JEDDAH, 31 March 2005 — Usually, educational systems test students through examinations, but important revisions in the Kingdom’s educational system are being tested in a pilot program that education officials will be examining closely. If it proves to be successful, it likely will chart the Kingdom’s course for educational reform in the 21st century.
The newly developed educational system with curricula and grading changes is being tested at select secondary schools across the Kingdom. With a university-style approach, it may better prepare Saudi youth for college success. It has teachers and administrators excited and many students hoping to take part if the program expands.
The 10th-grade students no longer study 16 courses. In the new system, they instead study seven different courses each semester. For example, they study biology in the first semester but not in the second.
Moreover, the grading system is different. The grade point average (GPA) of the final year will not determine the final grade. The new grading system is cumulative — just like at universities. Secondary school will consist of six semesters, and the GPA will be calculated according to the grades of all six semesters.
The new system began this school year in the 10th grades of four boys’ schools, including Hitteen Secondary School in Jeddah and at two girls’ schools — 27th Secondary School and Dar Al-Fikr Secondary School.
“Eliminating (cutting down) the number of courses in each semester makes students focus on certain subjects instead of being confused studying 16 courses per semester,” said Sawsan Naim, an educator responsible for the newly developed system.
“Now, the system is being applied to the 10th grade, and they have only seven courses on which to focus. Later on, the application will continue to the 11th and 12th grades since the new system is complementary. The last three grades or six semesters in school will decide the overall GPA when graduating. Twelfth grade will no longer be the only judge,” Sawsan Naim told Arab News.
She added that there is no failing and repeating the year in the new system; students have to carry the course with them for the next year just like in the university system.
“Tenth grade students reacted positively to the new system. They now have fewer burdens on their backs,” said Nadia Al-Minshawi, a math teacher in Dar Al-Fikr School. “They won’t feel scattered among several subjects like before.”
Beeman Khidhr, a physics teacher at Dar Al-Fikr, agreed.
“The newly developed system offers different courses in the two semesters of each year,” Beeman Khidhr told Arab News. “Some courses are taken in the first semester, such as chemistry and biology and not studied in the second semester and vice versa. That way, students won’t get bored studying the same 16 courses in both semesters.”
The Administration of Education Development also is optimistic about the program’s potential and already is planning the next expansion.
“Dar Al-Fikr and the 27th Secondary School were suitable environments to test the system before expanding it to other school,” said Jawaher Mahdi, Administration Manager of Educational Development in Jeddah. “The program will spread based on its successes to all schools across the Kingdom gradually. Next year, it will be applied at four private secondary schools and four governmental secondary schools.”
Talk of the new curricula and other changes has some students anxiously awaiting it to spread to their schools.
“My school still follows the old system that depends on repeating the same information throughout years of study and having a large amount of information that makes a student study until the day of the exam, pour the information on the exam paper, then forget all what she has learned,” said a girl studying at a private school. “We need an education system that encourages us to think without tiring our minds with the large amount of information we acquire in a little time.”
