2004: YEAR IN REVIEW

REFORM: A WORK IN PROGRESS
This year, the State of Qatar laid the foundation and put in place the infrastructure for education reform. The Supreme Education Council and its three institutes—the Education Institute, the Evaluation Institute, and the Higher Education Institute—are now in operation. These organizations oversee education reform, help it grow, and objectively monitor its progress. Other accomplishments include the following:

• Reform is publicly launched at “Education for A New Era” forum, receiving extensive coverage in the local and regional media. A pair of Web sites in Arabic and English are launched to build awareness of the reform. The Arabic site receives as many as 8000 user-visits per month.



• The Education Institute develops K–12 curriculum standards in four subjects—Arabic, English, mathematics, and science—based on international benchmarks. Training for teachers reflects the implementation of these standards.



• April/May 2004, the Evaluation Institute administers the first-ever nationwide Qatar Comprehensive Educational Assessment, reaching more than 80,000 students in all public and private Arabic schools. The assessment provides baseline information for nationwide school improvement.



• Nearly 220,000 surveys are distributed to parents, students, teachers, principals, and school social workers, seeking information to evaluate and improve the quality of all schools. The response rate: 88 percent.



• June 2004 - Ed Institute Graduates New Teachers from Training Program



• May 2004 - Supreme Education Council Signs Agreements with 12 Independent School Operators



• Twelve new Independent Schools, representing a wide range of educational philosophies, open in fall 2004—and virtually all of them quickly develop waiting lists.



• The Qatar National Education Data System (QNEDS), along with a secure production facility, is established. The facility is storing, analyzing, and disseminating data from tests and surveys collected by the Evaluation Institute.



• Sixty-eight teachers graduate from the Teacher Preparation and Certification Program (TPCP), sponsored by the Education Institute.



• A partnership is formed between the SEC, the University of Qatar and Texas A&M University to further develop the TPCP and provide specialized teacher training for new college graduates.



• An agreement is also reached with Qatar Petroleum to conduct the English language training portion of the TPCP for the 2005-06 class—with the company donating their services and expertise.



• Operators are recruited to open up to 20 more Independent Schools in fall 2005, with additional schools to follow in subsequent years.