Abu Dhabi: The annual External Measure of Student Achievement (EMSA) assessments began in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) announced in a statement.
The assessments, which are designed to provide an independent and reliable measure of school level and improvement, will see the participation of 90,000 schoolchildren enrolled from Grades 3 to 11 at Abu Dhabi public schools.
EMSA tests pertain to a number of subjects, including Arabic reading, Arabic writing, English reading, English writing, mathematics for pupils in Grades 3 to 11, and science for pupils in Grades 3 to 9.
All pupils in each grade level undertake the same test and sit for the test under the same conditions.
“The EMSA is intended to provide information for stakeholders at all levels in the education system. This includes Adec policymakers, who can use the results to measure and monitor the achievement of pupils over time and make decisions on curriculum development, as well as school administrators who are able to monitor the improvement of teaching and learning skills in their schools. The scores also inform teachers about pupils’ strengths and weaknesses,” explained Dr Karima Al Mazroui, Adec’s curriculum division manager.
The first cycle of EMSA in Abu Dhabi was administered in November 2008.
