GEMS FOUNDERS SCHOOL
DUBAI
External Assessment Information
2024-25
At GEMS Founders School Dubai, we use a range of external
assessment information to help us support students effectively.
This document will explain which external assessments students
take part in each year group and will give further information
about each type of assessment.
External Assessment
Schedule - Primary
Please note that there are no external assessments for the foundation stage.
Year
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Year 1
PASS Survey
-
-
Year 2
PASS Survey
NGRT Form A
NGRT Form B
NGRT Form C
NGRT Form B
NGRT Form C
Year 3
PASS Survey
NGRT Form A
Year 4
PASS Survey
NGRT Form A
CAT4
Year 5
PASS Survey
NGRT Form A
CAT4 4 (new
students only)
Year 6
PASS Survey
NGRT Form A
CAT4
NGRT Form B
NGRT Form B
NGRT Form B
NGRT Form C
GL Progress Tests English, Maths &
Science
ABT
NGRT Form C
GL Progress Tests English, Maths &
Science
ABT
NGRT Form C
GL Progress Tests English, Maths &
Science
ABT
External Assessment
Schedule - Secondary
Please note that year 7 do not have a progress test for Science. In addition, GL
progress tests and NGRT are not available for Y11-13. The below schedule does
not include GCSE, A-Level or vocational qualifications. These assessments are
unique to each student and will be communicated from their subject teachers.
Year
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Year 7
PASS Survey
CAT4 4 (new
students only)
NGRT Form B
NGRT Form C
GL Progress Tests English & Maths
ABT
Year 8
PASS Survey
NGRT Form A
CAT4
NGRT Form B
NGRT Form C
GL Progress Tests English, Maths & Science
ABT
Year 9
PASS Survey
NGRT Form A
CAT4 (new
students only)
NGRT Form B
NGRT Form C
GL Progress Tests English, Maths & Science
ABT
Year 10
PASS Survey
NGRT Form A
CAT4
NGRT Form B
NGRT Form C
GL Progress Tests English, Maths & Science
ABT
Year 11
PASS Survey
CAT4 (new
students only)
-
-
Year 12
PASS Survey
CAT4
-
-
Year 13
PASS Survey
-
-
PASS Survey
Information
Pupil Attitudes to Self and School (PASS) is a survey that involves students
answering survey style questions that takes 20-30 minutes. It gives staff an
indication of how a student is feeling and what their attitude to school and
learning is. It is based on a trusted psychometric measure and is widely used
by thousands of schools across the globe.
PASS is completed a minimum of once per year at GFS, in late October to
early November and is carried out in Years 1-13.
PASS reports on the following areas:
Feelings about school
Perceived learning capability
Self-regard
Preparedness for learning
Attitudes to teachers
General work ethic
Confidence in learning
Attitudes to attendance
Response to curriculum demands
We do not report PASS results to parents, but we do reach out to parents if
we have any concerns.
It is important for students to have a positive attitude towards school and
learning in order to be effective learners. Sometimes it can be difficult
however for staff to understand the internal cause of a student’s external
behaviour. PASS can be used to investigate this.
If you would like to find out further information, you can follow this link:
https://support.gl-education.com/knowledge-base/assessments/passsupport/general-information/information-for-parents
7
CAT4
Information
CAT4 is an cognitive ability test of developed abilities in areas known to
make a difference to learning and achievement – namely verbal, non-verbal,
quantitative and spatial reasoning – and provides you with an accurate
analysis of potential student achievement.
CAT4 is completed every two years. All students will take the CAT4 in year 2,
4, 6, 8, 10 and 12. New students for the academic year 2024-25 from years 3,
5, 7, 9 and 11 will also take the CAT4 assessment.
CAT4 reports on the following areas: verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning,
quantitative reasoning and spatial reasoning.
Parents will receive a report which gives a description of your child’s CAT4
profile and indicates where your child has performed in each area. Example:
Below
Within
Above
CAT4 is designed to give schools a much broader, more rounded view of
each child, their potential and how they learn. Results help teachers decide
about the pace of learning that is right for a student and whether additional
support or challenge is needed.
If you would like to find out further information, you can follow this link:
https://support.gl-education.com/knowledge-base/assessments/cat4support/general-information/information-for-parents
NGRT
Information
Developing literacy and reading ability is fundamental to a student's ability
to access the curriculum. The New Group Reading Test (NGRT) is a
standardised, termly assessment that reliably measures reading skills to help
you get to the root of any problems precisely and quickly.
It is particularly useful to identify EAL students who may appear to be
competent readers but who could have weaker comprehension skills. NGRT
provides information about sentence completion and comprehension skills,
allowing schools to identify where difficulties lie.
The NGRT is completed three times a year in years 2 - 10. Being a termly
assessment allows for regular monitoring of reading progress and measuring
the impact of intervention.
Parents will receive the following information from NGRT:
Your child’s reading age at the date of the test.
Your child’s age at the date of the date.
The information from NGRT is used alongside teacher assessment to inform
the attainment grade in reading.
If you would like to find out further information, you can follow this link:
https://support.gl-education.com/knowledge-base/assessments/ngrtsupport/general-information/information-for-parents
7
ABT
Information
The Arabic Benchmark Test (ABT) is a Arabic language test, which helps
teachers to inform their planning and support for students in Arabic lessons.
No two students perform the same way in the Arabic language. Teachers,
therefore, need to be able to effectively differentiate their instruction so that
all students have an opportunity to meet the same standards, including
students with learning disabilities, as well as students who are gifted.
The Arabic Benchmark Test creates measurable standards set for learning on
which students can be measured. It helps to keep students on track for
success in the Arabic language, and can ultimately raise the standards for
education in a classroom. The test follows the framework standard of Arabic
as first language and an Additional language in the UAE.
The ABT provides schools with:
High-Quality assessment based on the Arabic framework for Arabic as
first and an additional language.
Arabic as an additional language assessment information, according to
the years of learning Arabic.
Accurate data.
Data analysis.
Moderation and comparison between the schools.
Comprehensive and individual reports.
If you would like to find out further information, you can follow this link:
https://abt-assessments.com/
GL Progress Test
Information
Progress Test - English
The Progress Test in English (PTE) is a test designed to assess each student’s
attainment in English. It is tailored to the age of the child. For example,
phonic knowledge and skills will be tested in the youngest age groups;
spelling, punctuation and grammar will be tested in later years.
The Progress Test in English series consists of different test levels for
different ages.
Progress Test - Maths
The Progress Test in Maths (PTM) is a test designed to assess each student’s
attainment in maths. It is tailored to the age of the child. Mental maths is
included for students aged 8-14. PTM measures students’ mathematical
skills and knowledge in areas such as number, shape, data handling and
algebra, as well as their mathematical reasoning and problem solving.
Progress Test - Science
The Progress Test in Science (PTS) is a test designed to assess each student’s
attainment in science. It is tailored to the age of the student and measures
their knowledge and understanding of science, as well as their application of
this knowledge and understanding. Their ability to work scientifically is also
assessed.
The information from progress tests is combined with teacher assessment to
inform the end of year attainment grade in each subject. If you would like to
find out further information, you can follow the below links:
English - Parent Information - PTE
Maths - Parent Information - PTM
Science - Parent Information - PTS