Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
The United Arab Emirates has achieved remarkable progress in the Programme for International Student Assessment, PISA 2025, an international evaluation of key subjects, overseen by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The UAE ranked first among the Arab countries participating in PISA 2025 in the fields of science, mathematics and reading.
Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of Education, affirmed that this achievement is attributable to the collective efforts of the UAE’s educational institutions, staff and teachers to strengthen students’ skills in reading, science and mathematics and prepare them for the future. She also highlighted students’ ambition and determination to excel as key drivers of this global achievement.
Al Amiri noted that the results align with the UAE’s pioneering vision for AI and digital education, as well as showing the efficacy of advancements in the digital readiness of schools and the responsible use of technology and AI.
She reaffirmed the UAE’s leadership in AI education and the continued development of education as a cornerstone of sustainable development.
Overall improvement in student performance
UAE students improved across all three PISA areas: science by 26 points to 458, mathematics by 21 to 453, and reading by 15 to 433.
Notably, amid an overall decline internationally, the UAE was one of just eight of 91 participating countries and economies to improve in all three areas.
The improvement was recorded across science, mathematics and reading, compared to PISA 2022 results when the average performance of the OECD countries witnessed a decline in the same fields.
The UAE’s progress also included fewer low-performing students and more reaching advanced performance levels. This improvement demonstrates the education system’s capacity to drive broad-based student achievement and sustain progress despite growing international challenges.
Advanced level of digital readiness for schools
The UAE’s leading position among the Arab countries participating in PISA 2025 in the fields of science, mathematics and reading reflects the impact of ongoing national efforts to strengthen the country’s education ecosystem.
These efforts span curriculum development, improving teaching quality, empowering educational cadres and advancing assessment policies and the national assessments system.
PISA 2025 highlighted the UAE’s strong digital readiness and emphasis on the responsible use of technology and AI.
Some 81.7% of students noted that they learned to evaluate AI-generated information in class, well above the OECD average of 62.6%.
Additionally, 96.3% of UAE students attend schools with subject-specific guidelines for digital device use, compared with 71.2% across the OECD.
This reflects the Ministry of Education’s efforts to integrate AI into curriculum, empowering students to use AI responsibly, think critically and assess digital information.
At emirate level, Dubai ranked highest across all three fields, scoring 506 in science, 496 in mathematics and 484 in reading; 48, 43 and 51 points above the national averages respectively.
Dubai students also outperformed the OECD average by 24 points in science, 33 in mathematics and 23 in reading.
Continuously updating school curricula
Approximately 34,639 students from 1,070 schools across the UAE took part in the assessment, reflecting the broad scope of participation and the integration of efforts among the various stakeholders in the nation's education system.
This achievement comes as a direct result of the integrated roles of educational entities, schools, educational leaders, teachers, students and parents, which has contributed to entrenching a culture of collaboration to enable continuous improvement.
The results further underscore the vital importance of investment in the professional development of teachers and school leaders and the enhanced use of international assessment results in developing educational policies and practices to elevate the quality of educational outcomes.
PISA is among the foremost international studies measuring 15-year-old students' ability to apply their knowledge and skills to address real-world situations and evolving challenges, providing important indicators on the efficiency of education systems and the extent of students' readiness for the future.
