National Agenda judgements across Dubai schools, 2015–16 to 2024–25
KHDA's judgement of how far each school is on track for the UAE National Agenda targets in international tests, year by year: 140 schools judged in 2023–24.
Year 2024–25, Year 5 (Grade 4), fees as charged
The UAE National Agenda sets targets for students' results in international tests: PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS. Each inspection report judges how far the school is on track for them.
Overall National Agenda judgement, whole school, by year
| Year | Judgements | Schools judged | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Above expectations 9Meets expectations 16Not secure 7Below expectations 1 | 33 | 76%At or above expectations: 25 of 33 |
| 2016–17 | Above expectations 3Meets expectations 69Not secure 23 | 95 | 76%At or above expectations: 72 of 95 |
| 2017–18 | Above expectations 38Meets expectations 66Not secure 5Below expectations 31 | 140 | 74%At or above expectations: 104 of 140 |
| 2018–19 | Above expectations 44Meets expectations 51Approaching expectations 32Below expectations 12 | 139 | 68%At or above expectations: 95 of 139 |
| 2019–20 | Above expectations 21Meets expectations 38Approaching expectations 33Below expectations 4 | 96 | 61%At or above expectations: 59 of 96 |
| 2020–21 | No inspections | ||
| 2021–22 | No National Agenda judgement was read from this year's reports | ||
| 2022–23 | Above expectations 42Meets expectations 58Approaching expectations 30Below expectations 6 | 136 | 74%At or above expectations: 100 of 136 |
| 2023–24 | Outstanding 16Very good 46Good 44Acceptable 29Weak 5 | 140 | 76%Good or better: 106 of 140 |
| 2024–25 | Inspections paused · 4 schools | ||
2023–24, aspect by aspect
2023–24, aspect by aspectSince 2023-24 KHDA judges the National Agenda on its six levels, aspect by aspect, and apart for Emirati students where a school has them. «Not applicable» is counted apart and not in the share.
| Aspect | Judgements | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Overall school standards in the National Agenda Parameter | Outstanding 16Very good 46Good 44Acceptable 29Weak 5 | 76%Good or better: 106 of 140 |
| International and benchmark achievement2 not applicable | Outstanding 59Very good 55Good 37Acceptable 16Weak 15Very weak 1 | 83%Good or better: 151 of 183 |
| Teaching and learning: improving reading literacy | Outstanding 9Very good 41Good 61Acceptable 59Weak 14Very weak 1 | 60%Good or better: 111 of 185 |
| Leadership: international and Emirati achievement | Outstanding 22Very good 52Good 50Acceptable 41Weak 4 | 73%Good or better: 124 of 169 |
| International and benchmark achievement, Emirati students69 not applicable | Outstanding 6Very good 26Good 35Acceptable 26Weak 23 | 58%Good or better: 67 of 116 |
| Reading literacy, Emirati students62 not applicable | Outstanding 4Very good 19Good 43Acceptable 47Weak 9 | 54%Good or better: 66 of 122 |
The tests the reports speak of
The tests the reports speak ofSchools whose report mentions each test in its National Agenda section, and their share of the year's reports.
| Test | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International studies | |||||||
| PISA | PISA, 2015–16: 3 of 125 reports | PISA, 2016–17: 4 of 119 reports | PISA, 2017–18: 7 of 150 reports | PISA, 2018–19: 92 of 152 reports | PISA, 2019–20: 60 of 101 reports | PISA, 2022–23: 99 of 181 reports | PISA, 2023–24: 2 of 187 reports |
| TIMSS | TIMSS, 2015–16: 8 of 125 reports | TIMSS, 2016–17: 9 of 119 reports | TIMSS, 2017–18: 6 of 150 reports | TIMSS, 2018–19: 116 of 152 reports | TIMSS, 2019–20: 71 of 101 reports | TIMSS, 2022–23: 146 of 181 reports | TIMSS, 2023–24: 2 of 187 reports |
| PIRLS | PIRLS, 2015–16: 0 of 125 reports | PIRLS, 2016–17: 0 of 119 reports | PIRLS, 2017–18: 0 of 150 reports | PIRLS, 2018–19: 35 of 152 reports | PIRLS, 2019–20: 34 of 101 reports | PIRLS, 2022–23: 5 of 181 reports | PIRLS, 2023–24: 171 of 187 reports |
| Benchmark tests a school chooses | |||||||
| CAT4 (cognitive abilities) | CAT4 (cognitive abilities), 2015–16: 0 of 125 reports | CAT4 (cognitive abilities), 2016–17: 29 of 119 reports | CAT4 (cognitive abilities), 2017–18: 68 of 150 reports | CAT4 (cognitive abilities), 2018–19: 88 of 152 reports | CAT4 (cognitive abilities), 2019–20: 52 of 101 reports | CAT4 (cognitive abilities), 2022–23: 7 of 181 reports | CAT4 (cognitive abilities), 2023–24: 0 of 187 reports |
| GL benchmark tests | GL benchmark tests, 2015–16: 3 of 125 reports | GL benchmark tests, 2016–17: 9 of 119 reports | GL benchmark tests, 2017–18: 3 of 150 reports | GL benchmark tests, 2018–19: 29 of 152 reports | GL benchmark tests, 2019–20: 12 of 101 reports | GL benchmark tests, 2022–23: 41 of 181 reports | GL benchmark tests, 2023–24: 12 of 187 reports |
| MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) | MAP (Measures of Academic Progress), 2015–16: 2 of 125 reports | MAP (Measures of Academic Progress), 2016–17: 18 of 119 reports | MAP (Measures of Academic Progress), 2017–18: 14 of 150 reports | MAP (Measures of Academic Progress), 2018–19: 19 of 152 reports | MAP (Measures of Academic Progress), 2019–20: 12 of 101 reports | MAP (Measures of Academic Progress), 2022–23: 21 of 181 reports | MAP (Measures of Academic Progress), 2023–24: 22 of 187 reports |
| ACER International Benchmark Tests | ACER International Benchmark Tests, 2015–16: 8 of 125 reports | ACER International Benchmark Tests, 2016–17: 20 of 119 reports | ACER International Benchmark Tests, 2017–18: 8 of 150 reports | ACER International Benchmark Tests, 2018–19: 7 of 152 reports | ACER International Benchmark Tests, 2019–20: 5 of 101 reports | ACER International Benchmark Tests, 2022–23: 2 of 181 reports | ACER International Benchmark Tests, 2023–24: 3 of 187 reports |
| New Group Reading Test (NGRT) | New Group Reading Test (NGRT), 2015–16: 0 of 125 reports | New Group Reading Test (NGRT), 2016–17: 0 of 119 reports | New Group Reading Test (NGRT), 2017–18: 0 of 150 reports | New Group Reading Test (NGRT), 2018–19: 0 of 152 reports | New Group Reading Test (NGRT), 2019–20: 0 of 101 reports | New Group Reading Test (NGRT), 2022–23: 20 of 181 reports | New Group Reading Test (NGRT), 2023–24: 30 of 187 reports |
| Reports read | 125 | 119 | 150 | 152 | 101 | 181 | 187 |
How this is worked out
A report may give the school's score in a test, or only say that the school uses it; either is counted, so a cell is the reports that mention the test, not the schools that sat it. PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS are sat by the UAE in cycles, so a year counts the reports that speak of the latest cycle. Whether a school met its targets is KHDA's own verdict in the table above.
Source
KHDA Full Inspection Reports, the National Agenda section, 2015–16 to 2023–24.
No reports in 2020–21, 2021–22: KHDA did not inspect.
Too few reports to count: 2024–25 (4), 2025–26 (5).
How this is worked out
KHDA changed the words three times: «as expected» or «not secure» in 2015-16 and 2016-17; above, meets, approaching or below expectations to 2022-23; and the six levels from 2023-24. Each year is shown in its own words, never mapped onto another year's. A verdict written as a sentence rather than one of the words is not counted.
Source
KHDA Full Inspection Reports, the National Agenda section, 2015–16 to 2024–25.