The Kingdom, represented by the Ministry of Education, will participate in the International Study (PIRLS) supervised by the International Association for Evaluation Educational Achievement (IEA), during the period from September 19 to October 12, 2021 , to measure the reading level of primary fourth-grade students. The Ministry will participate, at the end of the first quarter of 2022, in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) supervised by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ( OECD ) to assess students who have completed 15 years , in order to benefit from the results of these studies to improve learning outcomes.
The Ministry of Education continues its efforts to prepare for its early participation in these two tests . The Ministry is implementing simulated PIRLS tests on the “Madrasati” ( My School) platform on a weekly basis. The number of students, who were tested in the fourth grade of elementary school, has reached nearly 400,000 students kingdom-wide, with the participation of more than 12 thousand schools. The Ministry has launched this week the simulated test for the international exam, PISA, for all third-grade intermediate students at the level of the Kingdom. It is noteworthy that all these simulated tests are offered in both Arabic and English. In addition to training more than 86 thousand teachers, with a number of hours exceeding 350 thousand hours. The training program was held directly on (Webinars) with the participation of 20 thousand teachers.
The Ministry of Education’s plan, to increase the learning outcomes that will reflect on students’ performance in the international exams, depends on a number of steps, including applications and activities targeting higher-order thinking skills, redistribution of study plans, as well as professional development for teachers by providing them with training packages in all fields, International tests and updating them constantly. In addition to setting indicators and targets at the level of schools, offices and education departments, through the results of simulated tests of international and achievement tests on a regular basis.
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Education participates in the PIRLS International Study for the third consecutive session after 2011 and 2016, and in PISA for the second time after its participation of 2018.
