DSIB School Inspection Key Findings 2015-2016
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DSIB School Inspection Key Findings 2015-2016 DSIB School Inspection Key Findings 2015-2016 © 2016 Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Dubai, UAE. All rights reserved. In the interests of enhancing the value of the information contained in this report, you may download, print, reproduce and distribute any material contained in the report so long as KHDA is acknowledged as the source. 4 DSIB School Inspection Key Findings 2015-2016 Dubai private schools at a glance 173 Total number of private schools 05 Percentage of Dubai students educated 90% in private schools Number of students in the 265,299 05 173 schools Number of Emirati students in the 31,736 173 schools 16,252 Number of teachers in all 173 schools Number of schools inspected 149 this academic year 253,319 Number of students in the 149 inspected schools Number of schools inspected for the first 8 time this academic year 24 Schools not yet inspected DSIB School Inspection 5 Key Findings 2015-2016 Improving outcomes for Dubai’s students This report provides an overview of the educational performance and standards of the 149 private schools in Dubai that were inspected during the 2015-2016 school inspection cycle by the Dubai School Inspections Bureau (DSIB). It presents a very positive picture in which 28 schools improved their overall rating, with five declining. As a result of this improvement, 61% of students are now in schools that offer a good or better quality of education, as compared to 30% in 2008-2009. This year, DSIB inspected schools using the UAE School Inspection Framework 2015-2016. This framework is based on comprehensive performance standards that define the essential aspects of a quality education. Some of the changes in this framework include the addition of a ‘very good’ level to the four quality descriptors that had been used until last year. It is very encouraging to know that 12 schools have improved their overall judgements from ‘good’ to ‘very good’ this year. We are now at a critical point in the journey towards meeting the UAE National Agenda goals, with less than five years left to achieve them. At the start of this academic year, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) introduced the UAE National Agenda Parameter, which is a method to help schools measure and monitor their progress towards achieving their individual UAE National Agenda targets. It required all private schools to participate in international and external benchmarking assessments, in addition to TIMSS and PISA, on an annual basis. This report highlights the level of participation in this requirement and the extent of schools’ readiness to work towards these targets. The report compares the performance and improvement of schools grouped according to the curricula they offer. It explores how improvements in governance, leadership and self-evaluation have had a significant impact on the overall quality of education. The improvement in the quality of education experienced by students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is also highlighted in this report. The journey of improvement continues for all schools. DSIB remains committed to work alongside all stakeholders to improve further the quality of private education in Dubai, and meet the high aspirations of the United Arab Emirates. 6 DSIB School Inspection Key Findings 2015-2016 Overall performance and improvement During the 2015-2016 academic year, 149 private schools in Dubai were inspected. These schools were responsible for educating 253,319 2015 -16 154,173 61% students, from Kindergarten to Grade 12. This is students good or better an increase of 40 schools and 119,888 students since private schools were first inspected by the DSIB in 2008-2009. During this period of rapid growth, there has been constant renewal of the populations of students, teachers and leaders. 2014 -15 129,999 53% students good or better This year, 61% of students attending inspected schools are in schools that provide a good or better quality of education. This represents a significant improvement since the last inspection cycle, and when compared with the findings of 2008 -09 34,285 30% DSIB’s first year of inspections in 2008-2009 (see students good or better chart on the right). DSIB School Inspection 7 Key Findings 2015-2016 schools improved their 11% overall performance between 2014-2015 of students attend outstanding schools, representing 29,196 28 and 2015-2016 16 Schools students. 14% of students attend very good schools, representing 34,838 13 Schools students. 3 schools from ‘good’ to ‘outstanding’ 12 schools from ‘good’ to ‘very good’ 36% 10 schools from ‘acceptable’ to ‘good’ of students attend good 3 schools from ‘weak’ to ‘acceptable’ 57 Schools schools, representing 90,139 students. 35% 1 school from ‘outstanding’ to ‘very good’ of students attend acceptable 56 Schools schools, representing 88,522 1 school from ‘good’ to ‘acceptable’ students. 3 schools from ‘acceptable’ to ‘weak’ 4% of students attend weak schools, 7 Schools representing 10,624 students. schools declined in their overall performance no students attend very weak between 2014-2015 schools. 0 Schools 5 and 2015-2016 8 DSIB School Inspection Key Findings 2015-2016 Dubai private schools in 2015-2016 by curriculum The range of curricula offered by Dubai private schools has been widening year after year. Parents are now able to consider any of the 17 different curricula for their children’s education. This diversity of offering is reflective of the growing ethnic and philosophical diversity within Dubai’s population. French Canadian 5 schools Russian 1 school 1 school UK 65 schools German 1 school Japanese US 1 school 31 schools Philippine 2 schools Indian 32 schools International Baccalaureate 11 MoE Pakistani 11 schools Others 4 Iranian 2 schools 6 schools The performance of the different curriculum schools inspected this year shows a distinctive pattern. The majority of students attending schools that have adopted a French, IB, UK or Indian curriculum are in schools judged to be good or better overall. Proportion of students in different curriculum schools according to the overall inspection rating 2,293 9,478 13,261 3,855 2,956 2,048 2,116 16,518 17,701 17,167 1,153 26,148 11,622 25,205 10,701 11,890 23,906 2,384 20,912 20,161 4,223 971 4,375 1,330 696 249 UK Indian US Other MOE IB French Schools: 50 29 29 15 11 10 5 Students: 75,794 77,431 48,123 16,807 14,353 14,909 5,902 Outstanding Very Good Good Acceptable Weak DSIB School Inspection 9 Key Findings 2015-2016 Focus on improving US curriculum schools Over 48,000 students, or 18% of all students currently attending Dubai private schools, are in US curriculum schools. Out of these, 20,383 (or 42%) are Emirati students. The chart on the previous page indicates that over 4,000 students following the US curriculum are in schools that have been judged as weak. US curriculum schools have made the least improvement since inspections started eight years ago. This year, four out of the five schools that have declined in their overall judgements are US curriculum schools. In order to ensure US schools offer valid, state-aligned curricula, KHDA has put into effect a series of expectations, central to which is accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). In order to facilitate this process, KHDA partnered with NEASC to offer US curriculum schools the possibility of synchronised inspection/accreditation visits. During the 2015-2016 inspection cycle, eleven schools were in different phases of the NEASC accreditation process through these synchronised visits. All but one US curriculum school in Dubai has begun the journey toward accreditation. US curriculum schools are also expected to align their standards and assessments with a recognised US state curriculum. This expectation, together with the demands set by National Agenda Parameter requirements, is helping ensure that assessment information in many US curriculum schools is becoming more valid and reliable. New schools inspected Twenty-six new schools have started operating in the past three years, eight of which were inspected for the first time this academic year. Four of these schools were rated as ‘good’ overall and four as ‘acceptable’ overall. Inspection findings indicate that schools that are rated as good during their first inspection are more likely to have developed: • strong, well-distributed leadership, underpinned by a clear strategic direction and supported by effective governance • effective self-evaluation and improvement planning, particularly in the evaluation of teaching and student progress • an unrelenting focus on improving students’ attainment, progress and learning skills by ensuring consistently good or better teaching and accurate assessment. 10 DSIB School Inspection Key Findings 2015-2016 Summary of significant changes since 2008-2009 2008-09 2014-15 Good or better progress in key subjects 72% 2015-16 69% 69% 70% 64%65% Good or better curriculum design 59% Good or better care and support 55% and implementation 44% 44% 46% 47% 38% 29% 27% 32% 62% 68% 42% 65% 69% Arabic Islamic Education Mathematics English Science 2008-09 2014-15 2015-16 2008-09 2014-15 2015-16 Good or better learing skills Good or better leadership 41% 60% 67% Dubai private schools have been 46% 60% 64% showing steady improvements 2008-09 2014-15 2015-16 in almost all performance 2008-09 2014-15 2015-16 standards and indicators, in spite Good or better social responsibility Good or better self-evaluation and