Technical directives outline academic assessment features: Unifying 'middle school' exams and determining short-term mechanisms

Alaa Khalifa: Sources told “Al-Anbaa” about the key points discussed during a meeting between the Director General of Guidance Departments at the Ministry of Education and the directors of the Technical Guidance Departments for academic subjects. The meeting addressed several files related to evaluation and examination mechanisms for the current semester, as part of the Ministry’s efforts to enhance fairness and transparency and standardize measurement criteria across schools.

The sources clarified that one of the main directives emphasized during the meeting was that end-of-semester examinations for the intermediate stage would be unified across the Ministry of Education. The Technical Guidance Departments for academic subjects would be responsible for preparing these exams in accordance with approved educational standards, ensuring equal opportunities for all students and accurately measuring learning outcomes.

They added that the content of short quizzes for both the primary and intermediate stages would be determined by the relevant Technical Guidance Department for each subject, with a clear directive that this content would not be included in the end-of-semester examination. This measure aims to diversify assessment tools and more comprehensively evaluate student performance throughout the academic year.

The sources noted that the meeting also stressed the importance of diversifying short quiz questions between essay-type and objective-type questions, according to the ratios and distribution approved by the Technical Guidance Departments. This approach is intended to develop students’ thinking and analytical skills and avoid relying on a single assessment format.

The sources emphasized that these directives are part of the Ministry of Education’s efforts to develop the examination system and elevate educational assessment methods, aligning with the Ministry’s direction toward improving education quality, ensuring fairness among students, and guaranteeing that academic achievement is measured based on unified scientific and educational standards across all educational regions.