UAE Ministry of Education grading system 2026-27: How secondary students are evaluated and promoted

Dubai: The Ministry of Education has set the criteria for evaluating third-cycle students (secondary level) for the current academic year. Half of the evaluation (50%) of the final grade is allocated to the central evaluation, and the other half (50%) is allocated to the school in the subjects of Group (A). Group (A) includes 10 subjects: English, Mathematics, Science, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Arabic Language, Islamic Education, Social Studies, and Moral Education. The Ministry has adopted three conditions for promoting the student to the next grade, the most prominent of which is passing all the subjects of the group with a grade of no less than 60%, obtaining 50% or more in conduct, and that the unjustified absence does not exceed 15 days during the academic year, “consecutive or separate.” According to the student assessment policy guide for the current academic year, the Ministry has developed an assessment system that extends throughout the academic year, combining diagnostic tests, formative assessment, school-based final assessments, and centralised tests, to measure the student’s level, monitor their progress, and identify their educational needs. The weights of the semesters were set at 35% for the first semester, 30% for the second, and 35% for the third, with centralised tests for Group (A) subjects to be conducted at the end of the first and third semesters, and the application of the final school assessments “SSA” during the last two weeks of the second semester. According to the assessment criteria, the grade for the Group (A) subjects in the first semester is distributed as follows: 10% for the observed formative assessment (school-based), and 25% for the central test, totalling 35%. For the second semester, 30% is allocated, distributed equally between 15% for the observed formative assessment and 15% for the final School Summative Assessments (SSA). In the third semester, the assessment accounts for 35% of the annual grade, with 10% allocated to the observed formative assessment (school-based) and 25% to the central test, making the total weights throughout the year 50% for school-based assessment and 50% for central assessment. Group (B) grading As for the materials of group (B), they depend on school assessment at a rate of 100%, distributed over the three semesters, with 35% in the first, 30% in the second, and 35% in the third. Group (B) includes artificial intelligence and technology, arts, physical and health education, business administration and applied and academic disciplines, third language, and health sciences. The regulations emphasised the continuation of the assessment throughout the academic year, to determine the student’s position in his/her educational journey, thus providing teachers, parents and students with indicators that help in planning subsequent educational steps. Diagnostic tests are conducted for all third-cycle students in all subjects of Group (A). Teachers prepare the test papers according to centrally determined standards and procedures, and the results are used to guide subsequent teaching and learning plans. The grades are recorded in the electronic system for follow-up purposes only, without being included in the student's academic performance grade. The ungraded formative assessment is used as a tool to determine the student's position in their educational journey, their academic level, and to support their cognitive and skill development. Teachers implement the graded formative assessment throughout the year according to centrally determined standards and procedures, and its grades are included in the academic performance average according to the approved weights. According to the guide, the School Summative Assessments (SSA) are applied for all Group (A) subjects only during the last two weeks of the second semester, to ensure continued student attendance until the end of the semester. They are designed by teachers based on centrally issued guidelines, with student performance records retained for follow-up and quality assurance purposes, and their results are counted towards the academic grade according to the weight specified for them. In contrast, centralised tests are conducted at the end of the first and third semesters for all subjects in Group (A), and require the student to attend school to take them. The third semester test also includes some basic learning outcomes from the second semester. For students in grades 9, 10, and 11, all subject grades are recorded out of 100 and converted to letter grades in the end-of-term performance reports, while the results for Group (A) subjects for 12th grade students are displayed in letters and percentages up to two decimal places, and the results for Group (B) subjects are displayed in letters only. Retest process The Ministry has set a clear mechanism for retests, whereby a student who has not achieved the minimum score in any of the subjects of Group (A) is given one opportunity to retest each