Today's Edition
DINA JOUNE (DUBAI) - The Emirates Foundation for School Education has developed a special guide for preparing exam papers for students of determination in Emirati schools and private schools that implement the curriculum of the Ministry of Education, aiming to create a common ground and clear evaluative standards for teachers responsible for preparing test items for this category of students who require changes or modifications in the curriculum.
The Foundation pointed out that the guide aims to establish quality standards for test items, in line with the assessment policy adopted by the Department of Assessment and Measurement of Student Performance, unify standards and methodology used in building tests and correction and grading guides, ensure tracking of progress achieved, obtain feedback, evaluate targeted support and guidance, and take necessary steps.
Six controls have also been established for preparing the exam paper, including synchronising the exam with centralised assessment processes for all academic terms, conducting it within the school and preparing it by the teacher in coordination with the special education teacher, and preparing special exams by subject teachers who participated in preparing the individual educational plan, whether for end-of-year exams or others.
The exam should be based on learning standards or basic learning outcomes included in the approved plan, and the assessment should consider the needs of students and individual plans.
Regarding the standards for preparing the exam paper, the teacher must ensure the overall quality of the test items, which should be clear in objectives and capable of demonstrating the student’s understanding of the knowledge learned, and the skills acquired throughout the academic term.
Other criteria to consider include the intended learning outcomes to be measured in students of determination, the specific performance indicator related to learning outcomes, the time allocated for answering questions, the type of questions used and the level of thinking required for evaluation according to Bloom’s taxonomy.
The difficulty level of the questions, which is a fundamental element for producing the test item but is a subjective matter confirmed by the student’s performance and health condition, is also considered. And finally, the type and severity of disability and the required adaptation and accommodation in the individual educational plan, such as pictures and maps in the central exam for blind or deaf students, are also taken into account.
As stated in the differentiated exams policy, all exams for students of determination from Grade 5 to 12 are to be conducted physically, according to the approved policy for subjects, and to be conducted on paper in Grades 3 and 4. Students who follow an educational plan under the adaptation and accommodation category will take the same central exam prepared for other students.
Students under the “curriculum modification” category will be assessed electronically by the subject teacher, in coordination with the school’s special education teacher, and the exam will be prepared according to the individual educational plan. The Emirates Foundation for School Education has also allocated an additional half-hour in paper exams for students of determination.
