Sharjah: The Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA) has honoured 35 private schools for their outstanding performance in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as part of the ‘Sharjah: A Model Emirate for International Tests’ initiative.
The top-performing schools included nine British schools, seven Indian schools, one Australian school and one offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum.
These schools, which use six alternative curricula, outperformed worldwide benchmarks established by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the key areas of reading, mathematics and science.
Eighteen schools outperformed the OECD international average in the five PISA assessment areas: Reading, mathematics, science, financial literacy and creative thinking. In four areas, three schools met or exceeded the global average: Two in three, four in two, and eight in one.
Every three years, PISA assesses students’ ability to apply knowledge in real-world scenarios across a variety of courses. In the 2022 edition, 95 schools and 4,052 Sharjah students took part, displaying their dedication to meeting excellent educational standards.
Dr Muhadditha Al Hashimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA), commended the schools on their accomplishments, stating that the results are consistent with the UAE’s national agenda and the Sharjah initiative for international and national testing.
She underlined that the schools’ success is a result of SPEA and private school collaboration in raising education standards and student skills to meet worldwide benchmarks. She also stated that the authority remains committed to achieving future success.
During her address, Dr Al Hashimi stated, “Our commitment to honouring excellence stems from the principles instilled by His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.”
She also stated that private schools in Sharjah have made substantial progress in PISA, an international examination that assesses students’ development of vital skills for engaging with society. She proudly stated that 18 schools scored higher than the OECD average in reading, mathematics, and science, demonstrating the quality of education not only in Sharjah but throughout the UAE.
Dr Al Hashimi also stated that SPEA’s participation in PISA is part of its ongoing efforts to increase global competitiveness and educational quality in the emirate. This entails compiling a comprehensive record of student performance in core areas and comparing it to peers around the world.
The ceremony revealed the PISA 2022 results, which showed that 23 schools achieved scores at or above the global average in science and mathematics, 24 in reading, 22 in creative thinking, and 25 in financial literacy.
Notably, some Sharjah schools outperformed the world’s leading nations. One school received a reading score of 551, topping Singapore’s top score of 543, and another received a financial literacy score of 608, outperforming Belgium’s top score of 527 by 81 points.
The ceremony also marked the introduction of a new project called ‘Leaders of Science’, which aims to improve students’ research and investigative skills, training them to become future scientific leaders.
