UAE Ministry of Education schools begin formative assessments

Abu Dhabi: Schools across the country—both public and private institutions following the Ministry of Education’s curriculum—have begun implementing formative assessments for the second semester of the current academic year.

These assessments, targeting students in Grades 5 through 12, will continue until February 12, in accordance with the timelines set by each school.

The assessments will focus on nine core subjects: Arabic, English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Science, Social Studies, and Islamic Education.

According to the Student Assessment Policy for the 2024-2025 Academic Year, issued by the Ministry of Education, there are two types of formative assessments:

Non-graded assessments, designed to monitor student progress and provide support without contributing to the final grade.

Graded assessments, which are based on clearly defined standards and evaluate students’ performance in various tasks such as written work, projects, and portfolios. These assessments contribute to students’ academic performance scores according to specific weightings.

The ministry clarified that formative assessments include short tests and practical performance tasks, offering students opportunities to apply their skills and knowledge. These assessments employ precise tools to measure strengths and weaknesses, helping to enhance overall performance and ensure fairness in results.

The assessments play a key role in monitoring student progress and continuously refining learning objectives. They also focus on fostering creativity, communication, and problem-solving skills, while preparing students for final exams by measuring their readiness and understanding of course content.

Formative assessments conducted in the classroom are among the most effective strategies for engaging students. They are a critical component of the learning process, helping evaluate how well students understand concepts during lessons. These assessments provide valuable opportunities to monitor student progress, offer guidance, and adapt curricula as needed.

Formative assessments may include summarising the main points in a lecture or a weekly quiz to test comprehension of the reviewed content. Students’ feedback on these assessments is used to improve their learning while they’re still learning. These assessments are used to inform in-process teaching and allow instructors to personalise their course to meet students’ needs.

ExamNow, a fully digital formative assessment solution, enables educators at all levels to directly engage students. Its formative assessment tools simplify the creation, management and grading of student responses while generating advanced, real-time data analytics to gain deeper insights into student learning. ExamNow instantly collects student answers and displays results on the spot, helping students grasp key concepts while providing educators with a detailed view of their learning progress.