PIRLS 2006 Encyclopedia

PIRLS 2006 EncyclopediaStandardized TestsStandardized tests are not administered at the elementary level. PIRLS 2001 and PIRLS 2006have been the only standardized tests administered to fourth-grade students.Monitoring Individual Student ProgressIn elementary school, students are promoted automatically to the next grade, althoughthey must pass grade 5 school subjects to enter the intermediate stage of education.In addition to final examinations, subject teachers carry out continuous assessment(oral and written) throughout the year. Recently, a portfolio assessment system wasimplemented. A student’s total score is divided into sections according to the skills andsubject areas taught. This system has been subject to criticism by many parents andteachers for several reasons. Critics argue that the system tries to assess too many itemsand skills, adds another burden to teachers, and does not provide the exact level of thestudent’s achievement. Rather, it describes the student’s achievement using terms such as“fair”, ”good”, “very good”, and “excellent”. The Ministry of Education is now investigatingthe strengths and weaknesses of the system’s form, content, and implementation.KuwaitSuggested ReadingsAl-Ahmed, A. (1986). Education systemdevelopment in Kuwait. Kuwait: KFAS. (Textin Arabic)Aser, H. A. (2005). Arabic language arts (teachingand learning evaluation). Alexandria, Egypt:Alexandria Book Center. (Text in Arabic)Ministry of Education. (1996). Curriculastatus and development requirements at theelementary stage in Kuwait. Kuwait: Ministryof Education Press. (Text in Arabic)Madkour, A. A. (1997). Teaching Arabic languagearts. Cairo: Dar Al-Fiker Al-Arabi. (Text inArabic)Ministry of Education. (1996) Education qualitycontrol at the elementary stage in Kuwait: Acase study. Kuwait: Ministry of EducationPress. (Text in Arabic)Ministry of Education. (2006). Educationstructure development in Kuwait. Kuwait: DarAl-Balag. (Text in Arabic)Ministry of Education. (2006). Statistics groupsdevelopment. Kuwait: Dar Al-Balag. (Text inArabic)Mujawer, M. S. (1983). Teaching Arabic at theelementary stage (4th ed.). Kuwait: Dar Al-Qalam. (Text in Arabic)References1 Ministry of Education. (2006). Elementarystage assessment and examinations regulations.Kuwait: Author. (Text in Arabic)2 Ibid., (2005). Development of educationstructure in Kuwait. (Text in Arabic)3 Ibid., (2006). Kuwait education indicatorsreport. (Text in Arabic and English)4 Ibid., (2006). Elementary stage assessment andexaminations regulations. (Text in Arabic)228