Tests
For the purpose of providing the decision makers with high-quality, objective information about the performance and the achievement of the students in the independent schools, the Evaluation Institute of the SEC holds annual Qatar Comprehensive Educational Assessment (QCEA) in the subject matters of Arabic, English, mathematics and science. The QCEA is based on the Qatar Curriculum Standards, which set a very high goal and compare with the best and most demanding educational standards worldwide. The QCEA is held nationwide where all independent schools with approximately 28,000 students participate in it. The performance of the students in the QCEA along with their results in the school’s regular test was considered for comparative purposes to ensure the reliability of the results. The tests were administered to the students by the end of the academic year 2007/2008. However, a diagnostic pretest was initially administered to the students before the start of the study to rank and distribute the students into the corresponding learning groups.