Abu Dhabi schools show steady improvement

Abu Dhabi - Adec's report on the quality of schools finds slow but steady improvement in performance

Private schools in the Capital are on the right track, says a report on the quality of schools made public on Monday by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec).
Private schools across the emirate are evaluated every two years against eight parametres - students' achievement and progress; students' personal development; teaching quality; meeting students' needs through curriculum; protection, care, guidance and support of students; quality of accommodation and facilities; resources that help a school achieve its objectives; and competence of school leadership and management.
The evaluation method follows an eight-point scale of 1-8 (outstanding to poor), which determines the ranking - band A (high performing), band B (satisfactory) and band C (in need of significant improvement).
Edward Murtagh, head of inspection and monitoring division of the council, said: "The performance level of the schools is slow and steady rather than spectacular; but it shows a very promising trend."
Murtagh pointed out that six schools failed to reach band A, Grade 1 outstanding because they performed poorly in Arabic."
The results of the 2013-2015 inspections showed that the number of schools listed as band C dropped to 45 per cent from 66 per cent in the second round (2011-2013); and 72 per cent from the first round of inspections in 2009. Schools listed in band B rose to 42 per cent from 19 per cent.
However, schools in band A went down by two per cent from 15 per cent compared with the earlier inspections. The recent inspections covered 183 private schools, while round two and three covered 146 and 127 respectively.
Despite the improvements, 17 schools remain unsatisfactory and/or poor and have not shown any improvement over the last three inspection cycles and/or over the period of six years.
Hamad Al Dhaheri, executive director of Adec's Private Schools and Quality Assurance sector, said a warning letter has been sent to poor performers.
"We will inspect the poor-performing schools again during the cycle 4 inspections, which starts in September. Adec will not tolerate schools offering low quality education," Al Dhaheri stressed.
According to Adec, around 70 per cent of schools have improved their overall effectiveness grade over the last three inspection cycles.
They include students' achievement and progress (from 32 per cent in cycle 1 to 56 per cent in cycle 3); teaching, learning results and school leadership (from 31 per cent to 57per cent); protection, care, guidance and support of students (from 39 per cent to 81 per cent).
olivia@khaleejtimes.com

Schools assessed
> 2009 - 127
> 2011-2013 - 146
> 2013-2015 - 183
Current ratings
> Band A - 13%
> Band B - 42%
> Band C - 45%