School Inspection Key Findings 2015-2016 (KHDA) | Page 10

National Agenda Parameter – the journey towards 2021
In 2014, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE
and Ruler of Dubai, launched the UAE National Agenda to help achieve the UAE Vision 2021 in time
for the UAE Golden Jubilee celebration. The objectives underpinning the UAE National Agenda provide
schools with concrete targets against which to measure the progress they are making towards achieving
the aspirations of the UAE Vision 2021.
DSIB inspection findings over the past two years have indicated that some schools have been more
successful than others in their efforts to meet National Agenda targets. These schools have been using
external benchmarking examinations in addition to TIMSS and PISA to ensure they have reliable, regular
assessment information against which they could benchmark their students’ academic outcomes. KHDA
introduced the UAE National Agenda Parameter in June 2015 to help ensure that all schools embark on
this practice.
By the 2016-2017 academic year, it is expected that all schools will have access to valid, objective and
reliable measures of their students’ attainment and progress in mathematics, English and science. This
information, together with data from the PISA and TIMSS tests, and feedback from inspection visits,
should give schools a clear indication of the progress they are making towards meeting their National
Agenda targets. It should also help schools better identify their strengths and weaknesses and priorities
for improvement.
The focus of inspections this academic year has been to determine the:

• extent to which schools have participated, measured by the proportion of students enrolled from specific
grades in external benchma