The Minister of Education, Higher Education and Skills Development Ismail Shafeeu announces that Key Stage One students will sit in an international assessment in November 2026.
The assessment will allow their performance to be compared with international students of the same age group.
Speaking at a ceremony held to mark the release of Key Stage Three National Assessment of Learning outcomes report, the minister said that the government believes in an evidence-based learning approach. While the National Assessment of Learning Outcomes for Key Stage One and Two were conducted, adequate corrective measures fell short of being implemented, the minister said.
The minister said that previous assessment data is now used to guide education policy and curriculum reform.
As per President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s presidential address in 2206, the ministry is now revising textbooks and teaching methods to benefit both students and educators. The National Assessment prepared by the Quality Assurance Department is significant in this process, the minister added.
The minister further said that the latest assessment for Key Stage Three covered five subjects; Dhivehi and Islam included. Students performed comparatively better in both Dhivehi and Islam, though the minister says there is still room for improvement.
However, mathematics remain a key concern with previous national assessments showing weak performance throughout the key stages.
The Education Minister said this outcome has prompted teaching training and curriculum change for the mathematics for Key Stage One. The ministry is working on making textbooks for the subject more engaging, and increasing the amount of classroom time allocated for the subject.
According to the minister, the Key Stage One Assessment scheduled for November this year will measure students’ performance in mathematics, science and English against international benchmarks. He added that desired changes will be achieved after relevant data is acquired.
The minister further revealed the government authority’s ongoing efforts in monitoring student attendance through a new system to better track student attendance rates.