Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates
Nov 16 2008

Better Assessment System¨for Students Required

by Dhanusha Gokulan
16 November 2008

DUBAI – The UAE educational system has been shifting away from the
traditional ways of assessment which involves students memorising
study material.

On these grounds a promise was made for providing world class higher
education and a more comprehensive assessment technique in the UAE by
Dr Tayeb A. Kamali, Vice- Chancellor of the Higher College of
Technology.

Dr Kamali made this commitment at the introductory speech of the 12th
Annual Current Trends in English Language Testing (CTELT) Conference,
at the Dubai Men’s.The highlight for this year’s CTELT is the
presentation of the the topic `Developing Assessment Literacy’.

Dr Kamali said: `The progress of students must be measured accurately
and consistently and it is important to improve the effectiveness of
teaching and learning practices in the region.’

He added that the Higher College of Technology emphasised on a
continuous learning process and there was a need to modernise methods
of assessment which is often coined as complicated by teachers and
educators.

Plenary speakers of the symposium included Natalie Kuhlman, San Diego
State University, California, US, Ali Shehadeh, United Arab Emirates
University, Al Ain, UAE, Annie Brown, National Admissions and
Placement Office, Abu Dhabi, UAE and Hossein Farhady, American
University of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia.

On speaking to the teachers who were participating in the symposium,
Khaleej Times found that most educators were content with the current
assessment technique in educational institutes but teachers voiced
their concern on how many Emirati students were required to perform
better at competitive examinations like the TOEFL and IELTS.

Jeff Verbeem, a teacher at the College of North Atlantic, Qatar said
that proper training has to be provided to Emirati students right from
the kindergarten level.

`The students here need to be exposed to English language training
right from a very young age. As compared to other GCC countries, the
training given to students for competitive exams are commendable but
there is always room for improvement.’

Kiya Murman, a teacher at the Emirates College, Abu Dhabi agreed
saying that the Emirati students can do better if they are provided
with the correct cultural exposure right from a very young age.

Saad Hafez, the English Language Supervisor at the Ministry of
Education, Ras Al Khaimah said: `The ministry has been doing its part
to improve the status of language studies in the country like
introducing the CEPA (Common Educational Proficiency Assessment) for
better performance but more time and effort were required to provide
quality assessment to students.’