517 – 535 287

Macao – China 525 (0.9) 523 – 527 281

New Zealand 519 (2.3) 515 – 524 316

Belgium 515 (2.3) 511 – 520 340

Australia 514 (2.5) 509 – 519 308

Germany 513 (2.9) 507 – 518 319

Estonia 512 (2.6) 508 – 517 265

Iceland 507 (1.4) 504 – 509 300

Denmark 503 (2.6) 498 – 508 286

Slovenia 501 (1.2) 499 – 504 314

Norway 498 (2.4) 493 – 503 283

France 497 (3.1) 491 – 503 331

Slovak Republic 497 (3.1) 491 – 503 311

Austria 496 (2.7) 491 – 501 312

OECD average 496 (0.5) 495 – 497 300

Poland 495 (2.8) 489 – 500 290

Sweden 494 (2.9) 489 – 500 304

Country Mean score

SEConfi dence

intervalDifference between

5th – 95th percentilesCzech Republic 493 (2.8) 487 – 498 308

United Kingdom 492 (2.4) 488 – 497 287

Hungary 490 (3.5) 483 – 497 303

Luxembourg 489 (1.2) 487 – 491 319

United States 487 (3.6) 480 –494 300

Ireland 487 (2.5) 482 – 492 280

Portugal 487 (2.9) 481 – 493 301

Spain 483 (2.1) 479 – 488 298

Italy 483 (1.9) 479 – 487 302

Latvia 482 (3.1) 476 – 488 259

Lithuania 477 (2.6) 471 – 482 290

Russian Federation 468 (3.3) 461 – 474 280

Greece 466 (3.9) 458 – 474 294

Croatia 460 (3.1) 454 – 466 292

Turkey 445 (4.4) 437 – 454 310

Serbia 442 (2.9) 437 – 448 298

Azerbaijan 431 (2.8) 426 – 436 207

Bulgaria 428 (5.9) 417 – 440 324

Romania 427 (3.4) 420 – 434 260

Uruguay 427 (2.6) 422 – 432 300

UAE 421 (2.5) 416 – 426 303

Chile 421 (3.1) 415 – 427 266

Thailand 419 (3.2) 412 – 425 259

Mexico 419 (1.8) 415 – 422 259

Jordan 387 (3.7) 379 – 394 271

Tunisia 371 (3.0) 366 – 377 252

Qatar 368 (0.7) 367 – 369 329

7

Scientifi c literacy performance from an international perspectiveStudents in the UAE achieved a mean score of 438 points on the scientifi c literacy scale. Two countries – Serbia (443) and Bulgaria (439) – had mean scores that were not signifi cantly different to that of the UAE. Seven countries performed signifi cantly lower than the UAE: Romania (428 score points), Uruguay (427 score points), Thailand (425 score points), Mexico (416 score points), Jordan (415 score points), Tunisia (401 score points) and Qatar (379 score points). All other countries listed in Table 6.2 performed at a level signifi cantly higher than the UAE.

Table 3 Distribution of mean scientifi c literacy scores, confi dence intervals and variations by country

Country Mean score

SEConfi dence

intervalDifference between

5th – 95th percentiles

Denmark 499 2.5 494 – 504 302

France 498 3.6 491 – 505 339

Iceland 496 1.4 493 – 498 317

Sweden 495 2.7 490 – 500 327

Austria 494 3.2 488 – 501 332

Latvia 494 3.1 488 – 500 254

Portugal 493 2.9 487 – 499 273

Lithuania 491 2.9 486 – 497 280

Slovak Republic 490 3.0 484 – 496 308

Italy 489 1.8 485 – 492 314

Spain 488 2.1 484 – 492 286

Croatia 486 2.8 481 – 492 276

Luxembourg 484 1.2 482 – 486 342

Russian Federation 478 3.3 472 – 485 297

Greece 470 4.0 462 – 478 298

Turkey 454 3.6 447 – 461 265

Chile 447 2.9 442 – 453 268

Serbia 443 2.4 438 – 447 277

Bulgaria 439 5.9 428 – 451 344

UAE 438 2.6 433 – 443 310

Romania 428 3.4 422 – 435 257

Uruguay 427 2.6 422 – 432 316

Thailand 425 3.0 419 – 431 262

Mexico 416 1.8 412 – 419 254

Jordan 415 3.5 408 – 422 292

Tunisia 401 2.7 395 – 406 267

Qatar 379 0.9 378 – 381 344

Country Mean score

SEConfi dence

intervalDifference between

5th – 95th percentiles

Shanghai – China 575 2.3 570 – 579 270

Finland 554 2.3 550 – 559 294

Hong Kong – China 549 2.8 544 – 554 287

Singapore 542 1.4 539 – 544 342

Japan 539 3.4 533 – 546 325

Korea 538 3.4 531 – 545 266

New Zealand 532 2.6 527 – 537 349

Canada 529 1.6 526 – 532 292

Estonia 528 2.7 523 – 533 277

Australia 527 2.5 522 – 532 333

Netherlands 522 5.4 512 – 533 311

Chinese Taipei 520 2.6 515 – 526 284

Germany 520 2.8 515 – 526 330

Liechtenstein 520 3.4 513 – 527 286

Switzerland 517 2.8 511 – 522 314

United Kingdom 514 2.5 509 – 519 324

Slovenia 512 1.1 510 – 514 306

Macao – China 511 1.0 509 – 513 251

Poland 508 2.4 503 – 513 286

Ireland 508 3.3 502 – 514 315

Belgium 507 2.5 502 – 512 340

Hungary 503 3.1 496 – 509 288

United States 502 3.6 495 – 509 321

OECD average 501 0.5 500 – 502 308

Czech Republic 500 3.0 495 – 506 318

Norway 500 2.6 495 – 505 298

8

UAE Achievement in the Middle East context

Three other Arab States, Jordan, Tunisia and Qatar participated in PISA 2009. This section provides an overview of performance of UAE stu-dents relative to the Middle East region and compares it with the OECD average in Reading, Mathematics and Science.

Reading Literacy

Students in the UAE achieved a mean score of 431 points on the overall reading literacy scale. Two countries had mean scores that were not significantly different from that of the UAE: Bulgaria (429 score points) and Uruguay (426 score points). The three other Middle East and North African (MENA) participants – Jordan, Tunisia and Qatar – performed at a level significantly lower than that of the UAE. All other OECD and partner countries (including the United States, Chinese Taipei and the United Kingdom) performed at a level significantly higher than the UAE.

9

Mathematical Literacy

Students from the UAE had a mean score of 421 points on the overall mathematical literacy scale. Six countries had scores that were not significantly different from the UAE: Bulgaria, Romania, Uruguay, Chile, Thailand and Mexico. Students from Jordan, Tunisia and Qatar performed at a significantly lower level than students from the UAE. All other OECD countries and partner countries performed at a signifi-cantly higher level than the UAE.

10

Scientific Literacy

Students in the UAE achieved a mean score of 438 points on the scientific literacy scale. Two countries – Serbia (443) and Bulgaria (439) – had mean scores that were not significantly different to that of the UAE. Seven countries performed significantly lower than the UAE: Romania (428 score points), Uruguay (427 score points), Thailand (425 score points), Mexico (416 score points), Jordan (415 score points), Tunisia (401 score points) and Qatar (379 score points).

11

READING INDEX SCORES FOR UAE STUDENTS

Enjoyment of Reading Index scores for selected countries, with gender difference:

CountryAll Students Females Males Difference

Mean Index SE Mean Index SE Mean Index SE Mean Index SE

UAE 0.3 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.0

OECD average 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 -0.3 0.0 0.6 0.0

On average, UAE students’ rating of enjoyment of reading was higher than the average for OECD countries

Percentage of students who read for enjoyment

UAE 75 0.6 81 0.9 68 0٫9 13 0

OECED avergage 63 0.1 73 0.2 52 0.2 21 0.2Three-quarters of students in the UAE indicated that they read for their own enjoyment for at least 30 minutes a day which was a slightly higher proportion than on average across OECD countries.

Diversity of Reading Index scores for selected countries, with gender difference

UAE 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.2 0.0

OECD average 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.2 0.0

Overall, students in the UAE recorded higher mean scores on the Diversity of Reading Index than the OECD countries.

Memorization Strategies Index scores for selected countries, with gender difference:

UAE 0.6 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.2 0.0

OECD average 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.2 0.0

Greater proportions of students responded often or almost always to ‘I try to memorize as many details as possible’ than to ‘I try to memorize everything that is covered in the text’ or ‘I read the text over and over again’.

12

Control Strategies Index scores for selected countries, with gender difference

CountryAll Students Females Males Difference

Mean Index SE Mean Index SE Mean Index SE Mean Index SE

UAE 0.5 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.3 0.0

OECD average 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.3 0.0

Overall, greater proportions of students reported ‘checking to see if I understand’ or ‘making sure to remember the most important parts’ than ‘looking for additional information’ or ‘figuring out which concepts I haven’t understood’

Understanding and Remembering Index scores for selected countries, with gender difference

UAE -0.2 0.0 -0.1 0.0 -0.3 0.0 0.2 0.0

OECD average 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.3 0.0

Students in the UAE, scored lower than the OECD average on the Understanding and Remembering Index.

Understanding and Remembering Index scores, with gender difference

UAE -0.2 0.0 -0.1 0.0 -0.3 0.0 0.2 0.0

OECD average 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.3 0.0 An average score higher than OECD average.

* Elaboration Strategies: Techniques that involve students trying to understand material better by relating it to things they already know.* Control Strategies: The plans students say they use to ensure they reach their learning goals.

13

Significant highlights of UAE results on PISA 2009+

The UAE scored the highest score amongst all the Arab participating countries.

The gender gap in the United Arab Emirates was the third largest across all participating countries. Young females outscored their male counterparts

The United Arab Emirates was one of only three participating countries or economies in which female students outperformed males.

Three-quarters of students in the UAE indicated that they read for their own enjoyment for at least 30 minutes a day, which was a slightly higher proportion than on average across OECD countries.

According to scores on this index, schools in the UAE are less hindered by shortages or inadequacies in material resources (0.20) than the OECD average (0.04) and are also more equipped with resources than schools in Jordan and Tunisia.

Students in private schools in the UAE scored at a significantly higher level than students in public schools.

Females scored higher than males in Reading and the Scientific Literacy in all countries in PISA 2009, while in some countries males performed better than females and other countries females performed better in Mathematical Literacy.

The students from UAE spent significantly more learning time in classroom than the other four participating Arab countries.

The achievement results in reading, mathematics and science show that students in the UAE are better prepared than those in other participating MENA countries to participate in 21st century life.

For the overall scores for the UAE to improve over the next few cycles of PISA, particular attention needs to be paid to the public schools that are attended by 41 per cent of students across the UAE.