Abu Dhabi: Nearly 10,000 schoolchildren from across the emirate of Abu Dhabi will sit for an international test that will assess their maths and science abilities in comparison with their peers worldwide.

The pupils have been selected from 232 public and private schools to sit for the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The tests are administered for pupils enrolled in Grades 4 and 8, and are organised by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). The UAE’s national agenda for education is working towards ensuring that the UAE ranks among the top 15 countries in the scores achieved in TIMSS.

TIMSS aims to measure pupils’ achievements in relation to different curricula types, instructional practices and school environments. In addition to the evaluation, test takers also answer basic questions about their study habits at home and at school.

Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, director-general at the emirate’s education sector regulator, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec), said that the evaluation outcomes would allow educators to examine other systems for best practices.

In a statement sent to Gulf News, Adec officials said that they would also be able to use TIMSS performances to identify areas for improvement.

“In addition, we can obtain valuable information about pupils, such as their homework habits, interest in maths and science, experience with teachers and opinions about the school environment,” the statement added.

There is no fee required to sit for the test, and pupils are chosen by the IEA to represent the demographic make-up of the schooling systems in each country. On February 15, Abu Dhabi pupils at Asian curriculum schools undertook the test, and it is scheduled for March 15 at private schools offering other international curricula. Pupils at public schools, as well as private schools following the Ministry of Education curriculum, will sit for TIMSS on April 26.

This is the second time that Abu Dhabi pupils are participating in the evaluation. In the first assessment conducted in 2011, UAE pupils fared the best among all Arab countries. However, they placed 40th out of the 60 countries that participated in TIMSS.

Further analysis showed that Grade 8 pupils scored higher in maths and science compared to Grade 4 test takers, and that UAE schoolgirls achieved higher scores across the board compared to male learners.

In addition, results for the 8,768 participating Abu Dhabi school pupils were under the required international benchmarks.

Adec officials said at the time that efforts were under way to improve pupils’ performances, especially in light of Abu Dhabi’s growing focus on maths and science education.

As reported by Gulf News last year, teachers and school coordinators have already been trained to administer the TIMSS.

Next year, schoolchildren will also attend another international IEA assessment, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) that measures reading ability. Preparations are therefore under way to ensure the reliability of the study via a field trial.