Good teaching is not enough!

Schools are always looking to hire GOOD TEACHERS, those ones, who will satisfy their parents and teach their students the most effective way with varieties of strategies and techniques to make the learning happen. However, teaching might not be good enough if it was not followed by good effective learning. The one that can be evidenced in students’ results both internally and internationally. In a booming country like UAE, with the national agenda pressure and leaders with challenging visions, things are getting more sophisticated. Aiming the top 20 ranking in PISA and the 15th in TIMSS by 2021, pushed everyone to the race lane to improve. The latest PISA results show that UAE outperformed the participating Arab countries in the three subjects, however, the overall scores were not really uplifting. The country moved up one level in Math and dropped two levels in both science and reading. The new ranking in Math, Science, and Reading are 47, 46, and 48 respectively. Somehow, this result's disappointment is less hurting when figuring out that many well-performing countries scores did also decline in 2015, nevertheless, this decline was at the range of the OECD average or higher in these countries.

PISA, the test of destiny and the nightmare for many low-performing schools, should be treated differently. Schools must change policies and provide a long-term improvement plan that includes all stakeholder to put everyone on the right track. This assessment should be introduced to all teachers, students, and parents and should be aligned to internal instruction.

Informational PISA texts require fast reading and comprehending to answer questions in certain time and the ability to scan these texts to answer the right questions on time is a challenge for our ESL learners. When analyzing PISA samples we can find questions that target the higher level of Bloom's taxonomy. Factual information is given in a real life problem context so the student can apply these facts to solve the problem by suggesting the most appropriate solutions. So “study more to score more” is definitely not the case here.

So what schools must do?

The good results cannot come overnight. If we start the journey today then we are expecting another three to five years to show a tangible improvement. Improving PISA scores requires a paradigm shift in teaching and assessing. Assessment is the keyword. Schools must stop the traditional memory tests and provide a major modification in the questioning levels and styles. Train students to use the alternative assessment strategies such as self-assessment and providing the narrative feedback in addition to the quantitative scores will give students clearer idea about where they stand and where they want to go.

Schools must provide qualified trained teaching staff that is committed to the place and can run the vision to provide consistent learning habits. Moreover, Students centered lessons that address the needs and interests of each student, developing and assessing students’ cognitive and non-cognitive skills including problem-solving, analysis, and creativity are other major factors that should be considered seriously. Transfer the learning responsibility to students and support their metacognitive skills and capacity to set their goals and reflect constructively on their own learning should be everyone's target.

Providing the last moment aid plan for students when reaching secondary schools prior the PISA test, is a common mistake schools do. For effective and rigid results the screening must start as early as possible on yearly basis to ensure that students who had fallen behind in reading and math can receive intensive catch-up support so their progress and readiness are monitored.

On the top of all the mentioned above, a visionary leadership that can turn all the mentioned practices to a culture where everyone on board speaks the same language and works to achieve the same target.