The 2014-15 academic year marks the 40th year of operation of the International School of Choueifat – Sharjah in the U.A.E., the first SABIS® Network school to operate outside of Lebanon. ISC-Sharjah first opened its doors in January 1976 to a mere 141 students in the relatively unknown emirate back in the early 70s. And so began four decades of academic excellence in the U.A.E.
Over the next 40 years, the SABIS® Network steadily expanded in the U.A.E. in response to demand for the high-quality SABIS® Educational System. Today, SABIS® Network schools in the region educate close to 35,000 students, whose external examination results have set a high bar of achievement. Analysis of data from the past five years indicates how external examination results from SABIS® Network schools in the region have been strong and consistent.
In the 2009-10 academic year, 79% of students from SABIS® Network schools in the U.A.E. who took AP®s earned 3, 4, or 5 on their AP® exams in comparison to 65% of students who took AP® exams at non-SABIS® Network schools in the U.A.E. and 60% globally. In 2013-14, 86% of students from SABIS® Network schools in the U.A.E. who took AP®s earned the highest marks. The percentage of high scorers from non-SABIS® Network schools in 2014 was 69%; globally, 61% performed at that level.
Not only are the results for U.A.E. SABIS® Network schools on AP® exams high in and of themselves and in comparison to other schools in the region, but SABIS® Network schools also have by far the largest number of students registered to take AP® exams each year in the U.A.E. in math and the sciences. For example, in the five year period from 2010 through 2014, there were a total of 934 students registered to take AP® Biology exams in the U.A.E. Of these students, 66% (614) were from SABIS® Network schools and 68% of them earned top scores. This pattern is consistent for AP® Chemistry, AP® Calculus AB and BC, and AP® Physics B and C (Electricity and Magnetism). In fact, for AP® Physics, 73% (1443) of all AP® test takers in the U.A.E. over the past five years were from SABIS® Network schools. And 77% of these earned top marks on their exams. To put this into the global perspective 63% of all AP® Physics B and C (Electricity and Magnetism) students earn 3, 4, or 5.
SABIS® Network schools in the U.A.E. have distinguished themselves in more external exams than just the AP®s. The recent release of performance data from SABIS® Network students at the International School of Choueifat – Dubai on the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed how ISC-Dubai 9th and 10th graders measure up against others from around the world. The PISA test has been used since 2000 as an international benchmarking exam and was designed to assess “functional skills that students have acquired as they near the end of compulsory schooling.” The test is administered to a group of students who are selected as representatives of the full population in a country. The students can be attending either public or private schools.
In 2012, 31 students from ISC-Dubai took the PISA test. The students were randomly identified by the school based on the students’ date of birth, and the students were independently validated. The results these students achieved are remarkable: Math: 573; Reading: 566; Science: 587. Based on the final ranking of nations, ISC-Dubai students’ math results would have put them in 2nd place in the world tied with Singapore; their reading results would have put them in 2nd place in the world after Shanghai, China; and their results in science would have landed them in 1st place in the world, beating out Shanghai, China, by 7 points! While results from 31 students are not necessarily grounds for an accurate comparison with the results from a larger sampling of an entire country, the ISC-Dubai results do provide an interesting reference point and show that the school is effectively preparing students to compete on the global stage.
A long history of outstanding performance on external examinations in SABIS® Network schools in the U.A.E. and throughout the global SABIS® Network reflects the effectiveness of the SABIS® Educational System and reinforces the network’s commitment to preparing students for future success.