Every spring, students in SABIS® member schools apply their knowledge and test-taking skills to external examinations, and every year the results are impressive. Among the external examinations are the American Advanced Placement® (AP®) program, the British Advanced Level (A Level), and International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), in addition to others. The latest results released were recently compiled and show that students in SABIS® member schools continue to outperform global averages.
Advanced Placement®
Advanced Placement® exams are generally taken by senior students just before graduating. The exams take place in May of each year over a two week period and include written, oral, and practical portions which are designed to assess student knowledge and retention of material covered over a period of one to two years of preparation.
In the spring of 2014, 839 students in SABIS® member schools took AP® exams in 26 subjects. A total of 2,227 exams were taken in 25 SABIS® member schools. Results showed that 81% of the examinations scored the highest marks of 3, 4, or 5, with 5 being the highest mark possible.
Advanced Level
Like AP® exams, British-based Advanced Level exams, or A Levels, are taken by students who will soon be completing their secondary education. The exams cover a two-year curriculum in a set subject and can include written, oral, and practical portions, with examinations scheduled over a period of one and a half months in the late spring each year.
In 2014, 265 SABIS® students took A Level examinations in 9 subjects including Arabic, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Mathematics, Further Maths, Economics, and Physics. Results from the 349 exams taken showed that 83% of examinations scored passing marks of A* through C, with A* being the highest score. More remarkable than these results is that the global average of A*-C in the same subjects was only 63%.
International General Certificate of Secondary Education
Also a British exam, the IGCSEs are typically taken by students who are completing the 10th or 11th grade in SABIS® member schools. In some subjects such as world languages, IGCSE exams are also taken by students who are much younger. Like the AP® and A Level exams, IGCSEs cover material learned by students over a one to two year period and are taken over a period of one and a half months in the spring of each year.
In the spring 2014 examination session, 1,721 students from 20 SABIS® member schools took a total of 4,473 IGCSE exams in 33 subjects. Results showed that 89% of the examinations were awarded marks of A*-C in comparison to a global average of 82% in the same subjects worldwide.
For more information about SABIS®, visit sabis.net.
